Parinacota Tourism, Chile

This town is a National Monument and was also declared a Typical Zone. It has only 149 inhabitants. It is located at an altitude of 4 392 meters, 181 km from Arica, 3 km from the international border road Arica - La Paz and 42 km. from Putter.

It is a Pre- Hispanic town and is situated along the old road connecting Arica to Potosí. Evangelical missionaries arrived here during the 16th century and built a lot of temples. The town has a school, a church (which is also a National Monument) and approximately 50 houses.

The administration office of Lauca National Park is located in the town as well as an environmental information center, interpretive trails, a picnic area and other various other facilities.

Parinacota church is situated in the town center. It was originally built during the 17th century, but it had to be rebuilt in 1789. It is surrounded by a whitewashed wall with three doors. One of the corners of the wall has an inbuilt bell tower.