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| The most northern
part of the country, the “large north”
as it is called, offers a unique variety of landscapes,
where the highlands and the Atacama desert meet, giving
surprising and extremely beautiful results. |
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| A region of extreme
contrasts where the drought opposes the fertile valleys
and oasis fed by the highlands water. A reunion of extreme
and contrasting environments as if the Himalayas, the
Sahara and the Bering sea had come together. |
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Chungará Lake |
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Geo-glyphs |
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Tatio Geysers |
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| The Lauca National
Park has an area of 137.883 hectares and is located
in the Putre Municipality, Parinacota Province, First Region.
It includes the mountains slopes and the highlands of the extreme
north east of the Tarapacá Region. It receives rains
in the summer and snow in the winter but it is has a dry climate
with and average of 280 mm rainfall a year and average temperatures
between 12°C and 20°C during the day, and between -3°C
and –10°C during the night. |
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| In general, the
park’s surface is uneven. Very prominent are the
volcanoes Parinacota (6.342 m.a.s.l.), Pomerape (6.282
m.a.s.l.), Guallarite (6.060 m.a.s.l.) and Acotango (6.050
m.a.s.l.). Also are there in the highlands sector of the
park (most of the central part of it) volcanic boilers
(Ajoya and Tejene) and lava fields such as Cotacotani. |
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| The enchanting town of
San Pedro de Atacama, placed at 2.450 m.a.s.l.
on the border of the Atacama salt lake ( the largest in the
country) is probably the place in Chile with most attractions
together. |
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| San Pedro lies
at the feet of the Andes, which in this area reaches 6.100
m.a.s.l.. In sight from the town and at just 40 km you
find the majestic and mythic Licancabur volcano (5.916
m.a.s.l.). The name means people’s volcano and was
worshiped by the Incas, who made ceremonies and left offers
in the crater at its top. |
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| At just 15 km from town
you find the mysterious Valle de la Luna (Moon valley).
And indeed, the colors and shapes of the rocks in that place
give the appearance of a moon landscape. |
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| From an archeological
standpoint, the area of San Pedro is
of great interest. The history of the zone goes back to
11 thousand years B.C., the date of the oldest found human
signs. One of the best examples of the historical and
archeological richness of the place is the Tulor village,
3.000 years old. The large geological activity in the
zone has created the volcanoes and also produced the famous
Tatio geysers (4.200 m.a.s.l.). To see
the geysers in action, the best time is at sunrise. That
means that you have to leave San Pedro for the geysers
at 5:30 in the morning to arrive at 7:00. Some geysers
reach heights of 3 to 4 meters. The thermal waters near
the geysers can give you the pleasure of a delicious warm
bath while watching the sunrise. The water can reach temperatures
of 54º C. Besides, we have to mention the sky above
San Pedro which at night is a spectacle on its own: the
Milky Way shines luminous white. |
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| Except for the
Elqui Valley sky in the Fourth Region, this is the clearest
sky in the planet. |
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