La Higuera can be explored through its star-shaped layout, characteristic streetscapes, and traces of its mining history. The central square, Gabriela Mistral Avenue, and the Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes Church reveal different sides of the town: its urban form, cohesive built-up areas, and individual buildings with stories of their own.
Townscape and Getting Around
The central square forms the heart of La Higuera’s star-shaped layout. At the same time, the town has expanded mainly east and west along the northern access road. The layout and the town’s expansion describe two different scales: its overall form and the directions in which it has developed. The central urban fabric is also considered to be of urban interest.
In the center, continuous buildings set directly along the street line define the streetscape. Their contiguous construction creates a homogeneous, clearly defined impression. This means the town center can be viewed not only through individual buildings, but also through the sequence of street frontages. Characteristic types of homes can also be found around the square and along Gabriela Mistral Avenue.
Gabriela Mistral Avenue and Historic Buildings
Gabriela Mistral Avenue is one of La Higuera’s areas of urban interest. The street is lined with the pulperĂa and typical buildings from former mining camps, built continuously along the street. A pulperĂa was a company store; the historic Casona de La Higuera preserves the original architecture of a 19th-century pulperĂa. At the eastern end of the avenue, the theater is another prominent feature of the townscape.
Individual residential and service buildings also form part of the historic townscape. The Vivienda Obrera Marta Brunet, a workers’ house on Marta Brunet Street, is listed in La Higuera’s inventory of protected buildings. The same applies to the Viviendas Obreras Gabriela Mistral on the street of the same name. Consultorio La Higuera, on Avenida O’Higgins, is also included in the inventory. The listings cover different types of buildings and add to the picture shaped by the continuous street frontages and the homes around the square and avenue.
Church at the Western End of the Avenue
The Parroquia Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes stands at the western end of Calle Gabriela Mistral. Built in 1982, it sits at the highest point of the slope; the church is visible from the square. Its location makes it an urban and sociocultural landmark. Ten other historic heritage properties included in the plan are located nearby.
The building consists of a rectangular, single-nave basilica. The interior is raised in the altar area, where the sacristy and adjoining rooms are also located. The adobe walls are reinforced with a metal structure, and the building has a two-part zinc roof. A bell tower with a stone base and an upper section of timber framing and cladding adjoins the main building. The bells date from the second half of the 19th century. This places the construction date of the church alongside the considerably earlier age of the bells, without suggesting that they share the same construction history.
Mining Traces in the Town
Mining slag heaps are visible at the northern entrance to the town. Numerous underground mining tunnels also run beneath La Higuera. The heaps and tunnels show different forms of mining traces: one shapes the entrance to the town in plain sight, while the other lies beneath the town. Along with the typical buildings of former mining camps along Gabriela Mistral Avenue, they add a mining dimension to the architectural story.
If you are interested in historic townscapes, La Higuera has a clear focus: here, you can view the star-shaped layout, continuous street frontages, individual historic buildings, and mining heritage at different scales. The church, central square, and Gabriela Mistral Avenue each serve as distinct reference points, rather than the town’s history being reduced to a single building.
Discover more destinations: Coquimbo, Trigo Blanco, Paiguano, La Serena, Vicuña.
Return to the regional travel overview: Elqui Province.
