| Route | First Bus | Last Bus | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tacna to Lima | 08:30 | 18:30 | BOOK NOW |
| Tacna to Arequipa | 06:30 | 22:40 | BOOK NOW |
| Tacna to Cusco | 11:45 | 19:45 | BOOK NOW |
| Tacna to Puno | 11:45 | 19:45 | BOOK NOW |
| Tacna to Ica | 08:30 | 17:30 | BOOK NOW |
| Route | First Bus | Last Bus | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lima to Tacna | 09:00 | 20:00 | BOOK NOW |
| Arequipa to Tacna | 05:30 | 22:45 | BOOK NOW |
| Puno to Tacna | 20:30 | 20:30 | BOOK NOW |
| Ica to Tacna | 14:00 | 23:58 | BOOK NOW |
| Cusco to Tacna | 14:30 | 14:30 | BOOK NOW |
The best period to visit Tacna goes from October to February, since the temperature ascends to stabilize later, so you can enjoy a pleasant atmosphere.
-The climate in Tacna is desert.-The level of precipitations is really low, so much that is nearly unnoticed.-The maximum temperature is 80,6 °F (27 °C) and the minimum is 57,2 °F (14°C).
Tacna is an unusual place: deserts and fertile valleys live together in the territory, creating unique landscapes between the coast and the mountain range, next to the border with Chile. The warm weather of the mornings allows to enjoy the beautiful beaches, the thermal waters and lagoons. On the “paseo cívico” (civic walk, a main street) are located many tourist attractions as the Cathedral of Tacna. We recommend you to taste the typical dish “picante a la tacneñ... a”. You can also enjoy the vineyards, that produce wines and piscos of high quality for the exportation.The city of Tacna is located on the border with Chile, and is very commercial and bustling. Trade with northern Chile and import/export with Japan and China have led to tremendous development in this economy of "duty free" city. Tacna, actually center of the southern business, was home to ancient pre-Hispanic civilizations like the Wari and Tiahuanaco cultures.
View MoreLocation: 142, Arias Aragüez
It’s a bar characterized for its handmade beer quality, although they have a varied drinks menu. The attention is very pleasant and attentive and the atmosphere is very welcoming, with good rock music, among others. The touch of lemon verbena of the beer will be refreshing to you and gives a unique touch. A good place to start the party nights and having a nice evening with friends.
We recommend the pedestrian streets of Libertad and Vigil, which are the heart of nightlife in Tacna. We leave you a short list of the most visited nightclubs by locals and visitors.
Location: 1407, Avenida Leguía
Location: 153, Avda. Jorge Basadre Grohmann
Location: 515, calle Zela
Location: 841, Avenida San Martín
Location: 57, Vigil
Price: 15 soles
This is a classical caffe, where the dinners come since 50 years ago; you won’t only have the best desserts, but also you will have lunch or dinner on the best atmosphere.
Location: 204, Av. Arias Aragüez
18 soles
It’s one of the crowdest restaurants due to the low prices, the quality of the food and the attention level they offer. With no doubt the best pastas are here, but you can also taste a variety of dishes on the menu.
Location: 1327, Av. Antonio de Zela
Price: 25 soles
An open-air restaurant where you can eat a large variety of plates typical of Tacna, prepared on the traditional way. You will also find live music shows on the evening. The place is ideal for a typical, quiet and pleasant lunch.
Location: 1903, Alto de Lima street
Price: an average of 60 soles
The emblematic plate of this restaurant is “picante a la tacneña” (based on cow’s stomach and paw); the plate has creole flavor, but with the touch and the Tacna seasoning. This restaurant offers nice attention to the dinners, who can enjoy live shows and the tastefull plates from Tacna, prepared in a traditional way, in mud pot. But there isn’t only the typical food in the restaurant, since the chefs are specialists in creating unique combinations that you won’t find in any place.
Location: Downtown Tacna
If you look at a 100 soles bill you'll see the magnificent main square which shows distinguished statues of people of the military history of Peru: the Admiral Miguel Grau and Colonel Francisco Bolognesi, heros on the Pacific War.
Location: In the train station (by the southern entrance)
Hours: 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Price: 5 soles
Take a trip thought the past, through locomotives and old carriages from middle 19th century. If you like trains we recommend you walking 15 minutes towards the southern part of the station to see a British locomotive from 1859.
Location: 542, ZelaHours: Monday-Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to noon and 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Price: Free entrance
An old colonial housewhich was the residence of Francisco Antonio de Zela y Arizaga, dignitary of the independence. Inside the museum you can find an exhibition of paintings from the 19th century and archaeological objects.
Location: at 32 mi (52 km) to the south-east of the city
It’s a beach of not so deep waters, characterized by the beauty and modernity. The environment is clean and surrounded of nature, where you will relax breathing fresh air, looking at the unique twilights of the landscape and fishing in a handmade way.This place is a jewel in the dessert territory of Tacna, don’t you leave without visiting it!
Location: Pachía district, at 14 mi (22 km) from Tacna
Price: 1-3 soles
In those petroglyphs that date from 500 a.C. you can see drawings in red paint that represent the customs, cosmogony and the environment of the region inhabitants centuries ago.
Location: at 14 mi (22 km) from the city, in Pachía district
Hours: from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Price: 3 to 9 soles
Those thermal baths are nourished by the underground waters which have a temperature of nearly 104 °F (40°C). The minerals of the waters make those thermal baths ideal for the arhrosis treatment and other pains of the nervous system. To access to private pools is necessary to pay the triple of the cost of the standard price.
You should visit the Cathedral of Tacna, the Paseo Cívico, the municipal theatre, the Complejo Monumental del Campo de la Alianza, with its interesting Museo de Sitio.Don’t you forget that at 90 minutes from Tacna are located the Pinturas Rupestres (cave paintings) of Toquepala, which date from 7600 B.C.
Relax with the high offer of thermal baths that Tacna has for its visitors. The most visited are: Calientes-Pachía, Chillikolpa, Ticalco, Calachaca and Yabroko.
If you enjoy the pacific view of endemic birds, at the Humedales de Ite you will find the paradise of birdwatching, with more than 150 species of birds. This coastal and swampy area is one of the largest in Peru, and it’s home of water wild birds and migratory birds.
The circuit Tarata-Candarave has varied attractions as the incan trail Tarata - Tikako, with archaeological sites and beautiful landscapes that are seen from the Apacheta viewpoint and the waterfalls of Konchachiri. Don’t you miss the Circuito Valle Viejo - Locumba, with its Archaeological complex and the Festival Señor de Locumba.
In Tacna you can go over amazing beaches, starting for Llostay, going to Tomoyo Beach and ending in Punta Mesa. On the beaches you won’t only enjoy the weather and swim in a clean sea, but also you can do handmade fishing with the local fishermen.
If you like meat and filling plates, you’ll be fascinated with Tacna food.
A tender steamed corn topped with fresh cheese.
A savory stew made of insides of cow, cow’s paws, “charqui” (salty meat), onions and oregano, tastefull and filling.
A dessert that is prepared in different places of Peru, made of sweet corn dough, not so dried, sugar, peanuts and raisins.
Pork meat gold coloured and well fried, served with toasted corn. One of the mountain provinces food delights.
Pan-fried guinea pig, seasoned with spices and served with potato and cream made of chili pepper and ground peanut.
A dish with pork, ground garlic, vinegar and salt, seasoned with “palillo”, a spice very used on the Peruvian south.
Taste the Tacna sour made with the best Peruvian pisco and the extracts of blackberry and plum.
| Anniversary of the Alto de la Alianza Battle | (May 26th) | This day the Tacna locals pay tribute to the braves dead in the Tacna battle (in 1880, during the Pacific War).They make parades and civic ceremonies on the area of the historic complex and monumental Alto de la Alianza. Interesting to know part of this heroic city’s history. |
| Winter Solstice - Night of Saint John and the Caravan to the Old Valley. | (June 23rd and 24th) | Celebrated in Spain with beach bonfires, in Tacna the festival became a millenary ritual in which a payment is made to the pachamama (Mother Earth),alongside artistic and cultural representations, around bonfires that illuminate the night cultivation of Tacna. A must see! |
| Anniversary of the reincorporation of Tacna to Peru | (August 27th) | This celebration starts August 27th and last one week (is known as the Tacna Easter). It’s considered the most important festival of the city, since it commemorates the reincorporation of Tacna to the Peruvian territory, after being in possession of Chile for more than 50 years. Those days the Tacna patriotism goes out to dress the streets of party colourswith the Procession of the Flag (Procesión de la Bandera), which starts on the Plaza de la Mujer Tacneña to the Paseo Cívico. |
| FITAC | (August 24th -31st) | The International Fair of Tacna (FITAC) is held in the Recinto Ferial Parque Peru, in about 20 hectares. Products presented include handicrafts, industrial, commercial and institutional producs, livestock and gastronomy, as part of the activities on the Tacna’s Easter. |