The Atacama Desert and Northern Chile holidays

The Atacama Desert and northern Chile holidays: who are they best for?

Anyone in search of natural beauty and extreme landscapes should head to Northern Chile. While stargazers turn their eyes to the skies to see the white spill of the Milky Way, there’s so much culture and history here to be explored if you know where to look, and active travellers will find plenty to do across the whole region. Although incredibly arid in places (the Atacama Desert is the driest place on earth outside of the north and south poles), seaside towns, lagoons and lakes will provide an oasis for travellers. On the subject of the Atacama Desert again, the compact oasis town of San Pedro de Atacama provides true respite from the desert in the form of excellent hotels and a buzzing restaurant, café and bar scene. For culture vultures San Pedro town's Padre Le Paige Archaeological Museum houses over 380,000 artefacts as well as mummies, and displays depicting petroglyphs and rock paintings.

What can you find in Northern Chile that you can’t find elsewhere?

Northern Chile is all about contrasts and drama. If you miss the spectacular sight of the Atacama Desert blooming into a carpet of flowers after a heavy rain - which only happens sporadically and unpredictably every few years - you’ll still be constantly surprised and delighted by this remote region at every turn. Look out over the raw, cracked salt flats that spread over the ground like a jigsaw puzzle, and marvel at the dazzlingly-blue and still Antiplanic lakes that are spotted with pink flamingos that punctuate its aridness, all surrounded by towering volcanoes. El Valle de la Luna - or The Valley of the Moon - encapsulates the otherworldly-ness of this area. Photographers will love capturing the blue skies as they turn red behind the burnt orange peaks that jut up from the sand. When it comes to culture, the town of San Pedro de Atacama is an excellent place to start. The Atacama people - or Atacameños - founded San Pedro de Atacama as their central hub and the influence and culture can still be found to this day. The archeological museum in the town (as mentioned above) has numerous artefacts and relics from the region, plus nearby native ruins which will be interesting for anybody looking to know more about pre-Columbian culture in Chile.

Special things to do in Northern Chile and the Atacama Desert

- Witnessing the desert blooming after a heavy rain

- Visiting the Valley of the Moon with its tiny but beautiful salt ponds and the backdrop of snow-capped volcanoes for sundowners, as the vast sweeping sand dunes glow with the sunset

- Stargazing under the clear sky as the night draws in

- Visit the Los Flamencos Natural Reserve with its attractive highland lagoons Miscanti and Miniques, home to flocks of flamingoes and rare birds in their breeding grounds.