Both plus big cities of Norte Chico are Serana, with its small historical downtown area and a beach which counts today among the most run from Chile, and Copiapó which is more in north inside the grounds and of which intended was always related to mining industry.
On both sides of the coast follow one another of the beaches, of the handles and of natural reserves, in particular Parks it Nacional Fray Jorge, indicated reserve of the biosphere by UNESCO. Inside the grounds, at the Argentinian border, draw up Ojos de Salado, more the high summit of Chile (6.893m), accessible since Parks Nacional Tres Cruces.
Most of Norte Chico is desert, except some green valleys.

The exceptionally clear skies make that one set up a multitude of astronomical observatories there. The majority of them are accessible only to scientists from most serious. However a very new observatory, Observatorio Comunal Cerro Mamalluco, close to Vicuna, on the other hand set up a complete program for the visitors, and allows to handle a telescope of 30 cm. It is a true blessing for the astronomers amateurs who did not on the occasion to practise their favorite pastime in the southern hemisphere, from which the constellations are completely different.

Monumento Nacional Valle del Encanto, close to Ovalle, present of the petroglyphs and the stones carved between the 2éme and the 7éme centuries, and constitutes one of the archeological sites most important of Chile.