The adventurer's heaven. Tucked away in the northern reaches of the world's longest countryâwhere Chile's dry desert meets Argentina and Bolivia's windy and rocky regionsâthe Atacama Desert impresses as one of the planet's most stunning wildernesses. With lunar-like sceneries embracing a huge topography of rust-hued mountains and golden sand dunes, the region is a haven for adventurers, hikers, and motorcyclists courageous enough to withstand the desert conditions. San Pedro de Atacama, the region's core, is a little caravan town with origins dating back over 3,000 years, when it served as a pit stop for Andean wool dealers on their trip to the Pacific Coast. This is where you will discover the best hotels and operators in the Atacama Desert, who will accompany you through one of Chile's most enchanting wildernesses.
The Atacama Desert has an area of 40,541 square miles (105,000 square kilometers), extending 600 miles (1000 kilometers) from southern Peru to northern Chile. Officially the driest spot on Earth, it gets almost little precipitation. Indeed, the climate is so dry that certain desert weather stations have never recorded a single drop of rain. Due to these severe circumstances, plant and animal life are almost non-existent, especially in the lower Atacama Desert. Northern coastal regions, on the other hand, get somewhat more rainfall and are hence less dry. Why is the Atacama Desert so sparsely populated?
As it turns out, the Atacama Desert, with its rust-colored rock canyons, snow-capped volcanoes, boiling, gurgling geysers, and blue sinkhole lakes, is home to hundreds of plant and animal species, as well as an astounding diversity of geological phenomena.
Seeing all that this strange terrain has to offer takes some work, but it is well worth the effort.
Liolaemus nitidus, a lizard endemic to the Atacama Desert's southern reaches, a lizard unique to the Atacama Desert's southern reaches
Some little hills (lomas) provide a unique ecosystem where the fog from the ocean supplies enough moisture for seasonal flora and a few animal species. Surprisingly few reptile species and even fewer amphibian species inhabit the desert. The Vallenar or Atacama toad, Chaunus atacamensis, dwells on the lomas, where it lays eggs in permanent ponds or streams. Iguanas and lava lizards exist in portions of the desert, whereas salt flat lizards, Liolaemus, thrive in the arid plains next to the coast. [30] Liolaemus fabiani, one of the species, is native to the Salar de Atacama, or Atacama salt flat. [31]
