Located in Chile west of South America’s Andes Mountains, the Atacama Desert is a desolate wonderland of dramatic scenery and captivating attractions. Its remote landscapes range from the pale beauty of salt flats dotted with the ostentatious pinks of flamingos and the surreal, steamy landscape of the Tatio geysers at sunrise, to the bizarre rock formations of Moon Valley and the ancient archaeological sites of Tulor and Quitor Pukara. The region’s culture is unique and welcoming, and an abundance of small villages continue to practise timeless traditions among the often extreme, although highly photogenic, terrain. One of the favourite activities in the area is stargazing, as the desert is has the clearest skies in the entire southern hemisphere. The Atacama is also home to one of the most famous astronomical observatories in the northern half of Chile, the Atacama Large Millimeter Array.