Desierto Florido 2017

Only 2 years ago, we visited the Atacama Desert to see it was covered in flowers in what is known as Desierto Florido, This typically occurs in El Niño years when it is more likely to rain in the area between La Serena and Copiapo (you can click here for a map).

It appears, however, that "freak" events are happening more and more often and what used used to be a sight to see every 5 to 7 years has happened twice in the last 3. Maybe the temperature anomalies chart below has something to do with changing weather patterns...

The flower images have made it to El Pais, The Guardian and the BBC among others.

We were only too pleased to go back again and see the show nature puts on, not just with the beautiful flowers that seem to grow in an incredibly arid landscape, but also the associated fauna that follows. The CONAF has some great brochures to download and to identify the different species.

We made the trip twice (once in August and then again in September) to visit a friend who is now living near Caldera and we saw different flowers each time. An additional visit in a few weeks might be in order :)

Some more photos below or via this link: