Awasi Atacama

In San Pedro de Atacama at the edge of the Atacama Desert oasis, Awasi Atacama applies the private vehicle and dedicated guide philosophy that defines the Awasi model to the specific requirements of desert exploration in one of earth’s most extreme and varied landscapes. The eight casitas are designed in the adobe and natural material tradition of the Atacameño culture whose agricultural oasis settlement has sustained human life in this desert for millennia, and the private vehicle gives each guest group a completely flexible programme for exploring the Atacama’s dispersed geological and natural wonders without the logistical constraints of group tour schedules. The guide’s knowledge of the Atacama’s seasonal conditions — the best geyser viewing times, the specific salt flat positions where flamingo numbers peak, the astronomical observation windows — gives the private programme a depth of calibration impossible in shared transport operations.

El Tatio geysers at dawn, the Valle de la Luna’s salt formations and wind-sculpted clay, the Salar de Atacama’s flamingo-populated brine ponds, the altiplano lagoons of Miscanti and Miñiques at 4,200 metres, and the Atacama’s internationally recognised dark sky programme provide the range of geological, biological, and astronomical experiences that make this desert one of South America’s most intellectually and visually rich travel destinations. The restaurant’s menus draw on the Atacameño culinary tradition of quinoa, corn, llama, and the extraordinary variety of cactus and desert plant preparations that reflect the oasis culture’s relationship with an extreme environment. The pre-Columbian archaeological sites and the traditional bofedal wetland management systems of the Atacameño communities provide the cultural dimension of the programme.

Awasi Atacama’s conservation relationships with the Atacameño community include sourcing commitments to local agricultural producers and guides, and the private guide model’s emphasis on interpretation gives the cultural programme a respect for Indigenous knowledge systems that contrasts with the extractive relationship between some adventure tourism operations and the communities whose landscapes they access.