Camping Los Algarrobos

A good place to start your exploration of this desert landscape is at the Pampa de Tamarugal National Reserve, half an hour away, where you can see the stark difference between the dry desert and the artifically planted forests. Look out for the Precolumbian geoglyphs around the park – there are 350 of them in total, depicting men, animals and abstract figures. Pica, 15 minutes’ drive away, is famed for its natural hot springs, where you can have a mud treatment before wallowing in the waters, which reach around 30ºC. If you’ve brought kids with you, leave time to look around the huge statues at the Dinosaur Valley exhibit as well. Half an hour from the site is the Humberstone and Santa Laura Saltpeter Works, an atmospheric ‘ghost town’ that was previously one of the region’s largest mining settlements. The place was abandoned in 1960 and left to rack and ruin but has since been declared a national monument and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It’s an eerie but memorable experience to walk around the abandoned workers’ quarters, railway and other buildings such as the swimming pool and theatre. Perhaps surprisingly for the driest place on earth, you can easily escape to the seaside with an hour or so’s drive. Head to the beaches of Iquique for a swim or take a boat trip out from the harbour to see if you can spot sealions, penguins, pelicans and maybe a pod of dolphins if you’re lucky.