Valle de Azapa

One of the best views from Arica is Azapa Valley. You can start your tour of the Museo San Miguel de Azapa where the Chinchorro mummies, the oldest mummies ever found, are housed. They are even older than those of Egypt! The town owes its nickname to the beach of the same name located in Arica, its main settlement. However this fishing and gathering culture, extended from northern Chile to southern Peru. The mummies date back to 5000 BC and are unique because infants and even fetuses were mummified. Unlike Egypt all deaths in the village were mummified even if they didn't belong to higher social classes.