Atacama Desert Atacama Desert The Atacama Desert () is a desert plateau in South America covering a 1000-km (600-mi) strip of land on the Pacific coast, west of the Andes mountains. The Atacama desert is one of the driest places in the world (the driest being the McMurdo Dry Valleys ) , as well as the only true desert to receive less precipitation than the polar deserts. According to estimates, the Atacama Desert occupies , or if the barren lower slopes of the Andes are included. Most of the desert is composed of stony terrain, salt lakes ("salares"), sand, and felsic lava
Tourism in Chile nature, architecture, handicraft, artistic, ethnographic, folk, historical, religious or technological scattered throughout the Chilean territory. Among them are those assets declared World Heritage by UNESCO, in accordance with the provisions of the Convention the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, of 1972, ratified by Chile in 1980. These cultural sites are: Chile has been included in the 2010, 2011 and 2012 lists of ""The Developing World's 10 Best Ethical Destinations"." This is an annual ranking produced by Ethical Traveler magazine, which is based on a study of developing nations from around the world to identify the best tourism