Atacama Desert

Atacama Desert: The Driest Non-Polar Place on Earth, Where It Hasn’t Rained in 400 Years

Parts of the Atacama Desert have no recorded rainfall for longer than any other place on earth. The area around the Yungay weather station in the Chilean Atacama is estimated not to have received measurable precipitation in 400 years. This is not poetry, it’s a geological fact that produces a landscape of absolute aridity: no topsoil, almost no microorganisms in the surface layer, no decomposition. When NASA was testing Mars rovers in the 2000s, they chose the Atacama as the closest analogue to Martian conditions available on earth. One section of the testing ground was so dry that the researchers couldn’t find any signs of life at all using their instruments, even though life in the most extreme forms exists there.

The practical consequence for visitors is a landscape unlike any other desert: the desiccation is so complete that salt flats, volcanic rock, and mineral deposits exist without erosion or weathering. The colours are extraordinary.

San Pedro de Atacama

San Pedro de Atacama (population around 5,000, elevation 2,400 metres) is the base for exploring the desert. The town is adobe-built, dusty, and thoroughly set up for tourism, you can book every major attraction here, and accommodation ranges from hostels at $20 a night to eco-lodges at $300+. The setting, with the Licancabur volcano behind the town and the salt flat extending to the south, is immediately apparent.

Valle de la Luna

The Valley of the Moon, about 15km west of San Pedro, is the most accessible and most photographed section of the Atacama. Salt formations, sand dunes, and clay formations that look nothing like anything in the inhabited world. Go at sunset when the colours shift from ochre to orange to deep red. Tours from San Pedro run every afternoon; entry fees around 3,500 CLP (about $4 USD).

El Tatio Geysers

At 4,300 metres altitude, El Tatio is one of the highest geyser fields in the world and the largest in the southern hemisphere. Tours leave San Pedro at 4am to reach the geysers at sunrise, when steam and frozen ground combine to make the early light extraordinary. By 8am the geothermal activity subsides significantly as the air warms. Bring serious layers, the temperature before sunrise at 4,300 metres is well below zero regardless of the season.

Salar de Atacama and Flamingos

Chile’s largest salt flat, south of San Pedro, is home to three species of flamingos, Andean, James’s, and Chilean. The Laguna Chaxa within the salar is the main viewing point; flamingos feed on brine algae in the hypersaline lagoons year-round. Entry to the Salar de Atacama national reserve runs around 3,500 CLP.

Stargazing

The Atacama has the clearest skies of any populated region on earth. Several of the world’s major astronomical observatories, ALMA, the VLT at Paranal, are in the Atacama specifically because of the altitude and atmospheric conditions. Tours from San Pedro run nightly with high-quality telescopes and professional guides; book in advance, they fill up. A clear night at altitude in the Atacama produces a sky that most people raised with light pollution have never seen.

Practical Notes

The altitude affects everyone differently. San Pedro is at 2,400 metres; El Tatio at 4,300. Take the first day slowly. Drinking water constantly and avoiding alcohol for the first 24 hours reduces altitude sickness symptoms. Sun protection is critical at altitude; the UV index is severe.

Fly into Calama (CJC) from Santiago, the flight takes 1.5 hours. From Calama, San Pedro is 100km east by bus or taxi (1-1.5 hours).