The Andes rise steeply east of Arica, and within a few hours you can be in an entirely different world. The altiplano around 4,000 meters offers cold clean air, volcanic peaks, flamingo-dotted lakes, and villages that look much as they did centuries ago.
Parque Nacional Lauca and Parinacota
The road east from Arica climbs from sea level to over 4,000 meters in around three hours — acclimatize before you go, or plan to stay a night in the highlands rather than rushing back the same day. Most tour operators offer day trips to Parinacota, a quiet Aymara village on the Bolivian border, with whitewashed houses and a colonial church surrounded by grazing llamas, vicuñas, and alpacas. The centerpiece of the park is Lake Chungará, set against the snow-capped cone of Volcán Parinacota — one of the most striking landscapes in northern Chile. A detour to Salar Surire brings you to natural thermal pools at altitude, a strange and memorable experience in the middle of the high desert.