Quitor's Pukara is located only 3 kilometers from San Pedro de Atacama and was built in the 12th century with a strategic location on the hillside as a fortress. It is built of stones that climb the hill with a defensive wall.
The Pukará de Quitor, declared a National Monument in 1982, is an ancient Inca fortress built in the 12th century, strategically placed on the side of a hill protected by a gorge over the river. Quitor was taken over by Spaniards in 1540.
It was built with large and small stones kept together by mud used as mortar. The ruins Despite the construction, the The Pukará de Quitor had to be restored for the first time in 1981. Since then, it was restored once again in 1992 by initiative of a Spanish organization.
Location: Región de Antofagasta, 316 km (197.5 mi) northeast of Antofagasta. 3 km (1.8 mi) northwest of San Pedro de Atacama.
How to get there: Santiago-Calama:by air and land. Calama-San Pedro de Atacama: by public or private transport. From San Pedro de Atacama, go north by Tocopilla street, after 3 km you will arrive at Pukara de Quitor.
Services: No services available
Gastronomy
Within San Pedro de Atacama, there is a great variety of places to taste, like the typical Atacama food, pizzas to the stone or even different vegetarian option that use the vegetables and more typical vegetables of the zone.
Recommendations
We recommend you that you schedule your flight to Calama to arrive in the morning so you are able to participate in the scheduled activities without affecting the itinerary.
This place has a desertic weather and it’s also some meters above sea levels, which means that throughout the year there is a very large temperature oscillation between day and night. The average annual temperature is between 14° C and 3 ° C.
Many of the excursions and tours that are done include visiting places that are in the Chilean plateau, 3,500 above sea levels. This means that people may experience altitude sickness. It is important that people drink lots of water so they keep their body well hydrated. People shouldn’t make sudden or harsh movements, and let their body get used to the heights and the altitude.
There are few ATMs in San Pedro de Atacama. You have to consider that the demand for these ATMs is high, so they don’t always have money. We advise you to bring some cash with you.
Stores in rural areas are open all day, but they close between 13.00 and 15.00. We advise you to carry local currency (Chilean pesos), since it isn’t possible to pay with debit or credit cards in kiosks and rural stores.
Do not throw garbage on the beaches, parks or streets. To take care of our environment is everyone's responsibility. Avoid fines by following the rules.
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