Endless hues of beige and pink surround the quiet highway that crosses the Atacama, a thin 1,600-kilometres strip of desert in the northern half of Chile, located between the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Andes mountain range, bordering Bolivia and Argentina, to the east.
From a striking distance, tips of snow covering the mountains emerge as a surreal landscape amidst the arid heat of the desert. A few llamas grazing on dry shrubs and bushes seem to be the sole sign of life in this harsh surrounding. Known as the driest nonpolar desert on Earth, some parts of the Atacama only experience rainfall every 20 to 100 years.
NASA, which likens it to Mars on Earth due to its barren soil, has been using the location to test instruments for future missions to Mars, researching techniques for how to detect life in a seemingly sterile environment.
Its otherworldly appearance has been used as a location for various movies such as Space Odyssey. And its extreme topography with vast salt flats and soaring volcanoes including the highest active one on Earth) has been a dreamland for geologists and archeologists. Just last August, scientists unearthed an ancient cemetery of flying reptiles that roamed the country more than 100 million years ago, living alongside dinosaurs. This very part of Chile also reported findings of mummies 2,000 years older than those in Egypt.
Beyond the enigmatic appeal of the Atacama Desert, there is the pure beauty of its overwhelming vastness, which fuels a desire to explore.
Following an hour’s drive from El Loa Airport in Calama, Chile—the best entry point to the Atacama Desert and an easy connection from the country’s capital,
Santiago—signs of life and greenery appear by a faint stream of water known as the San Pedro River.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة December 2022 من Harper's Bazaar India.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة December 2022 من Harper's Bazaar India.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Filler Fatigue
With worries about facial distortion and a shift towards the natural, is it time to sav goodbye to these corrective tweaks?
Mind-Skin Connection
Is il possible for your skincare to communicate with your brain:
Tailored for the Game
Fashion meets sports as U.S. Polo Assn. names Sawai Padmanabh Singh of ol Jaipur’ s royal family its global ambassador.
Reimagined Classic
Louis Vuitton launches the Neverfull Inside Out bag, transforming the icon into a fully reversible tote.
Italian Muse
Guecr's new high jew ellery collection isa stroll through the country’s picturesque gardens.
Co Gs Art Post, Gas Art Pas New CELSIOR Net Lay the show Neking ble e dh PATRON An TH Fotal 24 ANAR Romantics
Romcoms might not have prepared me for modern dating, but they offered a timeless sartorial guide to falling in love.
Making a Case for India's Ingenuity
William Dalrymple says The Golden Road is an extraordinary story but also the most challenging book he has written in the last two decades.
On My Playlist
Playback singer turned indie-pop artiste Dhee talks about music, identity, and empowering a new generation.
Explicitly Bold
The latest lipstick range by Nars is designed to empower wearers with colour and confidence.
Art in a Bottle
The Perfume Library founder Jahnvi Lakhota Nandan believes fragrances are meant to be liberated.