© istock/DC_Colombia
© istock/DC_Colombia

Atacama


The Atacama region is situated in the northern part of Chile, and most of the region is covered by the world-known Atacama Desert. This region’s landscapes are made of large desert plains framed by the Andean peaks, that are either snow-capped mountains or ancient volcanoes....

This region is among the driest spots on the earth, especially in the northern part of Atacama, where none of the meteorological stations has ever recorded a drop of rain since the day they were placed. One might think of this region as inhospitable and dramatic, but in fact, if visited during spring, it could look like a real triumph of colours and shapes because of the thousand cacti blossoms and flowers that may pop up in the whole desert. This is a true wonder that only happens for a couple of days and not even every year, but only when the meteorological phenomenon called "El Niño" hits Chile, having a strong impact on the country’s rainy season, and therefore on the Atacama Desert. The Atacama region is mostly populated by miners that are active in the extraction of gold, copper and iron, while most of the other people that are to encounter here are curious tourists that leave speechless and stunned by this amazing part of the planet.