The Atacama Desert
📍 Northern Chile
The driest nonpolar desert on Earth — a surreal high-altitude landscape of salt flats, sculpted dunes, geyser fields, and flamingo-dotted lagoons, under some of the clearest night skies anywhere.
What makes it marvelous
Hemmed between the Andes and a coastal range that block moisture, parts of the Atacama receive almost no rain for years at a time; some weather stations have never recorded a drop. That extreme aridity, thin air, and lack of light pollution make its skies among the best on the planet for astronomy — home to great observatories. The desert holds the vast Salar de Atacama salt flat with its flamingos, the geyser field of El Tatio, and the wind-carved 'Valley of the Moon', so Mars-like that it's used to test planetary rovers.
Why visit
It's a landscape of otherworldly contrasts: salt lakes mirroring volcanoes, sunrise steam at high-altitude geysers, dunes glowing at dusk, and a night sky so dense with stars it feels close enough to touch. Few places make you feel more like you've left the ordinary Earth behind.
What to know before you go
🗓️ Best time
Year-round, thanks to the dry climate; nights are cold at altitude. Clear skies are the norm, ideal for stargazing; the rare 'desierto florido' bloom can follow unusual rains further south.
🧭 Getting there & access
Based in San Pedro de Atacama (via Calama airport) in northern Chile. Tours run to the salt flats, El Tatio geysers, lagoons, and Valle de la Luna; altitude acclimatisation matters.
Good to know
- Acclimatise to the altitude before high trips like El Tatio (over 4,000 m).
- Take a stargazing tour — the skies here are world-class.
- Bring sun protection by day and warm layers for cold desert nights.
Natural riches of the area
- Hyper-arid climate and world-class clear skies (astronomy)
- Salt flats (Salar de Atacama) and mineral/lithium-rich brines
- Geothermal geyser fields and high-altitude lagoons
- Andean flamingos, vicuñas, and hardy desert life
Local food
- Quinoa & Andean grains
- Staple highland crops long grown by the region's Indigenous peoples.
- Llama meat
- A traditional Andean protein, served in stews and grills.
- Rica-rica & chañar
- Native desert herbs and the sweet chañar fruit used in local drinks and sweets.
The Atacama is a lesson in extremes. Trapped between the Andes and a coastal range that wring the moisture from the air, it is the driest nonpolar desert on Earth — some spots have gone years without measurable rain, and a few have arguably never recorded any. That same dryness, altitude, and darkness give it skies so clear that the world’s great observatories cluster here, peering into the universe from the high desert floor.
For all its barrenness, the Atacama is astonishingly varied: the huge Salar de Atacama salt flat with its wading flamingos, the dawn steam of the El Tatio geysers over 4,000 metres up, and the wind-sculpted Valley of the Moon, so like Mars that engineers test rovers on it. By day the light is harsh and enormous; by night the sky fills so thickly with stars it can steal your breath. It’s one of the places on Earth that most feels like somewhere else entirely.
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