Arica is Chile's northernmost city, a port of nearly two hundred thousand people just a short drive from the Peruvian border, and its nickname, the city of eternal spring, reflects a mild, dry climate that hardly changes through the year. The city sits at the foot of El Morro, a massive headland that was the scene of a famous battle during the War of the Pacific in 1880, when Chilean forces took the fortress from Peru. After that, the city's fate was disputed for decades, until a treaty in 1929 confirmed it as Chilean.
Its history stretches back much further than that. Just outside the city, in the Azapa valley, a museum holds the Chinchorro mummies, the oldest known deliberately preserved bodies in the world, made by fishing people some seven thousand years ago, well before the Egyptians. The old church of San Marcos in the centre is often said to have been designed by the workshop of Gustave Eiffel, and its iron frame is a curiosity in the middle of the desert. The beaches are wide and good for surfing, with strong waves, and the sea is cold even in summer.
For the rider, Arica is a service point and a starting line. Fuel, repairs, supplies and hotels are all easy to find, and the city is a good place to eat well before heading up into the Andes. Seafood is the speciality, along with tacos and a local style of grilled meat, and the markets sell tropical fruits and strong coffee. Traffic is heavy and the streets can be confusing, so plan your exit route in advance.
The road inland, which climbs from sea level to more than four thousand metres in less than two hundred kilometres, is one of the great motorcycle rides in the Americas. It begins in a desert valley dotted with cacti, then climbs steeply through canyons and past terraced fields, finally emerging onto the high plateau. The change in air pressure affects engines as well as people, so be prepared for loss of power and a slow acclimatisation. Take sunscreen, plenty of water and warm clothing, since the contrast between the coast and the plateau is extreme.