Chile Guide
El Norte Grande
Cerro Pintados
The impressive CERRO PINTADOS (daily 9.30am–6.30pm; CH$1000) make up the largest collection of geoglyphs in South America, situated within the reserve's boundaries. Extending 4km along a hillside, the site features four hundred images (not all of them visible from the ground) of animals, birds, humans and geometric patterns, etched on the surface or formed by a mosaic of little stones around the year 1000 AD. The felines, birds, snakes and flocks of llamas and vicuñas scratched into the rock are thought to have been indicators for livestock farmers. The circles, squares, dotted lines and human figures are more enigmatic, however, and may have had something to do with rituals, perhaps even sacrifices.
There's a picnic area near the biggest concentration of images, but it pays to explore the rest of the site as well. Cerro Pintados begins 5km west of the Panamericana, reached by a gravel road that branches off the highway 45km south of Pozo Almonte, almost opposite the turn-off to Pica. There's a Conaf control point 2km along the road, where you pay your entrance fee. If it's shut when you arrive, you can continue with your car as far as the barrier, which is just a short walk from the geoglyphs. If you haven't got your own transport, you should be able to arrange a lift there and back with a colectivo from the stand outside Iquique's Mercado Centenario – it's probably not a good idea to hitch and then try walking to the site from the Panamericana, owing to the relentless heat and lack of shade.