A desert left high and dry

We’re sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. We’re working to restore it. Please try again later.

Advertisement

This was published 10 years ago

A desert left high and dry

Above and beyond: a volcano rises beyond Laguna Miscanti.

Above and beyond: a volcano rises beyond Laguna Miscanti.Credit: AFP

Margaret Turton immerses herself in the surreal and beautiful moonscape of the lofty Atacama region.

Even those who are acquainted with the broad expanse of the arid Australian interior agree that Chile's Atacama Desert might easily unhinge the casual observer. The frisson lies in the Atacama's scale and diversity. Exciting, unsettling, this limitless space is punctuated by striking geological features. Some are visible from the air, and later encountered at close quarters as we drive the desert highway from Calama airport to our base in San Pedro de Atacama.

It's stirring stuff - and there's a human dimension to this desert too. People settled here some 3000 years ago, as seen in the circular structures of Tulor village, one of many archaeological sites discovered by Gustavo le Paige, a Jesuit priest who was based in this quintessential frontier town.

San Pedro has a distinct crossroads feel about it. The narrow streets lined with adobe buildings attract a diverse crowd, and there are equally diverse accommodation options. Mine is a four-star circular abode, a convenient 10-minute walk from the centre of town. There's something not quite right about waking in the middle of the night in a circular room, however, especially if you've just flown in from Australia. "Form and function ... and spatial order," I mutter, mightily confused, winding my way hopefully towards the now-invisible loo.

Years ago I studied the transition from round house to square under Professor Roland Fletcher, archaeologist and spatial theorist, but even my great teacher would be challenged by the layout of my room at Hotel Altiplanico.

Still, I wouldn't change it for the world. Nor this town with its laid-back central plaza, rustic church and the Padre le Paige Museum, which exhibits the priest's archaeological finds - artefacts from the earliest indigenous cultures through to the Inca conquest and Spanish invasion. Many are unique. Nowhere else have I seen such an arresting display of objects used in the preparation and smoking of hallucinogens.

It is, however, the desert that draws me to Chile. I'm used to Jordanian deserts, Syrian ones too - but those bald, uncompromising landscapes I love are sometimes seen as monotonous. The Atacama Desert, on the other hand, is anything you want it to be.

We start the day in Death Valley. Some people come here to sandboard but we intend to see the rock formations and sand dunes, and take in the panoramic views of the snow-capped volcanoes dotting the Andes.

We drive further: deep into the moon-like landscape of Valle de la Luna, where the ravaged earth - clay, salt, gravel, gems and quartz - has been whittled away over time into all manner of weird formations. All of this is easily seen in the space of an afternoon. What these varied sights have in common, though, is a sense of remoteness. A sense that you've travelled as far as you could ever go.

Advertisement

Once, the Atacama Desert fairly bustled. The waters of the San Pedro River drained from the mountains, and the inhabitants of the adobe villages developed farming and trading hubs to which llama caravans carried exotic goods from distant territories.

While on the way to Valle del Arcoiris (aka Rainbow Valley), we're shown a site where line drawings scratched into the surface of volcanic rocks illustrate their system of communication. Some show animals - llamas, foxes, flamingos - and mark hunting grounds. Others depict the shaman - keeper of the hallucinogenic plants - who made contact with the magical world on these people's behalf. His popularity waned with the arrival of the Inca, who went to the coca leaf for their "energy".

When we walk into the Rainbow Valley we're struck by the sheer intensity of the colours. The area takes its name from the mineral deposits - copper oxide, iron, sulphur, gypsum crystals and so on - that colour its geological features in shades of green, red, brown, purple, violet and grey. Juxtaposed with these fairyland visions are the dun-coloured, dried-out riverbeds, as well as the occasional cactus-wood crucifix atop dry-stacked stones commemorating an explorer's mishap in this unyielding environment.

Newcomers in the early days faced additional obstacles. Sites such as Pukara (fortress) de Quitor, were defended with bow and arrow, first against the Inca and then the Spanish, who arrived in 1540.

Once again, the panorama from the upper defences of this fortress is nothing short of breathtaking, although the high altitude must take some credit for our breathless ascent. Below us, the much-diminished San Pedro River meanders along, while the desert rolls away into the middle distance and, on the far horizon, volcanoes and mountains are framed in a brilliant-blue sky. It's really stirring stuff.

The colours intensify when we visit the first of two startlingly blue highland lagoons. The Miscanti and Meniques formed long ago when an erupting volcano dammed the mountain streams. Wild alpacas, more correctly called vicunas, parade beside the lagoons' crisp white shores. We slowly pick our way through. At 4200 metres above sea level we've taken to admiring the volcanoes and views of the Atacama salt flats while economising our physical movement as much as possible.

The flats lie at a more comfortable 2300 metres. Once again, we're in the middle of a still and limitless space, the only sound being the crunch of salt beneath our boots. Flamingos hang in the sky waiting to descend onto Chaxa Lake, a feeding place for decreasing numbers of Chilean, Andean and James's flamingos, and the other birds that gather for the micro invertebrates and single-celled algae of Chaxa's rapidly diminishing waters.

As it goes with change anywhere, there are winners and losers, and it's pleasing to see that local indigenous communities are charged with the management of these desert sites. They once grew corn for the Inca - there has been a long line of masters, all of them demanding - but now they're welcoming gringos to their ancient sites.

FAST FACTS

Getting there Qantas has a fare to Calama (El Loa airport) in the Atacama from Sydney from about $2640 low-season return including tax. Fly non-stop to Santiago (13hr 30min) then onwards to Calama (2hr 5min) onboard LAN Airlines. Melbourne passengers pay about $2740 and connect via Sydney. Tel 13 13 13 or see qantas.com.au Transfers from Calama Airport to San Pedro de Atacama (1hr drive) cost around 15,000 Chilean pesos (AU$30) and can be arranged with your hotel booking.

Australians do not require a visa for a stay of up to 90 days but a "reciprocity fee" of $US95 ($92) is charged upon arrival at Santiago airport.

Staying there Hotel Altiplanico, Standard double room from $US180. Calle Domingo Atienza 282, San Pedro de Atacama; phone +56 55 851 212; see altiplanico.cl/altiplanico-san-pedro -de-atacama.

Touring there Adventure World offers a four-day, three-night Atacama Desert Landscapes package from about $1626 a person in the low season. Price includes airport transfers, accommodation at Hotel Altiplanico, meals and excursions. Phone 1300 295 049, see adventureworld.com.au.

See + do Padre le Paige Museum, Gustavo Le Paige 380, San Pedro de Atacama; phone +56 55 851 002. Entrance 2000 pesos.

More information See sanpedrochile.com.

Sign up for the Traveller Deals newsletter

Get exclusive travel deals delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up now.

Most viewed on Traveller

Loading