The Huanchaca cultural park

Huanchaca is a Quechua word which means “the bridge of sorrows” and it is also the name of what was a silver foundry in the mining town of Antofagasta, about two centuries ago. The monumental industrial ruins in this picture are the remnants of this foundry. The Huanchaca Ruins have been recently turned into a Cultural Park, which includes the Museum of the Atacama Desert (Museo Desierto de Atacama, MDA). The MDA contains unique collections and consists of five permanent exhibitions about the whole history of the Atacama Desert, from its geological formation up to the present times, when it becomes an important site for ground-based astronomy. The astronomy exhibition "A window to the Universe" was designed and donated by ESO as a contribution to the Region of Antofagasta.