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The
north of Chile is a land of contrasts, where the altiplano
and the Atacama Desert come together to offer strikingly
beautiful sights.
The Atacama Desert is said to be "the driest
in the world." In fact, rainfall has never been
recorded in some areas. What causes such extreme dryness?
The altiplano, or high plateau region, receives
occasional tropical rain in January and February.
Here, it is the altitude rather than the lack of
water that challenges life in this area: only the
hardiest, most specialized flora and fauna can survive
the hardships of life at over 3500 meters (11,483
ft).
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AVast
and colorful, dotted with lakes, swamps, salt flats, and geysers,
crowned with volcanoes 6000 meters (nearly 20,000 ft) high,
the altiplano links Chile with the great cultures of the central
Andes.
Today, the Chilean high plateau is home to
the traditional Aymara Indians, who wander among volcanoes
and swampy meadows with their tame llamas and alpacas. They
gather periodically to honor their saints in fantastical lime-bleached
ceremonial villages. Large areas of this remarkable region
are protected by a system of spectacular national parks, including
Lauca National Park, declared a World Biosphere Reserve by
UNESCO.
Some
of the rainfall is filtered through the mountains, emerging
in springs and streams to transform the landscape, creating
swaths of wild vegetation and crops, wildlife habitats
and human settlements, salt flats and salt mountains.
These strips of water and life have been discovered
and used by humans for generations. San Pedro de Atacama
and other oases on the Loa and Salado rivers served
as stops on the pre-Incan trade routes that connected
the altiplano with the Amazon and the coast. The caravans
crisscrossed the desert on pathways that are now marked
only by geoglyphs, the most impressive archaeological
remains in northern Chile.
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From
north to south, the main tourist centers in northern
Chile are Arica, Iquique, Calama, San Pedro de Atacama,
and Antofagasta. Except for Calama and San Pedro de
Atacama, they are all coastal cities with excellent
beaches unthreatened by clouds, much less by rain.
Lodging, transportation, and other services
are on a par with those of the capital. Each city provides
access to a part of the desert, the mountains, or the
altiplano. Walks, ethno-tours, excursions in all-terrain
vehicles, mountain climbing, and archaeology are some
of the more common activities in this region.
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Near
the southern part of this region, the cities of Copiapó
and La Serena are the doorway to the slender valleys
that cut across the Andes from east to west. They are
known for their production of the country's beloved
pisco, or grape brandy, and for having the clearest
skies in the southern hemisphere, which attract professional
and amateur astronomers from all over the world. |
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