Chañaral, Chile

Chañaral is just a small coastal town in the Atacama Region of Chile. Covering an area of 5,722 sq km (2,209 sq mi), it has a population of 13,500 (2011 estimate). Chañaral serves as the provincial capital for Chañaral Province.

Plaza Chañaral, Chile
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2005.11.08_053_Plaza_Cha%C3%B1aral_Chile.jpg
Author: Herman Luyken


Chañaral is off the beaten track, as tourists are likely to speed past it for bigger towns such as Copiapó or San Petro de Atacama. However, those who stop by will find a charming little town worth a bit of exploring.

Chañaral was founded in 1833 and was originally known as Chañaral de las Ánimas. Like many of the early settlements in the area, the reason for its founding was related to copper mining.

 Latest updates on Penang Travel Tips

About this website

Thanks for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye. My hobby is to research information about places, and share the information with people on this website. I started this website on 5 January 2003, and since then, have written about over 20,000 places, mostly in Malaysia and Singapore.

Please use the information on this page as guidance only. While I try my best to provide you information that is as accurate as I can get it to be, I do apologize for any errors. Also, as I might not be able to update some information on time, some of these pages may contain outdated information.