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Already on the way from the small airport of Calama towards the oasis of San Pedro , the landscape is undressed to show us its wild, hypnotic, pure beauty. It is the prelude to a trip to the remote where a nature as fragile as it is powerful will show us at every step, in every immense corner, the miracle that is life.
The Atacama Desert, with an area of about 100,000 square kilometers, extends into the so-called North Grande de Chile, nestled between the Pacific Ocean and the Andes mountain range . The oasis of San Pedro, more than 1,500 kilometers from the capital, Santiago, is the center of operations. In this small town of adobe and carob trees, some exceptional hotels, hostels and agencies that organize excursions are concentrated, mostly in the graceful Caracol street.
Not far away, on an estate of 17 hectares at 2,500 meters above sea level, where an ancient Atacameño community lived, is the Atacama Explora . Opened in 1998, two years after the acclaimed Patagonian property of Torres del Paine, the 50-room lodge was designed as a base from which to explore this Andean highlands, one of the most magical and complex ecosystems in the world.
The pioneering concept Explore all-inclusive (excursions, transfers, meals) that celebrates the luxury of the essentials has been imitated in Chile and around the world. In addition to its careful architecture and its commitment to sustainability - long before it was in fashion - it is recognized for the quality of its guides, young experts passionate about nature , who form in their own school with Wildness First Answer certification (en say, trained to help people in remote places).
With them we will discover some of the most extraordinary places on the planet. With them we will ride through the Salt mountain range and the Dinosaur Valley - and it is that the Explora account with its own equine breed raised to serve the guests, whatever their expertise -, we will throw ourselves through an immense dune in the Death Valley ; and we will discover ancient cacti on the way to the beautiful Puritama hot springs.
These enthusiastic travel companions will discover geysers, salt flats and lagoons; They will explain the local flora and fauna by naming each little leaf or animal that comes our way. We will climb volcanoes and, when we believe that reaching the top is the limit, we will decipher one of the cleanest firmaments on the planet, since this is the only hotel in the vicinity that has an observatory - the most advanced in Chile at the amateur level - equipped with a powerful Meade telescope.
RAIN CHILDHOOD
Also in Atacama is ALMA, the world's largest astronomical project that brings together a hundred physicists and astronomers from all corners. Carolina shows us as we move through Death Valley or Mars (its name was not clear when the Belgian priest Gustavo La Paige gave name to much of the Atacamean cartography), glimpsing the Lascar, Quimal, Licancabur and Jurique volcanoes those who explain both their geology and their legends of sad but invincible love.
Pablo Neruda wrote that "the desert is incommunicative", because as he had a childhood of rain and snow, "he did not understand his language, that is, his silence." Luckily, here and now, we have a guide that interprets it and gives voice to everything and everyone who, long before we passed by.
It is shown by apachetas (mounds of stones, where they even leave bottles). "They are places of offerings," this sweet atacameña guide tells us. "Formerly they were used to mark the path of the Inca. With each stone an intention materializes. It is also said that with them the weariness was left," he adds.
There is no place for fatigue in the exploration of this enigmatic territory because whenever we return to the lodge, four pools between wild reeds with sauna, steam baths and temperate hot tubs await. "Nossa, how cute", two young São Paulo sisters marvel - the Brazilian is the predominant nationality of the guests, followed by Americans - who have just arrived from that jungle of asphalt and concrete that is São Paulo.
We also expect a good table with a delicious and light menu watered with great Chilean wines, as well as conversations in the bar of the explorers, meeting point of the guests, pisco sour in hand , who will meet again on the night of the barbecue: In a former adobe house, a traditional roast of lamb with stick, meat and fish entertained with Andean music and Atacameño dances is held once a week.
REMOTE PLACES
"The good relationship with the local community is indispensable," explains Max Pulido, at the head of Explora Atacama. This is a privileged hotel because of its location, which is responsible for its care. Well, as it recognizes " part of the business is nature and therefore we must take care of it" while the strength of this Chilean group, with properties and crossings on Easter Island, Patagonia, Peru and Bolivia, are the explorations. Its differentiation is to provide "contact with nature, in pristine, remote places, where there are relatively few people," he adds.
There are about 40 explorations that are offered in Atacama. There are for all levels and in various media (bike, horse, hiking, climbing, van). In fact, some adapt to the traveler, such as the Termas de Puritama, "an oasis in the desert that can be reached in a three-hour trekking , an hour and a half or directly by van, " explains this engineer who began his career as a guide of Torres del Paine.
They are truly a unique place, a small paradise, where hot waters sprout. Explora property, where it has established a conservation area and collaborates with a specialized NGO because it is the habitat of the Andean cat, today in extinction, the first is exclusive for hotel guests. The others are public access (price 16 euros approximately).
UNFORGETTABLE BEAUTY
The experience at Laguna Cejar is equally unforgettable, which we can reach by bicycle , not only accompanied by a guide, but with a van to return to the lodge for lunch. 16 kilometers from San Pedro, it is a hypnotic place, of unforgettable beauty, in which indigo and turquoise waters framed by volcanoes shine thanks to salt. Also thanks to it we will float celebrating these miracles that nature offers.
If we did not know geothermal, the spectacle offered by the 80 geysers of El Tatio , which in the Kunza language means "the grandfather who cries" could also be assumed as a prodigy of chance or of the gods. Until we reach the third largest geothermal field in the world, at 4,200 meters above sea level, we will see the landscape change, leaving vicuñas, flamingos and foxes behind, to finally see this show.
That he is not the only one, as our guide Pepe, originally from Rapa Nui, will show us, taking us to other small geysers, unknown to most tourists. Without more company than silence, we will be alone before a pure and contrary nature, as fragile and powerful as life is.
PRACTICAL GUIDE
Drop down
HOW TO GET THERE Latam Airlines (latam.com) flies from Madrid to Calama airport, with a stopover in Santiago, Chile, from 621 euros round trip.
WHERE TO SLEEP. In Explora Atacama (www.explora.com), a 'lodge' in the desert. Price: three nights from 1,600 euros / person in a double room. The rate includes all transfers, accommodation, meals, explorations, drinks, snacks and bar.
MORE INFORMATION. To prepare a trip to this and other fascinating destinations in the Andean country, on the official tourism website of Chile: www.chile.travel
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