Its headwaters are on the western flanks of the Andes of the Parinacota Province, just a few kilometers south of the border with Peru, and empties into the Pacific Ocean at the village of Villa Frontera, about 4 km north of the city of Arica.

The Lluta originates at the confluence of the Quebrada Caracarani (which rises from the slopes of the Tacora volcano) and the Azufre River, at an elevation about 3,900 m asl.

In Chironta, about 70 km from the sea, appear the first farms, whose foods are of a great importance for the consume of local people.

Finally, the river empties into Pacific Ocean at an extensive beach, just a few kilometers north of Arica.

The increase of its water volume occurs mainly in January and February, as a consequence of the phenomenon known as Bolivian Winter.