Atacama: The Driest Place on Earth

NASA tests its Mars rovers here. Why? Because the **Atacama Desert** in Chile is the closest thing to Mars on Earth.

Sandwiched between the Andes Mountains and the Pacific Ocean, the Atacama is a place of extremes. It is the oldest desert on Earth. Some weather stations here have *never* recorded rain.

It is a landscape of rust-red rocks, white salt flats, and turquoise lagoons. It is hostile to life, yet impossibly beautiful.

San Pedro de Atacama: The Oasis

Your journey starts in **San Pedro**, a dusty adobe town that feels like the set of a Western movie. The streets are made of dirt. The buildings are made of mud.

But behind the rustic walls are boutique hotels and world-class restaurants. This is the base camp for exploring the alien world outside.

Valle de la Luna (Moon Valley)

Go here at sunset.
The wind has carved the salt and clay soaring sculptures. As the sun dips below the horizon, the colors shift from gold to burning red to violet.

Walking on the crunching salt feels like walking on snow, but the air is bone dry. It is silent. It is vast. It is one of the few places where you can truly feel the age of the Earth.

The Eyes of the World: ALMA

Why is the Atacama famous? The Stars.

Because of the high altitude (2,400m+), zero humidity, and zero light pollution, this is the best place on the planet to look at the universe.

It is home to **ALMA**, the most expensive ground-based telescope in existence.
But you don't need a billion-dollar telescope. You just need your eyes.

At night, the sky doesn't look like a black canopy with dots. It looks like a cloud of white dust. That is the Milky Way. You can see the Magellanic Clouds (neighboring galaxies) with the naked eye. The stars are so bright they cast shadows on the ground. It is a spiritual experience.

Flamingos and Geysers

Life finds a way.
Drive up to the **Salar de Atacama** (Salt Flat), and you will see pink splashes against the white crust. These are Flamingos. They eat the brine shrimp that live in the microscopic saltwater pockets.

Drive even higher (4,300m) at 4:00 AM to see the **El Tatio Geysers**.
It is freezing cold (-10°C). As the sun hits the geothermal field, 80 geysers erupt into columns of steam. It looks like Dante's Inferno. Then, you strip down and jump into the hot thermal pools while the steam rises around you.

Practical Tips

• Hydrate: You are at high altitude seeking the driest air on Earth. Drink 4 liters of water a day. Serious.
• Lip Balm: Your lips will crack in 2 hours without it.
• Layers: It is 30°C in the day and -5°C at night. You need a t-shirt and a down jacket in the same bag.

Conclusion

The Atacama changes you. The silence is heavy. The sky is too big. It forces you to look up and realize how small your problems really are.