Playa Las Docas, Beach along the Pacific coast in Valparaíso, Chile

Las Docas is a small bay southwest of Bahía Laguna Verde in Valparaíso, holding a sandy beach about 400 m long and up to 80 m wide, with the bay roughly 500 m across. A medium-height cliff shelters it, and a sandbar usually forms a small wetland where the Estero de la quebrada drains. The photograph shows tan wet sand, a patch of dried seaweed, and dark grey jagged rocks with spray where water rushes around them.

Ceramic shell middens in the surroundings are attributed to the Bato culture, an early indigenous group of the area. On the nearby hills stands a 19th-century mausoleum known as the Tumba de Gregorio, guarded by several dog statues.

The name refers to the doca, a creeping aizoaceae plant of Chile with large pink flowers and an edible, slightly purgative fruit. In the surrounding hills stands a 19th-century mausoleum known as the Tumba de Gregorio, guarded by several dog statues.

Access requires a four-wheel drive vehicle due to unpaved roads, and visitors should bring their own water and food supplies. Weather protection is also wise since coastal conditions can change quickly.

On the hills near the beach stands a 19th-century mausoleum known as the Tumba de Gregorio, guarded by several statues of dogs. Around the cove lie ceramic shell middens, probably left by the Bato culture, which visitors should leave untouched.