The great Atacama Desert in the north of Chile covers the 600 most arid kilometers on the face of the planet. Its central area is so dry that objects or remains are fossilized for centuries; the hand of primitive man can be seen in the giant petroglyphs which cover the slopes of its hills. Tremendous mineral wealth, including sodium nitrate, which made enormous fortunes in the past, copper and lithium, lies hidden in these vast reaches. Thanks to the water from thawing snow in the mountains, small settlements, which still exist and, as though suspended in time, still maintain their ancestral customs, sprung up close to the spurs of the Andes mountain range.
Toconao, Peine, Caspana and San Pedro de Atacama stand out. The latter is perhaps the most well known, since it was here that Father Gustavo la Paige, a Belgian priest and archaeologist, discovered the first mummies and built an excellent museum which preserves more than 300,000 pieces from the Atacama culture.Lake Chungara, an impressive water reservoir which forms part of the Lauca National park, and which was designated a World Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO, is located in the far north at a height of 4,175 meters above sea level. It is the natural habitat for countless species of birds, including especially the pink flamingo, and a protected area for vicunas, llamas and alpacas, the famous cameloids of the altiplano.
The Tatio geysers, one of the desert's most awe-inspiring "son et lumiere" spectacles, are located fairly close to san Pedro de Atacama. At dawn, the vapor from dozens of fumaroles springing up from the mineral heart of the desert decomposes into thousands of colors and fantastic images. It is a tangibly real orchestra of the earth, as if announcing the desert is alive. In an impressive contrast, sunset in the Valley of the Moon is the maximum expression of silence and aridness. For thousands of years the wind has carved strange, desolate, stone shapes in the valley and, in the diaphanous atmosphere of the altiplano, these stand out sharply against the sky-blue of the firmament. Huge salt flats, abandoned forts (pukaras), high altitude lakes, and challenging hills are constant features of this territory, still inhabited by small indigenous communities.
In the Atacama Desert; it seems that not one drop of water has ever fallen. Here time is detained, much like in a moon landscape. The flat scenery presents a singular feature: the Domeyko Mountain Range, compact and of 700 km in length runs parallel and west of the Andes Mountains. This is the Geological paradise: an intrusion of mineralized magma runs through the entire length of the Domeyko Range, where the largest copper, gold and silver mines are found. Also, the salt lakes hold enormous deposits of nonmetallic salts.
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