Stargazing in the ATACAMA
Condé Nast Traveler US|April 2023
In the remote Chilean desert, Tom Vanderbilt sees light through the darkness
Tom Vanderbilt
Stargazing in the ATACAMA

THERE IS BATHING, there is sunbathing, and there is shinrin-yoku, the recently trendy Japanese concept of "forest bathing." On a typically cloudless night in Chile's Atacama Desert, as my family and I reclined on metal chaise longues, looking up at the wildly expansive southern sky, I experienced something totally new: star bathing.

When Pía Urbano Mena, the astronomy guide at the Nayara Alto Atacama, turned off the ambient lights at the hotel's small observatory, there was a magic, neck-tingling moment as the inky blackness absolutely enveloped us. "It's going to take around 15 minutes for our eyes to adjust to darkness," Urbano Mena said. "At first, you'll hardly see anything. But then you'll see everything."

Esta historia es de la edición April 2023 de Condé Nast Traveler US.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

Esta historia es de la edición April 2023 de Condé Nast Traveler US.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

MÁS HISTORIAS DE CONDÉ NAST TRAVELER USVer todo
The Brando
Condé Nast Traveler US

The Brando

THE STORY GOES that actor Marlon Brando first arrived on the 18-isle atoll of Tetiaroa by water-as in, he swam ashore.

time-read
1 min  |
January - February 2025
Jumeirah Burj AI Arab
Condé Nast Traveler US

Jumeirah Burj AI Arab

IF EVER THERE WAS a hotel that could achieve landmark status, it is Dubai's Jumeirah Burj AI Arab, which stands alone on its own purpose-built island just off Jumeirah Beach.

time-read
1 min  |
January - February 2025
Blackberry Farm
Condé Nast Traveler US

Blackberry Farm

BLACKBERRY FARM LOOMS in the consciousness of many travelers as an almost mythical Southern sanctuary in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, a place whose storybook perfection has to be experienced to be believed.

time-read
1 min  |
January - February 2025
Fogo Island Inn
Condé Nast Traveler US

Fogo Island Inn

THIS 29-ROOM MODERN CLASSIC in Newfoundland is a model for place-specific hospitality, dreamed up by founder Zita Cobb and built by Shorefast, a nonprofit that supports economic and cultural resilience on the hotel's namesake island and runs artist residencies in four isolated, incredibly photogenic studios.

time-read
1 min  |
January - February 2025
ALAN CUMMING on CROSSING THE ATLANTIC
Condé Nast Traveler US

ALAN CUMMING on CROSSING THE ATLANTIC

I went on Cunard's Queen Mary 2 for the first time in 2011.

time-read
1 min  |
January - February 2025
high life
Condé Nast Traveler US

high life

Italy's unfussy Dolomites are a place of cheerful communities, where simple chalets and good food can almost outshine the skiing

time-read
7 minutos  |
January - February 2025
the possibility of an island
Condé Nast Traveler US

the possibility of an island

Cuba may be facing tough times, but the country's hoteliers, creators, and artists are forging a hopeful and beautiful way forward

time-read
9 minutos  |
January - February 2025
in full bloom
Condé Nast Traveler US

in full bloom

Over the past three years, hotelier Fabrizio Ruspoli has turned an old olive farm south of Marrakech into the High Atlas's most intoxicating garden retreat

time-read
5 minutos  |
January - February 2025
ALLIN
Condé Nast Traveler US

ALLIN

Fun has never been hard to come by in Las Vegas, but the arrival of pro sports, the Sphere, and lavish new hotels has upped the ante.

time-read
8 minutos  |
January - February 2025
Forward March
Condé Nast Traveler US

Forward March

Across Kenya, community initiatives are protecting the country's wildlife and environment. By Mary Holland

time-read
3 minutos  |
January - February 2025