Travel: Puerto Montt to Calama, Atacama Desert. Chile. Nov.16/2025

This is a continuation of a trip to Antarctica and other parts of Chile which started on

Oct 23rd (yet to be posted)

Sunday Nov. 16th, was spent  half a day in air.. After yesterday's heavy showers in the verdant southern city of Puerto Monnt, the weather and colors drastically transformed upon landing in the oasis desert city - Calama of the north.

From Port Montt via Santiago to the Desert

Actually we were lucky to have made it, as the LATAM Air pilots went on a strike for better wages, and 173 flights, scheduled for Nov. 12 – 17, ,got canceled. affecting 20,000 passengers,

Further cancellations were rolled out for Nov. 18– 20, but it was unclear if our flights due back within 5 days would be affected by this, as well

Atacama Desert

The cool, arid elongated desert plateau region is located on the Pacific coast of northern Chile stretching over a 1,600-km long strip of land, west of the Andes Mountains, It consists mainly of salt pans at the foot of the coastal mountains on the west and of alluvial fans sloping from the Andean foothills to the east.

The evaporation rate, of this driest non-polar desert on earth, exceeds that of its rate of precipitation. This unique variety of desert, is known as a fog desert. That title’s earned when a desert region receives the majority of what little moisture it gets from fog drip.

The area is full of exotic landscapes, colors and history. Evidence places its origins as far back in history as 20 million years, at least. Its extreme nature, as it exists today, however, appears to have only existed for around 3 million years, though.

The tableland rest joined to the frontiers of Peru and Bolivia and includes a wonderful native culture that lived in this dry zone for centuries.

The colorful breathtaking landscape is a natural majestic show of volcanoes, stony terrain,,amazing rock formations (lunar look),ancient lava flows, deep canyons, geysers, lagoons salt flats, sand dunes, oasis villages and plenty desert wild life.

.It is said that the high quantities of quartz and copper in the region has infused its indigenous people with positive energy,

Atacama has been a strong rich source of nitrate, cooper and Lithium

The main Chilean exportation in the 19th c was the nitrate, which came from the Atacama mines. At the beginning of 20c, when the synthetic nitrate began to be produced, the Atacama Desert became the main source of cooper. mining,

The cooper extract here, lies near to the frontier with Argentina.

Calama

Calama the oasis city of the desert, is served by the El Loa Airport. which is only

15-minute drive from the city's center

Calama has two distinct entities the desert  extremely arid region and the Andes Mountain Range. The town lies on the western slope of the Andes 

The spread out of the town's setting within the arid mountainous surrounding, Calama town reminded me at first glance, a bit of Palm Spring CA township, which I annually frequent, for its great International film Festival.

However Calama is lacking in charm, beauty and in palm trees.

Calama at 2,260 m elevation is set on the River Loa, Chile's longest (440 ) river , which flows through the city.

The river is the main watercourse in the Atacama Desert.,

Calama a town of about 150,000 inhabitants, is the capital of El Loa Province. and is an important commercial, financial and administrative center. Today, it is also a major transportation hub, serving as the primary gateway for travelers heading to the popular tourist destination of San Pedro de Atacama. to where we were heading.

The plan was spend 5 nights at the Explora Lodge one of the highly recommended to stay in, for a memorable desert experience

Calama is one of the driest cities on Earth, with average annual precipitation of just 5 mm (0.20 in). with a desert climate characterized by large temperature swings between day and night. 

St. John the Baptist Cathedral (Catedral de San Juan Bautista): is a notable landmark in the city's center. in front of the plaza 23 de Marzo, It was erected in the year 1906

The Mining Capital

Calama is also known as the country's "mining capital" due to its proximity to copper mines, including the massive Chuquicamata mine.

CODLECO - The National Copper Corporation of Chile abbreviated as Codelco, is a Chilean state-owned mining company, is the largest copper mining company in the world. It was formed in 1976 from foreign-owned copper companies that were nationalised in 1971 . The company's office complex in Calama is huge and lavish.

We met on our flight 2 passengers who reside in Santiago, who drive caterpillar equipment at the Calama mines and were were full of pride of their roles in the corporation.

Furthermore, while searching for a restaurant in town we met another local employee in charge of the mining's explosives, who was most gracious in driving us around, in his company car, "hunting" for restaurants. Unfortunately all restaurants were closed that evening due to Chilean Presidential Election Day . On .Nov 16 Governing leftist coalition and Communist Party candidate Jeannette Jara was leading Chile's presidential race, however the race ended inconclusive, and another round will take place in Feb.

Calama seemed to be a ghost town that evening with no restaurants nor shooing centers 0pen, with hardly any people in the streets

The Largest Mining Pit

In 2003 the nearby north town of Chuquicamata, a mining and smelting center was once the largest open-pit copper mine in the world, It had been in operation since at least 1882 and is now owned by the Chilean state company Codelco.. It was dismantled citing environmental reasons and encroachment from the mine's expansion.

This mine is famous for its enormous size, with a pit that is over 4 km long and 850 meters deep, and for being a major source of the country's copper production.

Residents of Chuquicamata then moved to Calama, away from company-owned residences, to find housing on their own.

Chiu Chiu, a village near Calama,

San Francisco de Chiu Chiu, or simply Chiu Chiu, is a village located located in the middle of the Atacama Desert. about 30 km northeast of the city of Calama, at an elevation of 2,525 m above sea level, close to the confluence of the Loa and Salado rivers and is home to the church of San Francisco, which is declared National Monument because it is the oldest church that is conserved in Chile, in 1611

The area also encompasses 23 archaeological sites and preserves close to 500 geoglyphs depicting geometric and zoomorphic figures

Necessity compelled us to spend one night here before heading to San Pedro

the following day , where we would spend the rest of our desert vacation.

Eating at the hotel , the only place which served food that election day, was a big compromise, but the only mean as not to stay hungry after being on air and on the road most of the day

Hotel

Diego De Almagro,

Considered one of the better in Calama.

yet far from being a remarkable and neither service was good.

But for one night accommodation before being transferred to San Pedro , it served its purpose.

Cristo Del Desierto - Christ of the Desert - Historical Monument (2008)

To be continued......