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The Driest Place on Earth!

2015.04.282 min read

The Driest Place on Earth! | HOLE STORIESThe Atacama Desert

This place is the driest (non-polar) desert in the world!  Chile’s Atacama Desert in South America gets only four inches of rain every one thousand years!!  It stretches about 600 miles between Peru’s southern border and Chile’s central Pacific coast.

This is the only place in the world where it is ever 0% humidity – And boy, you can really feel how dry it is!  When I was there, I was putting on lotion and chapstick and drinking water about every 30 seconds!  The air just sucks out any moisture in your body!

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The Andes Mountains lit up by the sunset
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Sitting in 0% humidity!

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Where to Stay

The closest town (and really a pretty cute place to hang out) is San Pedro de Atacama.  There are a few hostels (about US$12 per person), and a few nicer hotels.

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Moon Valley

Moon Valley (El Valle de la Luna) is only about a 15 minute drive from San Pedro de Atacama.  It is an awesome little adventure in the driest place in the world!  Walk around a this valley and see some crazy rock formations (that were once formed by water, ironically)!

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Travel Troll

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