It is situated on the highlands at an elevation of 4,400 metres (14,400 ft) in Lauca National Park near the small town of Putre and had 29 inhabitants as of 2002.

[clarification needed] The atrium is surrounded by a clay wall on which are situated several figures made of red stone: A bishop, lilies, phalli and others.

Noteworthy are the frescoes in the interior which were painted in water colors by Indians in the Andean baroque of the 17th century.

The archangel St. Michael weighs a nude woman on a scale and there are trails to get to the purgatory, over clouds to heaven as well as stairs to the mouth of a dragon which leads to hell, where there are several torture instruments.

Precipitation is low and falls almost entirely between December and March: for the remainder of the year it totals just 20 millimetres or 0.8 inches over eight months.