 This village is located 30 kilometers to the East of Calama, in an oasis 2,450 meters above sea level, formed by the Loa and Salado Rivers. This village, which dates back to 3,000 B.C., was originally inhabited by hunters and (harvesters or pickers or collectors), who by the year 1,000 B.C. had become farmers and shepherds. In 400 A.C., the Atacamanean community began to trade with those who settled the coast.
 Francisco de Aguirre founded Chiu-Chiu in 1557. A square, the military headquarters and a church were built using the typical materials from the Atacamanean culture such as adobe, stone, algarrobo wood, cactus, and chañar.
During the colonization period, Chiu-Chiu was the trade center between the high plateau and the coast, however, with the railroad construction in Calama and the migration to the salt mines and to Chuquicamata, Chiu-Chiu lost the administrative and trade dominance.  Around 1960, immigrants from the nearby villages began to arrive thus reactivating farming and livestock activity, mainly growing corn, alfalfa, carrots, lettuce and other crops, as well as raising sheep, goats, pigs, and rabbits. They also work in tourism and in handcrafts of the region.
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