Over three hours south of Moquegua and five times larger, TACNA , at 552m above sea level, has a nice climate but more importantly is the last stop in Peru. Cave paintings at nearby Toquepala, a small mining settlement, confirm that the area has been occupied for at least 9000 years. More recently, the people of Tacna suffered Chilean occupation from May 1880 until the Treaty of Ancón was signed in August 1929, after a local referendum. Tacna, in fact, has long been noted for its loyalty to Peru and was also highly active in Peruvian emancipation from Spain, though nowadays it's more notorious as an expensive city that's renowned for both its contraband and pickpockets. The only real reason to stop is if you're coming from or going over the border into Chile.

The main focus of activity in this sprawling city is around the Plaza de Armas and along the tree-lined Avenida Bolognesi. At the centre of the plaza, the ornamental pileta, designed by D'Len Hard, has a neoclassical base depicting the four seasons while on top of the main fountain are four children holding hands. The nearby Arco Parabólico was erected in honour of the Peruvian dead from the War of the Pacific. Fronting the plaza is the Cathedral , designed by Eiffel in 1870 (though not completed until 1955) and built from cantera stones quarried from the hills of Intiorko and Arunta. Around the corner there's the Museo Histórico (Mon-Sat 9am-6pm; free) where, if you have an hour to spare, you can browse around the pre-Conquest artefacts and exhibitions related to the nineteenth-century wars with Chile. The Casa de Zela , Calle Zela 542, houses a small archeological museum exhibiting ceramics largely discovered in the region.

For rail enthusiasts there's the Museo Ferroviario (Mon-Fri 9am-5.30pm, Sat 9am-1pm; $0.3), on the corner of Calle Albarracíon and Avenida Dos de Mayo, just five minutes' walk from the plaza, containing locomotives, machinery and documents mainly relating to the Tacna-Arica line, but also a philatelic collection of train-related stamps from around the world. There's also a Parque de la Locomotora , based on Avenida Grau, dedicated exclusively to housing the antique Locomotive No. 3, which carried troops to the historic battle of Morro de Arica.