Take in the artifacts salvaged from the sunken Esmeralda at this small museum inside the haughty colonial-style customs house, built in 1871 when Iquique was still Peruvian territory. Peru incarcerated prisoners here during the War of the Pacific, and the building would later see battle in the Chilean civil war of 1891. The museum is currently closed for long-term renovations.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
23.19 MILES
The influence and wealth of the nitrate boom whisper through the deserted ghost town of Humberstone. Established in 1872 as La Palma, this mining town…
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0.17 MILES
The city's 19th-century swagger is hard to miss on Iquique's central square. Pride of place goes to the 1877 Torre Reloj clock tower, seemingly baked and…
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0.15 MILES
This replica of sunken Esmeralda, a plucky little Chilean corvette that challenged ironclad Peruvian warships in the War of the Pacific, is Iquique's new…
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0.14 MILES
Hour-long boat tours around the harbor leave from Iquique's 1901 passenger pier, just west of the Edificio de la Aduana. The tour floats past the Boya…
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22.08 MILES
The skeletal remains of Oficina Santa Laura, 2km west of Humberstone, are a half-hour walk southwest of its abandoned neighbor. Less visited and more in…
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Centro Cultural Palacio Astoreca
0.47 MILES
Originally built for a nitrate tycoon, this 1904 Georgian-style mansion is now a cultural center, which exhibits contemporary work produced by local…
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0.36 MILES
Iquique's former courthouse now hosts the catch-all regional museum, which earnestly re-creates a traditional adobe altiplano village and also exhibits…
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0.16 MILES
The prize for the showiest building in Iquique goes to this Moorish-style place from 1904, on the plaza's northeast corner. The gaudily tiled creation is…
Nearby Iquique attractions
0.01 MILES
A grand old colonial building dating to 1876, the ex-customs house was ravaged by fire in early 2015.
0.14 MILES
Hour-long boat tours around the harbor leave from Iquique's 1901 passenger pier, just west of the Edificio de la Aduana. The tour floats past the Boya…
0.15 MILES
This replica of sunken Esmeralda, a plucky little Chilean corvette that challenged ironclad Peruvian warships in the War of the Pacific, is Iquique's new…
0.16 MILES
The prize for the showiest building in Iquique goes to this Moorish-style place from 1904, on the plaza's northeast corner. The gaudily tiled creation is…
0.17 MILES
The city's 19th-century swagger is hard to miss on Iquique's central square. Pride of place goes to the 1877 Torre Reloj clock tower, seemingly baked and…
0.36 MILES
Iquique's former courthouse now hosts the catch-all regional museum, which earnestly re-creates a traditional adobe altiplano village and also exhibits…
8. Centro Cultural Palacio Astoreca
0.47 MILES
Originally built for a nitrate tycoon, this 1904 Georgian-style mansion is now a cultural center, which exhibits contemporary work produced by local…