Llanos de Challe National Park

Information

It is a protected natural area in the Atacama region of Chile, which encompasses coastal desert environments. The name Llanos de Challe comes from a sector of the park where there is a depression.

To get there, it is 34 km from Huasco Bajo, a populated area located 4 km from the town of Huasco. You arrive at the Los Pozos office of the Conaf (a corporation that administers protected areas in Chile), which is just metres from the road. There is a camping site, access to the beach (when I went there it was not enabled for bathing) and trails to get to know the park's environments. Take into account that there is no supplies nor drinking water.

In September of several years you can observe a very striking phenomenon of 'desert bloom' (in Spanish 'desierto florido'), where the arid terrain is filled with colour due to the appearance of flowers. This is a consequence of a combination of climatic conditions of temperature, pressure and humidity, together with the variety of flora species present in the park. There are common as well as endemic and endangered species. One of the most abundant is the violet-coloured 'pata de guanaco'. It is worth mentioning that the fact of seeing the desert in bloom varies from year to year as to whether it is colourful or not, and how many flowers appear.