Religious Tourism: Church of San Pedro de Atacama. Chile.

San Pedro de Atacama, nestled in the driest desert in the world and on the edge of the Andean mountain range, is a magical place and one of the most visited spots in the north of Chile.

The Church of San Pedro. Declared National monument, it is located next to the beautiful “cuadra” paved with stones, surrounded by aged peppers, it is the greatest and most beautiful of the region. It is surrounded by a pretty adobe (mire and straw) wall, reconstructed in 1978, presents in its structure three doors crowned by an arc.It is of a single ship, with an sacristy and lateral chapels. The present walls date from 1744 and were restored between 1839 and 1843, after a fire. The tower, of 1964, replaced one old one of wood. In the interior, the beams one of sky is of heavy moored beams of carob tree with leather tapes

The whitewashed exterior provides a stark contrast against the blue skies of San Pedro de Atacama, and the attractive perimeter wall, built in the 1970s, stays true to the building's adobe construct. Perhaps not surprisingly, the church's patron saint is St Peter (San Pedro).

Through its four windows a smooth light illuminates the altar and altarpiece in carved stone where there are three rows of chrome plated niches. In February of 2001, allying and 5 of their beautiful sacred images were cruelly burned.

The interior of the church has some interesting features, namely the unique materials used to build it. Aside from adobe, two types of trees were used: algarrobo, a thorned tree with rounded brown pods, and chañar, a local tree that bears a sweet, starchy fruit. The roof slats are made of cardon cactus rather than wood, as wood is very scarce in the desert. The church's door is attached to its entryway with llama leather, in traditional altiplanic style. The church most recently underwent renovations in 2009, and as one of the only shady spots to be found in town, this area makes for a good spot to take a break from the bright sunshine.