Cordillera & Andean Secrets

At Chile’s northernmost end, the dizzying railway from high Bolivia comes down to the sea. Arica, the City of Eternal Spring, has a population of 169,000. and is located in the Atacama Desert. See San Marcos Cathedral, designed by Gustave Eiffel, and marvel at Pre-Incan relics in the City Museum. Or leave the city to venutre to the White City of Arequipa, the Incan capital of Cuzco and Machu Picchu and the ancient Inca city in the clouds.

Guayaquil, (gwä-yä-kêl´) city (1990 pop. 1,531,229), capital of Guayas prov., W Ecuador, on the Guayas R. near its mouth on the Gulf of Guayaquil, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean. It is Ecuador’s largest city and its chief port and manufacturing center. Founded by Sebastián de Benalcázar in 1535, it was liberated from Spain by Antonio José de Sucre in 1821, and in 1822 was the site of a meeting between Simón Bolívar and José de San Martín that determined the course of South American independence. The climate is hot and humid.

Located on the northern coast, it has a famous museum containing many old indian artifacts.

Matarani is the gateway to the colonial city of Arequipa, also known as the ‘Ciudad Blanca’ (White City) for the numerous and magnificent constructions of temples, convents, big houses and palaces sculpted in white ashlar.

Salaverry, gateway to Trujillo, retains much of its colonial charm in the form of old churches and balconied homes.

Valparaiso, city (1990 est. pop. 277,000), central Chile, capital of Valparaiso dept., on a bay of the Pacific Ocean. Chile’s chief port, it is a major industrial center and the terminus of a trans-Andean railroad. Its setting is a natural amphitheater. The business district, crowded onto a narrow waterfront terrace, is connected by cable railways to residential areas on the surrounding slopes. Founded in 1536, Valparaiso grew rapidly in the late 19th century.