Chiu Chiu Church


In the north of Chile in the area of the Atacama Desert is the town of San Pedro de Atacama . This place is the main point of travel around the region. In general, the desert surroundings are a unique natural location, where mountainous terrain with desert landscapes, plateaus, overgrown with vegetation with salty lakes, adjoin. But the area is interesting not only for natural, but also for architectural and cultural attractions, which include the church of Chiu-Chiu.

Chiu Chiu Church - description

Places in the area of ​​Atacama and the town of San Pedro de Atacama are a region where a unique culture of the local population of Atacamamena was born. The roots of civilization go back to antiquity and the era of the Spanish conquests, when the indigenous population had rich skills and knowledge. San Pedro de Atacama - neat little town, with narrow streets and whitewashed walls of houses.

Not far from the city is the village of Chiu Chiu, which is one of the first shelters of Spanish conquistadors, who arrived on the uncharted shores of America. The village was founded in the middle of the XV century. This is evidenced by some buildings that have survived to this day.

One of the oldest buildings in the village is the Church of San Francisco de Chiou-Chiu. Its construction was completed by the first wave of settlers from Europe in the 16th century. Since then, the building has hardly been rebuilt. This is a small building, reminiscent of a chapel. Since the first written chronicles, it is known that the church building was painted white, to this day the color of the outer walls remains unchanged.

The building of the Chiu-Chiu church is a one-story stone building, two bell towers with two bells are visible from the facade, and two Catholic crosses adorn the domes. The main entrance door is installed in the arched doorway. The church has a rather ascetic appearance, there are no surpluses of fashionable in Europe architectural styles. The stylistics of this building reflects the general concept of buildings of that time. In the courtyard of the church there are several graves of local priests, whose memory is revered on certain days of the year.

The services in San Francisco de Chiu-chiu are held regularly. This is the oldest church in Chile, the church is open to visitors for four centuries. In addition, local people, who are an open and friendly people, are always happy to visit tourists.

How to get to the church?

In the village of Chiu-Chiu, where the church is located, you can get from the nearby city of Kalama , the distance to which is 30 km. You can get to Calama by plane by flying from Santiago to the local airport.