Chile Guide
El Norte Chico
Copiapó
Overlooked by rippling mountains, the prosperous city of Copiapó sits in the flat basin of the Río Copiapó, some 60km from the coast and 145km north of Vallenar. The valley to the east is the most northerly of Chile's "transverse valleys" and – with the exception of the Río Loa which empties into the ocean near Iquique – the Copiapó is Chile's northernmost river to flow all the way from the Andes to the Pacific. Beyond this valley the transformation from semi-desert to serious desert is complete, and the bare, barren Atacama stretches a staggering 1000km north towards the Peruvian border. Just to the north of the city, Arabian– style dunes await exploration.