Chile

Arica and border crossing to Peru - how to get there

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27/03/2015

Arica is our last stop in Chile within our trip around the world. The entire city has each aspect of Chile. It feels like the best that Chile offered us was trying to say goodbye. There are beautiful beaches, nice hills, old town center, delicious ice-cream and breathtaking views. And we also came here because of the border crossing to Peru and our travels there.

Museums

The city offers you to get to know more of the Chilean history in several museums. We decided to visit the most interesting archeological Museum of San Miguel de Azapa. We were able to see the archeological findings older than 7000 B.C. You get to know a lot about the history of this nice country and mainly the region. How people got here, how they live and what tribes were most powerful. Among the precious artefacts of the museum are about 30 mummy bodies in a good condition.

Seashore cliffs

Within our stay we decided to visit places where public transport did not operate. We went to see unique and grandiose cliffs close to the town. There are giant caves providing shelters to several animals. We met many lizards on the beach and during our walk at this place we saw lizards, crabs and stray starfish being lashed by strong waves. Unfortunately we did not see any turtles or sea lions but in certain periods they also stay here.

How to get from Arica to Tacna – border crossing to Peru

If you plan to visit Peru there are many options. The most expensive and boring is taking a cab for about 35 USD per person. Or you can use local transport like us. 😉 Border crossing to Peru from Arica to Tacna is a common thing at this place. There are two bus terminals at the town center situated next to each other. The first terminal is the one you arrived to Arica. When you exit, on your right side is another one. From here you can take collectivo or bus to Tacna. When you enter this bus terminal, do not forget to pay a fee of 300 CLP (cca 0,50 USD) per person. This fee is everywhere and needs to be paid to the bus terminal. 😉 If you want to use collectivo it costs 3500 CLP (cca 5,70 USD). BUT you will be 5 people in the car all to the way to Tacna and in case you have really big bagpacks it could be a problem. In case you welcome more space and also do not want to have luggage on your legs take a minibus like us. It cost 2000 CLP for person (cca 3,30 USD). Both collectivo or minibus will always take you to Tacna in Peru. They wait at both border crossings. And if you are lucky like us you will experience a terrific presentation of sales representative selling coca and cocoa products. We both coca grease and it works perfect! 😉