Page 69 - DreamScapes Magazine | Spring/Summer 2026

DESERT OLIVES,
LASTING LEGACY
Olive trees are rarely associated
with deserts, but in the Azapa
Valley near Arica, trees introduced
by Spanish colonizers nearly 500
years ago still produce oil. Tours
with Trekking Aymara can include
visits and tastings.
PHOTOS: PULSE FILMES | SUZANNE MORPHET
canyons carrying precious meltwater from the Andes.
We stop in small villages with beautifully preserved
colonial-era churches and meet Indigenous women
cultivating oregano and grapes.
Each day brings more altitude and less oxygen. By
day four, our bodies have adjusted enough to venture
higher, and we are ready to experience the most scenic
of landscapes yet.
LAUCA NATIONAL PARK –
A WORLD BIOSPHERE RESERVE
We leave the village of Putre before sunrise, stopping
for breakfast with a 79-year-old llama herder before
continuing into Lauca National Park. The first view
stops us cold.
Parinacota volcano rises majestically above Chun-
gará Lake, its snow-covered cone reflected in the still
water. In the foreground, vicuñas—the wild ances-
tors of alpacas—graze calmly in a spongy wetland,
while ducks dot the lake. More volcanoes line the far
shore, filling the horizon with grandeur.
Though Lauca lies within the Atacama Desert, it
receives seasonal rains between December and
February. That water replenishes the salty lagoons
and nourishes plants such as the strange-looking
llareta, which grows atop boulders to resemble cush-
ions, but is so dense it’s as hard as the rock beneath.
A PARK WITHOUT PEOPLE
Perhaps most astounding, is its emptiness. On a ten-
kilometre trek along mostly flat trails, we encounter
no one else. Viscachas—rabbit-like rodents—sun-
bathe on boulders, while water birds patrol the
wetlands. When a flock of flamingos lifts off before
us their wings flash crimson as they turn in perfect
unison, searing the moment into memory.
The park can be busy from June through August,
Santiago explains, when European travellers arrive.
But winter at this altitude is brutally cold. In October,
we enjoy daytime temperatures in the low to mid-
teens Celsius, and extraordinary solitude.
SUMMITING SURIPLAZA
The Suriplaza Rainbow Mountains could be on a dif-
ferent planet. It’s here, on one of the ancient
volcanoes, that Alvaro makes his pawa. Afterwards, I
take my time climbing to the rim so I can absorb
every detail; the ethereal colours, the razor-sharp
stones underfoot, the cobalt blue sky, the absolute
stillness and quiet.
At the summit, a breathtaking 5,300 metres above sea
level, I make my own quiet pawa. Giving thanks to
Pachamama, I feel a final surge of awe and humility,
keenly aware that in this vast landscape, humans are
merely visitors and I’m privileged to be one of the few.
TRAVEL PLANNER
To explore Chile’s northern Atacama Desert with
Trekking Aymara, visit trekkingaymara.cl/en/home
SPRING/SUMMER 2026 DREAMSCAPES 69