The Art of Living in the Atacama Desert
In Chile's Atacama Desert, ancient settlements amid salt flats and volcanoes tell a story of human ingenuity. Discover how Indigenous communities live in one of the driest places on Earth and why local knowledge matters when exploring the region.
Otherworldly. Surreal. Extreme. Breathtaking. These are just some of the words describing Chile’s Atacama Desert, a landscape so otherworldly that NASA tests its rovers in its valleys before sending them to space.
Extending over 41,000 square miles along red-rock valleys, dunes, salt flats, wetlands, geysers, and active volcanoes, the Atacama is the world’s driest non-polar desert, where elevations surpass 5,000 meters above sea level. In short, it’s the kind of place that leaves visitors breathless in more ways than one.
Despite the challenging conditions, people have made a home here for thousands of years, and travelers who venture north are rewarded with rare insight into ecological adaptation and cultural continuity. Vegetation thrives in scattered oases while the presence of vicuñas, flamingos, and birds suggests that this parched environment is more hospitable than meets the eye.
“Many visitors arrive thinking that the Atacama is an empty and lifeless place, a desert where nothing can survive,” say Mirko Rebolledo and Nicolás Collantes, whose cultural Atacama Desert tours reconcile the landscape with its people.
“But when you spend time here, you discover that it is full of stories, ecosystems, wildlife, and ancestral knowledge.”
A nomad’s desert
“The desert is divided into three major areas: the coastal desert, the absolute desert, and the Andean desert, which is where we are,” explains Valeria Heindl, a conservationist and Fernwayer Experience Maker based in the adobe town of San Pedro de Atacama.
“Within the Andean desert, you encounter completely different ecological zones, from salt flats and green oases to transitional canyons and the high Altiplano. Each zone has its own unique plants, wildlife, and bird species that have adapted to live there,” she continues. The target of her full-day birdwatching tour is a sighting of the near-threatened diademed sandpiper plover.
Erick Martínez Zelada
Today, reaching San Pedro de Atacama means flying into Calama’s El Loa Airport before making the roughly hour-long drive across the desert. In contrast, the region’s earliest settlers arrived on foot as hunter-gatherers drifting between water and food sources. Over time, Andean peoples domesticated guanacos and vicuñas, giving rise to llamas and alpacas that would become essential to life and trade across the region.
“The Atacama is a living territory. Every mountain, valley, water source, and archaeological site tells a story about the people who have adapted to this extreme environment for thousands of years,” say Rebolledo and Collantes.
Geography and high-pressure systems explain the extremes. The Andes and coastal ranges, together with the Pacific’s cold Humboldt Current, play a role in limiting rainfall. Trapped between these geographical and atmospheric barriers, some parts of the Atacama have gone decades without measurable rainfall. Besides the aridity, the Atacama receives intense sunlight, dramatic temperature shifts, and some of the clearest night skies.
There is also a significant spike in altitude. At around 2,400 meters (7,900 feet), San Pedro de Atacama offers a lower-altitude base for excursions to the high-altitude lagoons and geyser fields of the Altiplano, where elevations rise considerably higher.
“Exploring this region safely takes patience, proper pacing, and taking it step by step, literally,” advises Heindl. This advice echoes an older lesson: survival here has always depended on understanding the landscape and respecting its limits.
In pursuit of water
As for why people chose to call the Atacama home, the answer lies in something so readily available in modern society that most take it for granted: water.
As meltwater trickled down from the highlands, it formed rivers and springs that made agriculture possible. At the archaeological site of Tulor, near San Pedro de Atacama, the remains of a settlement dating back roughly 2,800 years reveal how early communities built interconnected circular homes from earth. The settlement offers a glimpse into the ways people organized life in an environment where water was essential to survival.
Beyond San Pedro’s boutique hotels, water may appear scarce, but it’s those rivers, springs, and wetlands that explain why people have chosen to make a home here for thousands of years.
“People in the past did not see the Atacama as a barrier; they saw it as a home full of opportunities,” say Rebolledo and Collantes.
“They understood the signs of nature: the movement of animals, the presence of water, the changes in the mountains, and the importance of the stars.”
Collantes probed deeper into this topic as he ushered us through the Salt Mountain Ranges at twilight, relying on the constellations above for navigation. Even today, in a world awash with apps and tech, Collantes favors a glance at the night skies to know when to harvest his garden plot.
Hannah Cooper
Additional archaeological findings near San Pedro reveal a steady progression of villages and agricultural zones: the fortified Pukará de Quitor, built around the 12th century CE, offers evidence of the region’s established settlements and defensive architecture. People used sophisticated water-management systems (canals and irrigation) to make productive use of the oasis, while maintaining trade routes further afield.
“Knowing the archaeology and history of Atacama changes the way I guide because I do not only show places; I help visitors understand their meaning,” reflects Collantes.
“A mountain is not just a mountain, a trail is not only a path, and a rock formation can hold thousands of years of human history,” he says, which is something travelers can explore further on a sunrise tour of Moon Valley. The experience culminates with a stroll past ancient petroglyphs hidden near the mineral-laden Rainbow Valley.
Misconceptions of the Atacama
As Rebolledo and Collantes explain, the Atacama was never quite as cut off from the world as visitors may presume. Oasis settlements, like San Pedro de Atacama, became pivotal stopping points as llama caravans carried goods between desert, mountain, and coastal communities.
Coastal products were brought inland, while materials from the highlands moved in the opposite direction. Alongside these exchanges came ideas, technologies, and beliefs. In the 15th century, the region came under Inca influence, adding another layer to its already extensive cultural connections.
“The relationship between the landscape and the people of Atacama has always been based on respect, adaptation, and understanding,” say Rebolledo and Collantes.
“Indigenous communities, especially the Lickanantay people, developed a profound knowledge of the desert: how to read the mountains, find water, cultivate in extreme conditions, and understand the cycles of nature,” they explain.
“This relationship continues through agriculture, traditional practices, and forms of tourism that share the territory while protecting its cultural and natural values.”
What visitors should understand about the desert
Responsible travel in the Atacama means considering both the environment and the people who call it home. Fernwayer’s private experiences are developed with local specialists, including Heindl, Collantes, and Rebolledo, who share their knowledge of the region’s ecology, history, and cultural traditions. In a place where life unfolds around the variable weather and agricultural needs, travelers can prepare by respecting customs and, crucially, allowing time to acclimatize.
“Before you arrive, my main advice focuses on preparing your body, planning your
schedule smartly, and communicating with your guide,” recommends Heindl, to whom safety was paramount ahead of our hike through the Cactus Canyon. The conservationist shares her tips for Atacama-bound travelers:
“Rest well before and during your trip, avoid heavy meals, and keep alcohol to a minimum. Your body is already working overtime to adapt to the altitude; don't push it with intense physical exertion right away.
For your first day or two, I recommend sticking to half-day excursions with a solid rest or nap in the middle. Once your body acclimates, you can jump into all the full-day adventures you want!
Bring layers and proper outdoor footwear; temperatures and terrain shift quickly here.
Check the weather forecast and the lunar calendar in advance so you can lock in a stargazing experience during the clearer, darker nights.”
Why local knowledge makes a difference
While the landscapes draw travelers to the Atacama, it’s often the human stories that linger. That comes in the form of knowledge passed down through generations, the continuing traditions in oasis communities, and from guides who reveal the connections between the land and the people who inhabit it.
“Having a private guide in a place as extreme and isolated as the Atacama transforms the journey from a standard tour into a safe, deeply personal adventure,” says Heindl.
“I see my role more as a true travel companion. A private trip gives us the freedom to share rich conversations about nature, history, and life, or simply enjoy moments of quiet, absolute silence.”
Perhaps the best way to experience the Atacama is not to conquer the landscape, but to understand its limits and learn from the people who have lived within them for thousands of years.