The Atacama Desert’s Valle de la Luna

by Kraig Becker on

Yesterday we introduced you to the Atacama Desert, a dry, yet strikingly beautiful destination, located in Chile‘s northern region along that country’s borders with Bolivia and Argentina. Protected on its east and west sides by towering mountain ranges, the Atacama seldom sees rainfall of any kind and as a result, it is amongst the driest places on the planet. Those dry conditions, combined with centuries of carving winds, have created landscapes that appear otherworldly at times, while still maintaining their ability to take your breath away.

One example of this is the famed Valle de la Luna or the Valley of the Moon, which is so named because of its eerie resemblance to the surface of our closest celestial neighbor. Its towering dunes, strange rock formations, and twisting canyons have made it one of the desert’s most popular destinations, drawing adventurous travelers from across the globe. The valley has even served as a testing ground for NASA scientists, who visited the place to put the Mars rover through its paces before shipping it off to the Red Planet nearly a decade ago.While located just a short drive from San Pedro, the town that serves as base camp for most adventures in the Atacama, the Valle de la Luna never-the-less feels like a completely different world. Its surface is covered in some of the finest and softest sands you’ll find anywhere on the planet, and the larger dunes tower as much as 40 meters into the sky. Rock outcroppings almost appear to have been sculpted by man rather than the natural forces of the Earth, and the maze-like web of canyons just beg to be explored on foot.

When entering the valley for the first time, there are two things that will immediately strike you. First, there is an amazing array of colors that mark the landscape, including plenty of reds, oranges, and browns of course. But there are also a surprising number of greens, pinks, yellows, and whites to be seen as well. This rainbow of colors is often the result of the mineral deposits that are so plentiful in the area, including copper, salt, and many more. The surprisingly colorful landscape is augmented even further when viewed during the rising –and especially the setting sun. During those magical hours, the entire valley is bathed in a soft light that only further enhances the otherworldly feel, and presents a vision that will almost certainly become a lasting highlight for any visitor.

The second thing you’ll notice about the Valle de la Luna is just how quiet is is there. Sounds seem to be absorbed and muffled by the sand and rocks, and when you stop for a moment to listen, you’ll pick up only the whisper of the wind and the ever so slight popping of salt deposits buried inside the rock walls themselves. The silence only helps to further enhance the feeling that you’ve left the Earth behind, and are instead exploring an alien world that couldn’t exist back home. Some travelers will no doubt find the quiet a bit unnerving, while others will enjoy the peacefulness of it all.

Any visitor to the Atacama will want to have the Valle de la Luna on their “must visit” list for sure. But I’d recommend making that visit in the early evening so you can enjoy the setting of the sun over the tranquil landscape. And once the sun has dropped below the horizon for another day, linger a bit longer and enjoy the night skies, which are an amazing sight in their own right. If you’re lucky enough to have a full moon, the pale light will making the valley all the more unique and wonderful.

It is locations like this one that make the Atacama so unique, and while the desert remains a bit of a hidden travel gem at the moment, it is definitely a destination that every adventure traveler will want to make plans to visit in the future. The Valle de la Luna is just one of any number of attractions in the desert, and the others are just as amazing to see.

The Atacama Desert: Chile’s Other Adventure Destination

by Kraig Becker on

When adventure travelers reveal a list of their top destinations, Chile is often amongst the favorites. The South American country is well known for its majestic landscapes, remote, wild places, and adrenaline inducing activities. In the south, Patagonia is widely considered one of the best backpacking and climbing destinations on the planet and Punta Arenas, the southernmost city in the world, is the jumping off point for travelers heading to Antarctica. But what many don’t realize is that the northern part of Chile may be the country’s best kept travel secret.

Far to the north, nestled along the borders of Bolivia and Argentina, lies the Atacama Desert, a destination that offers an amazing a mix of natural beauty and cultural emersion. The Atacama has the unique distinction of being the driest place on the planet, thanks to a rain shadow created by the Andes Mountains and Chile’s Domeyko range, which stretches along its Pacific coast. Those two mountain ranges conspire to block storm clouds from moving over the Atacama, and as a result, there are places in the desert that have not seen rain in recorded history.

But that doesn’t mean the Atacama is a desolate wasteland. Far from it in fact! Rainfall in the surrounding mountains does run off into the valleys below, creating an oasis and bringing a surprising amount of life to certain areas. Centuries ago, those oasis’s attracted human settlements, some of which still exist to this day, including San Pedro de Atacama, the unofficial capital of the region.

In many ways, San Pedro is a typical tourist town. Its streets are lined with small shops, packed with all manner of goods, including a dizzying array of handcrafted jewelry, scarves, pottery, and other local items. Industrious shopkeepers compete with one another to find ways to separate you from your pesos, while packs of stray dogs wander the narrow alleyways. A small museum offers insights into the evolution of the Atacama region and an unofficial North Face gear store provides overpriced adventure apparel for those who forgot to pack the proper gear. Still, there is a certain charm about the place, and you’ll soon find yourself settling into one of the sidewalk cantinas, enjoying a cold cerveza or pisco sour, and watching the world go by.The town of 4000 residents also serves as base camp for your adventures in the Atacama Desert. In addition to the small shops, you’ll also find plenty of tour operators, each promising to show you the local sights. For example, you’ll be able to book excursions to visit the nearby salt flats or geyser basin, as well as rent mountain bikes or go sandboarding on one of the towering dunes. The more adventurous may want to explore the desert on horseback or take a trek though one of the gorges that are so prolific throughout the area. If you’re really up for a challenge, try bagging the summit of one of the many volcanoes that ring the Atacama. Most tower over 18,000 feet in height, with routes that range from a simple walk-up to a full-fledged, technical mountaineering experience.

While the array of activities available in the Atacama is quite impressive, it is the landscapes themselves that will likely leave you with the most lasting impressions. There simply aren’t enough superlatives to express the degree of diversity and beauty that can be found there. You’ll continually be amazed at how the terrain can vary from dry and desolate to lush and fertile, and yet still remain so incredibly breathtaking, and just when you think you’ve seen everything it has to offer, the desert will surprise you with something new once again.

A spectacular natural light show, provided by the rising and setting sun, paints the desert in incandescent reds, yellows, and browns, that simply have to be seen to be believed. In that light, the natural landscaped glowed like no other place I’ve seen in my travels, adding yet another dimension to an already amazing place.

And when the sun goes down, and those lovely landscapes are blanketed in complete darkness, one only has to glance upwards towards the heavens for your next breathtaking view. The skies above the Atacama are clear and open, offering a view of the night sky that is quite possibly unrivaled by any other place on Earth. The stars are countless in number and appear in layers like some kind of epic 3D projection that can normally be seen only at your local planetarium. The Milky Way makes an appearance as well, painting a bright white streak overhead, while constellations only visible in the Southern Hemisphere twinkle back at viewers below. It is an awe inspiring and humbling sight to say the least.

If my description of the Atacama Desert has you intrigued, then there are a few things you should know before you go. For starters, even the desert floor is located at altitude, which can be an issue for some travelers. San Pedro, for instance, is situated at just above 8000 feet, which can have a significant impact on your visit if you’re unprepared. It is not uncommon for visitors to experience slight altitude sickness upon arrival, so spend the first few days acclimatizing before trying any overly active pursuits. A shortness of breath or mild headaches are typical symptoms, both of which tend to go away after a day or two. (On the plus side, alcohol tends to have more of an effect at altitude as well, making San Pedro a great place to tie one on!)

Getting to the Atacama is a fairly simple affair. You’ll want to book your flights through Chile’s capital, Santiago and then continue on to Calama, a small mining town on the edge of the desert. From there, it is an easy one-hour drive to San Pedro, where your adventure will truly begin. The drive in will give you an excellent glimpse of what the desert has in store for you as well.

In a testament to just how off the beaten path the Atacama is for most travelers, while checking in for my overnight flight from Miami to Santiago recently, the ticket agent noticed the second leg of my journey on to Calama, and actually asked me where it was I was going. He didn’t recognize the airport code and said that he had never booked a passenger through to that destination. I had to explain to him exactly where I was flying, which was a bit surprising considering I was about to board a Chilean based airline, with Chilean’s working the counter.

My experience wasn’t much different after my arrival in San Pedro either. Once there, I met plenty of visitors from within Chile itself, as well as Brazil. There were also travelers from as far away as Japan, the U.K. and Fiji, but very few Americans. In fact, the only other person from the States that I ran into was another travel writer working on a story of her own. It seems for now, the Atacama Desert is virtually unknown to American travelers.

But for anyone looking for a fantastic destination with a lot to offer, minus the large crowds, Chile’s northern region is an exceptional choice. Just be fair warned, with its spectacular landscapes and boundless opportunities for adventure, the Atacama may spoil you for similar destinations in the future.

Save Everest campaign removes 8 tons of waste

by Kraig Becker on

Way back at the beginning of April we told you about Nepal’s Save Mt. Everest campaign, a project sponsored by that nation’s tourism board that hoped to clean up the world’s tallest mountain, and the region that surrounds it. Now, two months later, the group has wrapped up their activity, at least for now, and reports that they have removed eight tons of garbage this spring alone.

In all, there were 29 Sherpas that were working together on the project, removing all manner of waste products from Everest. Much of the trash that they brought down consisted of pipes, old ropes, plastic bottles, and spent oxygen bottles. Most of the trash is left behind by the climbers and trekkers who visit the region. For instance, the oxygen bottles are used by climbers going to the summit, who require supplemental oxygen to help them complete their climb. Those bottles often discarded and left behind once they are emptied.

It is estimated that 20 tons of garbage still remains on the mountain, which leaves an awful lot to remove by the June, 2012 deadline that the Save Everest campaign has set as their goal. But the organization is not alone in their efforts, as the Eco Everest team, consisting of some of the most well known Sherpa guides on Everest, has also been removing trash from the Himalayan peak since 2008. Together, the two teams hope to preserve the mountain, which is considered a sacred place in Nepal.

The Nepali government has also done its part to ensure that Everest stays clean for future mountaineers as well. Over the past few years, the country has been doing a better job of enforcing garbage laws that have been in place since 1992, and all climbing teams are now required to carry all of their waste back out of the Khumbu Valley, where it can be recycled or disposed of properly. Failure to do so results in some hefty fines.

Having been to Everest, I’m glad to hear that these efforts are yielding positive results. It is a special, beautiful place, and one that definitely deserves to be protected.

Two climbers paraglide from the summit of Everest

by Kraig Becker on

There is a well known adage amongst mountaineers that says “getting to the summit is only halfway to the finish,” as obviously they have to safely come back down the mountain after they’ve completed their ascent. There are few places where this is more apparent than Mt. Everest, where climbers not only have to make a long, grueling trek to the top, they also have to negotiate a tricky descent as well. Over the weekend, two climbers found a way to avoid that descent however, by paragliding off the summit, bypassing all the challenges of a traditional return to Base Camp.

On Saturday, 29-year old Babu Sunuwar and his partner Lakpa Tshering Sherpa, 35, climbed to the summit of Everest. Once there, they assembled their tandem paraglider, and starting it up, both men stepped out into the nothingness that surrounds the highest point on the planet. Rather than plummeting a thousand feet to their deaths however, they took off on what must have been a spectacular flight through one of the most scenic places in the world.

Sailing through the air, Babu and Lakpa passed snow capped mountains on their 42-minute flight, which eventually deposited them at Namche Bazaar, a village in the Khumbu Valley region. Reaching that point would normally take climbers returning from the summit a minimum of three days, but these two avoided a long hike and were soon resting in a comfortable teahouse I’m sure.

Their adventure is far from over however. Having reached the highest point on Earth, they are now headed toward sea level by kayak and bike. Their eco-friendly journey will eventually end in Bangladesh in a few weeks time.

At the moment, there have been no photos released from this epic flight through the Himalaya. I’m hoping that at some point we might see some video footage though, as I’m sure the view was amazing. I’m also guessing that there were more than few other climbers who were jealous of their method of descent after seeing them take off from the summit as well.

[Photo Credit: Babu Sunuwar]

Reality television show Expedition Impossible debuts in June

by Kraig Becker on

A new reality television show entitled Expedition Impossible is set to make its debut on ABC this June, pitting 13 teams of three against one another in what looks to be an adrenaline fueled competition through remote regions of Morocco. The show, which seems to combine elements of The Amazing Race and the sport of adventure racing, comes to us courtesy of Mark Burnett, the mastermind behind Survivor.

The official website for the show offers little in the way of information about the competition, although I would expect that it will be updated as we get closer to when it first airs. But in the trailer video, which you’ll find below, we see teams not only trekking through the desert, rock climbing, and kayaking rushing rivers, but also solving puzzles and working through other challenges. The video actually conveys an intensity to the race that isn’t present in other realty shows of this type.

For Burnett, this looks to be somewhat of a return to his roots. Back in the 90’s he produced an adventure race known as the Eco-Challenge which had coed teams of four racing against one another on foot, mountain bike, and kayak through some of the most remote places on Earth. Expedition Impossible seems to have a similar theme, although it is much more approachable for the masses than Eco-Challenge ever was.

So? What do you think? Is this going to be worthwhile adventure television for the summer months? I guess we’ll find out on June 23 when the first episode airs.