The imposing coffee-colored shoulder of rock, El Morro de Arica, looms 110m over the city. It makes a great place to get your bearings, with vulture-eye views of the city, port and Pacific Ocean. However, this lofty headland has a far greater significance to Chileans, for this was the site of a crucial battle in 1880, a year into the War of the Pacific. The Chilean army assaulted and took El Morro from Peruvian forces in under an hour. The story is told step by step in the flag-waving Museo Histórico y de Armas, which has information in Spanish and English. Look for plaques placed by ever military-minded Pinochet.
