Atacama Desert

Why Atacama Desert works

The Atacama's rainfall is so scarce that parts of it have never recorded a drop, and NASA has tested Mars rover prototypes on its cracked, mineral-streaked plains. Valle de la Luna earns its name from wind-carved dunes and salt formations that glow pink and gold at sunset, best watched from the Cordillera de la Sal's ridgelines. San Pedro de Atacama itself is a low adobe town, its single-storey streets built for a population that has hosted travellers since Inca times, now filled with tour operators running trips to the El Tatio geyser field — active at sunrise when the cold air makes the steam columns most dramatic — and to the Salar de Atacama, where pink flamingos wade through brine pools framed by volcanoes. At night the desert's near-zero humidity and high altitude make it one of the world's premier astronomy sites, home to the ALMA observatory array and countless smaller telescopes open to visitors. Laguna Cejar's hypersaline water lets swimmers float effortlessly, similar to the Dead Sea, while the Piedras Rojas lagoon sits above 4,000 metres with red rock formations against turquoise water. Days run hot and dry, nights drop sharply cold — pack layers and altitude tablets for the higher-elevation excursions.

Trip Snapshot

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