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December 25, 2021 by Javier Grazioso Hispanic Culture 0 comments

Mars on Earth: The Atacama Desert in Chile

Atacama Desert in Chile is one of the driest, most inhospitable places on Earth.

Rain may not fall in this place for decades at a time.

In fact, NASA even used the Atacama Desert to simulate expeditions to Mars in 2003 with their vehicles Viking 1 and 2. 

Despite its apparent hostility, Atacama desert is home to both people and animals. What’s more, visitors can enjoy varied activities including stargazing, camping, sandboarding, and motorsports. 

Can you imagine exploring this vast desert on your next trip to Chile? Join me as we discover more about Atacama Desert. 

Atacama Desert Facts

El Desierto de Atacama (Atacama desert) in Chile is 1,000 mi (1,600 km) long and 111 mi (180 km) wide, covering an area of 40,540 sq mi (105,000 sq km). It is “the most arid nonpolar place on Earth.”  

In this section, I answer the following questions:

  • Where exactly is Atacama Desert?
  • How’s the weather here?
  • Is there an airport?
  • What kind of animals and plants live here?

After this section, I share six activities to do in the Atacama Desert and explore five cities that are located inside the desert!

Chile
Atacama | © Nabulen/Flickr

Where To Find the Atacama Desert in Chile

Chile is divided in 16 regions, 56 provinces, and 346 communes. Through La Corporación de Fomento de la Producción de Chile-CORFO (The Production Development Corporation) they also divide their country in five natural regions:

EnglishSpanish
Big North, Far North or Great North of ChileEl Norte Grande de Chile
Small North, Near North, or Little North of ChileEl Norte Chico de Chile
Central ChileLa Zona Central de Chile
Southern Zone of ChileLa Zona Sur de Chile
Southernmost Zone of ChileLa Zona Austral de Chile

The Atacama desert begins in the commune of Arica—11 miles (18 km) away from the border with Perú—in El Norte Grande de Chile and ends in the city of La Serena, in the Coquimbo (political) and El Norte Chico de Chile region. This is 293 mi (472 km) North of Santiago de Chile. The Atacama desert occupies the regions of Antafagosta and the Northern part of the Atacama region.

Atacama Desert map
Atacama desert map | © Chiton magnificus/Wikimedia Commons

How Is the Weather in the Atacama Desert?

The short answer is: extremely fluctuating and somewhat hostile. With highs of 122°F and lows of -13°F, it’s not exactly the most inviting place for travelers.

But let’s get into the details to figure out when it’s best to visit. 

There is little difference between summer and winter in the Atacama desert. However, in the summer temperatures can reach up to 122°F (50°C) under the sun, and between 77°F (25°C) and 86°F (30°C) under the shadow. At night, in some parts of the Atacama desert, temperatures can drop as low as -13°F (-25°C°).

The Atacama desert is so arid that it can rain once every 15 or 40 years! Historians have registered 400-year periods in which there has been no rain in the central part of the Atacama desert!

Atacama Desert
Atacama | © NASA/Wikimedia Commons

FUN FACT: Marc Forster filmed a part of 007: Quantum of Solace in the Atacama Desert.

How To Get To the Atacama Desert?

There are different ways to get to the Atacama desert. The most common one is to land in Santiago de Chile from an international flight and from there you can drive around five and a half hours northbound until you get to the city of La Serena.

From Santiago de Chile you can also take a regional flight to El aeropuerto de Calama (Calama airport.)

If you are all about taking the scenic route you can take a bus from either Bolivia or Argentina which can take around eight hours.

Atacama Desert
Airbus A320 – Atacama Desert | © alobos life/Flickr

PRO TIP: While there are several cities, towns, and populations in the Atacama desert, the most popular one is San Pedro de Atacama.

Flora and Fauna in the Atacama Desert

Despite being so arid, the Atacama desert has earned the name of el desierto florido (the flowery desert) because besides being able to spot cacti, you can spot several different flowers and animals as well.

These are some flowers you can find in there:

Scientific nameSpanish
Alstroemeria kingiilos lirios amarillos
Aristolochia bridgesiilas orejas del zorro
Argylialos cartuchos amarillos
Cistanthe grandiflorala pata de guanaco, la doquilla
Cristaria ovatala malvilla
Encelia canescensla coronilla del fraile, el sunchu
Nolana paradoxael suspiro costero
Oenotherala onagra
Rhodophiala phycelloidesla revienta ojos
Chile
Laderas en Carrizal Bajo | © Alejandro Soffia/Flickr

Amongst the animals that live in the Atacama desert we can find:

EnglishSpanish
Amazalia hummingbirdel picaflor
foxel zorro
guanacoel guanaco
owlel búho
pigeonla paloma
turtledovela tórtola
vicuñala vicuña
Atacama Desert
Vicuña | © Leandro Neumann Ciuffo/Flickr

6 Activities To Do in the Atacama Desert

Besides flying to the Atacama desert, spotting vicuñas and malvillas, the Atacama desert has a lot of options to experience it! 

Romina Aracena Lois, a Chilean student who lives in Copiapó, says that “A lot of people practice sandboarding, dunebugging and even rally in the Atacama desert (…)—some time ago, they even ran the Dakar (rally) here.”

1. Stargazing and Camping

If you are a fan of astronomy and stargazing, the Atacama desert is the place for you! The words that the band Incubus wrote about it, “the sky resembles a back-lit canopy with holes punched in it,” could not be any more accurate.

Thanks to the lack of artificial illumination, and its position in the globe, the Atacama desert is perfect to stargaze. Places such as el valle de Marte (Mars’ valley), el valle del arcoíris (Rainbow Valley) or el valle de la Luna (Moon valley) can fill your eyes with the lights of stars that have traveled millions of years just to meet them.

The Atacama desert also offers great places to camp in, such as Atacama Loft & Glamp, Hotel y Camping Takha Takha, or Andes Nomads Desert Camp & Lodge.

Atacama Desert
A Telescopic Quartet | © European Southern Observatory/Flickr

FUN FACT: Chile owns 40% of the astronomical observations in the world.

2. Sandboarding in the Atacama Desert

If you are familiar with snowboarding, sandboarding is a sport that follows the same principles. The Atacama desert (alongside the Huacachina desert in Perú) is the perfect place to ride those dunes!

The best spot is el valle de la muerte (Death Valley) where you’ll be able to descend almost 400 ft (120 m) riding a sandboard! To get there, go to the city of Calama (where the airport is) and just deviate one mile (2 km) off the road. You’ll be able to rent a sandboard in town!

Chile
unnamed | © Romina Aracena Lois/own work

3. Motorsports in the Atacama Desert

Just as Romina mentioned, they ran the Dakar Rally in the Atacama desert, every year between 2009 and 2015. But there are more competitions that the Atacama desert hosts. Rally Baja Atacama, Rally Baja Chile, Rally Patagonia Atacama, and the coolest one of them all: La carrera solar the Atacama (Atacama’s solar race)—a 600-mile (1,000-km) race that lasts four days and teams use solar powered cars!

You don’t have to be a professional pilot to ride a buggy in the Atacama desert, though. You can always book a tour which could take around three hours—they can pick you up at your hotel, show you a couple of archeological sites in the Atacama desert, and drop you in your hotel in San Pedro de Atacama.

Chile
Dakar 2014 – Erik Van Loon (Netherlands) | © René/Flickr

4. El Tatio Geysers in the Atacama Desert

El Tatio is the biggest group of geysers in the Southern hemisphere, and the third biggest in the world only behind Yellowstone and Krontotski in Russia.

You can find these 80 geysers in los montes andinos in the Antofagasta region spread in a 4 sq mi (10 sq km) region. These geysers spit water at 186°F (86°C) at a height of 30 in (75 cm). These geysers attract more than 10,000 tourists yearly!

Atacama Desert
El Tatio Geysers | © Robin Fernandes/Flickr

5. Baltinache Hidden Lagoon in the Atacama Desert

La laguna escondida de Baltinache (Baltinache hidden Lagoon) is a group of seven salt lagoons in the Atacama desert. These salt lagoons have an approximate diameter of 16 ft (5 m) and the deepest one is around 20 feet (6 m) deep.

Because they are quite close to la cordillera de la sal (salt mountain range) they have a very high salinity of 220 g/L—around two thirds of the salinity that the Dead Sea has.

Atacama Desert
BALTANICHE | © Luis García Muñoz/Flickr

6. El Salar de Pedernales in the Atacama Desert

El salar de Pedernales (Pedernales’ salt pan)—El Salar de Uyuni’s Chilean cousin—is a salt pan set in the Atacama desert. This salt pan hosts many amazing things, such as Andian flamingos, turquoise and red waters in lagoons and volcanoes! 

The best part is that this place is not that popular because tourists like to check out another salt pan, El Salar de Atacama. 

From there you can also climb the Doña Inés volcano in the Atacama desert.

Chile
Salar de Atacama | © NovoaR/Flickr

5 Chilean Cities Inside the Atacama Desert

The Atacama desert occupies 40% of the Chilean territory and is home to 12% of the 20,000,000 Chileans who live in the country. 80% of these Chileans live in urban centers while a few others live in tiny villages, such as Quillagua—the most arid town on Earth. 

In this section, we are going to check out five Chilean cities in the Atacama desert, San Pedro de Atacama, the most popular one, Arica, the Northern door to the Atacama desert, La Serena, the Southern door to the Atacama desert, Copiapó, the capital of the Atacama region and Antafogasta, the capital of the Antofagasta region.

1. San Pedro de Atacama

San Pedro de Atacama is the most touristic place in the Atacama desert. It is around 1,000 mi (1,600 km) off Santiago de Chile. But it is also around 120 mi (200 km) off the border with Argentina, with the Salta region. 

In 2012, there were 4,000 people living there, but don’t let this number fool you, there are a lot of things to check out in San Pedro de Atacama, some of which we’ve covered. 

Check them out:

EnglishSpanish
ALMA astronomical observatoryel observatorio astronómico ALMA
archaeological museum R.P. Gustavo Le Paigeel museo arqueológico R.P. Gustavo Le Paige
Atacama salt panel salar de Atacama
Cejar, Piedra, Ojos del Salar, and Tebinquinche lagoonslas lagunas del Cejar, Piedra, Ojos del Salar y Tebinquinche
Coyote stonela piedra del Coyote
El Tatio geyserslos geysers del Tatio
Incaica housela casa incaica
Moon valleyel valle de la Luna
Pukará de QuitorPukará de Quitor
Puritama hot springslas termas de puritama
Saint Peter’s Churchla iglesia de San Pedro
Tulor villagela aldea de Tulor
Atacama Desert
Adobe Church | © David Stanley/Flickr

2. Arica

Arica is the Northern gateway to the Atacama desert, just 11 mi (18 km) off the border with Perú. The population of Arica reached around 230,000 in 2017, and Chileans call it La ciudad de la eterna primavera (The eternal spring city) thanks to its amazing weather. Arica hosts a ton of tourist attractions, here are 12.

EnglishSpanish
Anzota caveslas cuevas de Anzota
Bolognesi housela casa Bolognesi
Chinchorro beachla playa Chinchorro
Chinchorro mummieslas momias de Chinchorro
Chungará lakeel lago de Chungará
Eiffel applela manzana Eiffel
La Lisera beachla playa La Lisera
Las Machas beachla playa Las Machas
Lauca national parkel parque nacional Lauca
morro de Aricael Morro de Arica
Saint Mark of Arica Cathedralla catedral de San Marcos de Arica
sea museumel museo del mar
Arica Chile
Arica | © Andrés/Flickr

FUN FACT: Since Bolivia does not have a gateway to the ocean, Arica serves Bolivian as a puerto libre (free zone) to Bolivia.

3. La Serena

La Serena is Chile’s second oldest city, as Spaniards established it in 1544. 

506,000 people lived there in 2020, and it is the Southern gateway to the Atacama desert. 

Amongst the touristic attractions in La Serena you can find:

EnglishSpanish
Del Mar avenuela avenida Del Mar
Gabriela Mistral buildingel edificio Gabriela Mistral
Gabriela Mistral regional libraryla biblioteca regional Gabriela Mistral
González Videla housela casa González Videla
Japanese park Kokoro No Niwael parque japonés Kokoro No Niwa
La Recova marketel mercado La Recova
La Serena archaeological museumel museo arqueológico de La Serena
La Serena main squarela plaza de armas de La Serena
monumental lighthouseel faro monumental
Palms’ housela casa de las palmeras
Atacama Desert
La Serena at night | © David Almeida/Flickr

4. Copiapó

Copiapó is right in the middle of the Atacama desert, but it is an oasis that Chileans know as el lugar donde el desierto florece (the place where the desert blooms).

In 2017 there were around 175,000 people in the Chilean city. Copiapó also offers lots of touristic places to visit, here are five of them!

EnglishSpanish
Atacama regional museumel museo regional de Atacama
Copiapó cathedralla catedral de Copiapó
El Pretil parkel parque El Pretil
flowery desertel desierto florido
Sernatur buildingel edificio Sernatur
Copiapó
Catedral, Copiapó | © diseñOcho | Diseño Publicitario/Flickr

5. Antofagasta

Chileans call Antofagasta la perla del norte (the Northern pearl) and it has around 425,000 inhabitants. It is Chile’s fifth most populated city. 

Antofagasta hosts several tourist spots worth seeing but the three coolest ones might be:

  • The hand of the desert – la mano del desierto 
  • La Portada natural monument – monumento natural La Portada 
  • Huanchaca ruins – las ruinas de Huanchaca
Antofagasta
Antofagasta | © Armando Godoy/Flickr

Learn Spanish Before Visiting Chile!

FUN FACT: Chileans speak Spanish in a very peculiar way. They have a huge set of slang words, and love to end their phrases with their famous ¿cachai?, which means “do you get (it)?”

Chile is much more than the Atacama desert. Its beautiful capital, Santiago de Chile with Cerro San Cristóbal (San Cristóbal Hill), Roan Jase Observatory, or El Parque Bicentenario (Bicentennial Park), is incredibly worth visiting. 

Chile is actually one of the best places to live in Latin America. Down South, you can also find the Chilean Patagonia, and as part of the Valparaíso region, you can find the amazing Isla de Pascua (Easter Island). 

The best way to explore all these amazing places and many more in Latin America is by learning Spanish! Spanish will open the door for you to visit 21 countries! It will also open the door for you to talk to more than 53,000,000 people in the U.S and access the third most used language on the internet!

As if all of this wasn’t enough, Spanish might also land you a better paycheck so you can explore Latin America!

Sign up for a free Spanish class with us and learn why there are more than 24,000 active students monthly in Homeschool Spanish Academy! Here is a hint: We offer great payment options, flexible scheduling, earned highschool credit and friendly teachers! Learn Spanish today!

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Javier Grazioso
Javier Grazioso
Freelance Writer at Homeschool Spanish Academy
Italo-Guatemalan, born and raised in Guatemala City, where I got a B.A. in Communication and Journalism. Currently, I'm living in Spain where I'm studying for a master's degree. I'm a language and travel enthusiast who speaks Spanish, English, Italian, and a bit of Hungarian. I love watching sports, practicing boxing, writing, and gaming.
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