Chile’s northernmost city is Arica about 30 miles from the southern border of Peru. Nicknamed the “City of the Eternal Springs” this capital of the Arica y Parinacota Region has a population of over 200,000 people. It was founded in 1541 by the Spaniards and later controlled by the Peruvian Republic from 1821 until it fell to Chilean forces in 1880. However, it would be another 49 years before it officially became part of Chile after the signing of the Treat of Lima. Its seaport, the country’s fourth largest, is a major outlet for the oil and freight transport of landlocked Bolivia.
