The Great Atacama

To claim that the Atacama desert is a desolate place would be a vast understatement.  One cannot but feel overpowered in this great natural landscape, it is simply powerful.  There are parts of the Atacama which have never had recorded rain, which is something in itself which is unbelievable.  What’s most incredible, however, is that it’s not far from the ocean.  In fact, it is actually the ocean that causes this great dry land, as backwards as that might seem.  The difference

A Desert Lake

in the cold waters created by the Antarctic Humboldt Current, and the warm natural air make it impossible for clouds to hold moisture strong in the sky.  Arica, Chile, which is right in the center of the Atacama Desert, is the driest city in the world.  Statistics show that Arica receives about 0.7mm of rain each year.  At that rate, it would take decades worth of rain just to fill a coffee mug.

However desolate a place, the Atacama is also one of the most beautiful in the world.  The dry soil radiates powerful colours which seem to be painted into the landscape.  The desert is made even more raw by the presence of huge mountains and currently dormant volcanoes which dominate the blue horizon.  The great sands seem to vicariously drop off into the pacific coastal waters of the sea without warning.  The high cliffs that often form the border between sea and sand can be unnerving at best, and surely aren’t for the weak at heart.

San Pedro de Atacama

Despite its dry desolation, the Atacama desert still manages to find a way to support life.  Two of the lesser known camelids live here in the Atacama, the Vicuna and the Guanaco.  They gracefully wander the lands in search of vegetation.  Within the rocks live rabbits and biscochas.  And in the few water holes that exist in the desert, pink flamingos tip-toe their way through the algae.

The Atacama desert stretches itself over 3 countries.  It works its way down from Central Peru all the way to Central Chile a distance that, in itself, is incomprehensible to most.  The is something powerful about a desert, and a desert of this size seems to have unthinkable powers.  One could easily get lost in this great arid landscape simply looking out at the raw character of the driest desert in the world.

Does Kumuka go to the Atacama?

Kumuka offers a number of very good tours that incorporate the Atacama desert.  For a great example, one which stays in San Pedro de Atacama, check out The Coastal Express Overland Tour.