Fodor's Expert Review Iglesia de San Francisco

Across from Chiu Chiu's main square is the Iglesia de San Francisco. Built in 1674, it's one of the oldest churches in the altiplano. A cactus-shingle roof tops the squat building's whitewashed adobe walls. No nails were used in its construction—rafters and beams are lashed together with leather straps. On October 4, things get lively when the 500 inhabitants congregate in the nearby central plaza to celebrate the town's patron saint, St. Francis of Assisi. Chiu Chiu is just a turn off the road between Calama and San Pedro, and makes for a nice stopping-off point.