Atacama çölü wow 14

San Pedro de Atacama in Chile left me speechless.

You also must book the Valle de la Luna at least 24 hours in advance; you can do it here. There are at least three international car rental companies in the city and I recommend using Rental Cars as they hook you up with the cheapest provider in the area — and all your insurance information is in English. Make sure you book at least a month in advance if visiting during high season December through February. From Europcar we received a useful but hand-drawn road map of San Pedro de Atacama and its surroundings. This allowed us to plan where we were going as it included additional information about the various attractions, as well as distances between them.

Atacama çölü wow 14

We thought the scenery of the Atacama Desert had been pretty spectacular so far, but we discovered it was just beginning. We saw them frequently in Argentina, and then again in Chile as we travelled from Santiago north to Antofagasta, but they seemed to increase exponentially the further north we got. Dozens of them, hundreds probably, seemingly one about every half kilometer. A variety of different materials are used — wooden buildings, old tires as seen above, painted rocks to outline a pathway, tiled structures, flags, some had bushes though I have no idea how they survive in the desert , some had the name of the person who had died, one had the message Adios hasta siempre Marcello , and one was so large it contained a car mounted on a platform. San Pedro de Atacama is a small oasis desert town and a tourist mecca for arriving from, or heading to, the altiplano, and salt flats, of Bolivia, and for day tours in the area to some truly dazzling scenery. We were constantly moved by its beauty. San Pedro seems to be divided into two sections. One section is beautifully preserved in the original mud brick and whitewash style, and houses everything a tourist could wish for — hotels, hostels, tour companies, local craft stores, restaurants, cafes, bars, and convenience stores. There is another San Pedro for the local population of about , which, from the brief glimpse we saw of it, is not so pretty, however I imagine the endless tourist dollars make this a relatively prosperous place. San Pedro, at metres, was our first introduction to altitude. We planned five days there to give us some time to adjust. Our constant cry was more red blood cells, more red blood cells! All this did not deter us however. There was too much to see in this incredible part of the world.

All of this is unpaved and only suitable for vehicles with high suspension. Consequently, astronomers have been coming here for decades to explore the depths of our galaxy and beyond.

A cold, bloodless dawn breaks above the Andes, the yolk of a white sun spilling out across the Atacama Desert ahead. My skull feels like an empty shell. A cutting wind slashes around my face, causing my eyes to water, but as uncomfortable as this is, moving seems almost impossible. Given the circumstances, quite how Lily Marchant is able to spring over rocks towards me is baffling. The guide from Awasi Atacama hotel has a habit of bounding; enthusiasm comes to her more readily than it does to a sugar-spiked toddler. To the north, Andean volcanos are painted pink, then a chalky orange by the rising sun. I pull my hood a little tighter and tell her I agree.

Stretching over a 1, km mi strip of land west of the Andes Mountains , it covers an area of , km 2 41, sq mi , [2] which increases to , km 2 49, sq mi if the barren lower slopes of the Andes are included. The Atacama Desert is the driest nonpolar desert in the world, and the second driest overall, behind some specific spots within the McMurdo Dry Valleys. The area has been used as an experimentation site for Mars expedition simulations due to its similarities to the Martian environment. The constant temperature inversion caused by the cool north-flowing Humboldt Ocean current and the strong Pacific anticyclone contribute to the extreme aridity of the desert. However, other sources consider that the part of the desert in Peru is a different ecosystem, and should properly be named as Pampas de la Joya desert. Peru borders it on the north and the Chilean Matorral ecoregion borders it on the south. To the east lies the less arid Central Andean dry Puna ecoregion. To the north of the Loa lies the Pampa del Tamarugal.

Atacama çölü wow 14

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Cheers Alison Like Like. The surrounding landscapes are unreal, mind blowing. Steph Dyson Sunday 14th of January Log in now. You deserve it and should be proud. I hardly ever take tours but in this case I took two and they were completely worth. And the Atacama just about beyond words. Twitter Facebook Instagram. I think you could use just about every superlative there is to describe the Atacama. Is San Pedro de Atacama worth visiting?

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A free minute audio guide, available in five languages, provides technical descriptions of the meteorites but most of the fun is admiring the rocks on display. It is a unique area, right? San Pedro de Atacama town. You can combine a visit here with sunset in Valle de la Luna or at Laguna Tebinquinche. I particularly liked the detail you give; where to stay and your favourite places. Absolutely amazing! You must book your tickets in advance here. However, I would also suggest you download maps. Thanks Lucy. Alison Like Like. And even more so in Bolivia! Both lakes are blue, amazingly deep blue. Oh, yes — astonishing place.