South America
- Home
- South America
- Chile
- Atacama Desert
Atacama Desert
Atacama is the driest desert in the world. The first farmers constructed terraces on the mountain slopes that were irrigated and fertilised, thus enabling the cultivation of corn, quinoa, beans, Indian fig, cotton, pumpkins and potatoes. They also bred sheep, goats, llamas and alpacas.
The oasis town of San Pedro de Atacama, founded in 1557 by the Spanish, is considered the archaeological capital of Chile, with its extreme geographic position (2,445m above sea level), its beautiful landscape and eternal blue sky. Towards the Cordillera de los Andes, mountain peaks rise to over 6,000m and volcanoes rise in the highlands. To the south, crossing the Atacama salt flats, are the oases of Toconao and Peine.
Flamingos can be seen along the way, at the Los Flamencos National Reserve. To the north are the Tatio Geysers, best seen at dawn. The Valley of the Moon is a place full of magic where nature carved impressive structures during the development of the earth’s crust. Villages created by colonial settlers on mountain streams keep the spirit of old times alive.
Our worldwide travel experts have years of travel experience and can answer any travel query you may have more >
