San Pedro de Atacama, Desert commune in El Loa Province, Chile.
San Pedro de Atacama is a commune in the high desert at around 2450 meters, where most streets remain unpaved and houses are built with sun-dried mud brick. The core consists of single-story buildings grouped around a central square, while the surroundings are marked by bare slopes and salt crusts.
The area served for centuries as an Atacameño settlement and passed from Bolivian to Chilean control after the War of the Pacific in 1884. Use by different cultures and nations has left traces in architecture and place names.
The town revolves around a central plaza where locals gather in the evening and small shops sell textiles and pottery marked with regional motifs. Adobe walls and narrow lanes preserve a sense of how desert settlements have been shaped by climate and available materials.
Travelers usually fly into Calama and continue by bus, a journey through dry plains that takes about an hour and a half. Drinking water should be carried at all times, as the altitude and climate can dehydrate the body quickly.
The R.P. Gustavo Le Paige Archaeological Museum displays mummies and tools that offer insight into daily life of pre-Hispanic populations. Many visitors overlook that some exhibits come from graves uncovered directly in the nearby surroundings.
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