Quitor

Information

It is an old Atacameño centre on the outskirts of San Pedro de Atacama.

To get there by car or bicycle, take the Domingo Atienza Street towards the north. It is about 3 km along a dirt road, parallel to the San Pedro River, until you reach a car park and the entrance to the site.

To enter you have to pay an entrance fee. You can walk up a path with viewpoints to the top of a hill, and along the way there are views of the pucará (a fortification) and the surrounding area. Among the structures that can be seen there are rooms, corrals and patios distributed in terraces.

The Pucará de Quitor was occupied and developed from 900 AD onwards by communities coming from the area of the Atacama salt flat. With respect to its location, its proximity to the San Pedro River was useful for its water supply, and its location on a hill was useful as a defence mechanism against any attack by other peoples.