Flowering Desert Special - Chile

The flowering desert is happening this year!!!

The following link has just been released in Chile to announce it:

If it is shaping up to be an El Nino year that brings rain to the southern Atacama we will once again we will be offering this flash tour to anyone wishing to experience a phenomenon that only comes around every few years or so. Our last tour in 2022 was mind-blowing, with some incredible displays of bulbs, annuals and flower-laden vines of various lovely Tropaeolum. With some certainty the displays around Vallenar will be spectacular and as will coastal locations as far north as Antofagasta. Previous visits to Vallenar and Copiapo found sheets of pink Cistanthe longiscapa stretching to the horizon, punctuated by the odd passing train! Select locations will have the remarkable Bomarea ovallei, an extreme alstroemeria-relative with big heads of blood-red flowers that trails across the rocky desert or over huge multi-headed Copiapoa dealbata cacti that are over a hundred years old. Sites around Taltal are renowned for their diversity of desert flora, with sweeping views down to the Pacific coast. Various and vivid Zephyranthes, Argylia and abundant Leucocoryne will be out en masse, among carpets of blue Nolana, decorating normally barren cactus strewn slopes with colour. Time will be spent farther south too, where Mediterranean climate areas will be green and flowery, the scrub strung with Tropaeolum spp. and many Alstroemeria will be coming into flower. This is a unique and seldom offered tour.  

The following is based on four previous visits to the region during a wet season. We have opted to drive both ways to give us a better chance of catching the various displays at their peak. However, this vibrant experience typically lasts for over a month although exactly what and where will vary.

The trip in 2022 was unforgettable. View 2022 trip report

We are one of the few botanical holiday companies that can run this unique tour. Chris counts himself fortunate to have seen this wonderful display four times before. 

A 12-day tour with Chris Gardner.

Day 1.    Arrive Santiago (5 October)

After arriving in Santiago in the morning we will drive north. Although we have to travel there will be the chance to stop for a large colony of the wonderful orchid Bipinnula fimbriata. Drifts of Leucocoryne coquimbensis and Schizanthus splendens fill fields as we near our destination. Overnight Ovalle 

Please note flights need to arrive by mid-morning on 5 October. 

Day 2.    Combarbarla & Huentelauqen (6 October)

Inland we find the sumptuous purple-pink of Phycella amoena, Leucocoryne violascens and coastal areas with drifts of Schizanthus carlomunzonii, Solanum trinominum and other early spring colour. Overnight Ovalle

Day 3.    Tongoy (7 October)

Between Ovalle and Tongoy we will stop for various populations of Leucocoryne coquimbensis in different colour forms as well as lovely L. purpurea, delicate Trichopetalum plumosum and sprawling masses of Loasa tricolor. Overnight La Serena

Day 4.    Chungungo (8 October)

A long day but one with lots to see, beginning with dense tangles of Tropaeolum tricolor smothered in fiery flowers, the amazing turquoise flowers of Puya bertroniana, Alstroemeria pulchra and floriferous mounds of Calceolaria collina. In the afternoon we need to push on to the Atacama coastline to overnight in Caldera.

Day 5.    Around Caldera (9 October)

Hidden valleys have an amazing display of Alstroemeria violacea, abundant Argylia radiata, orangey Helichrysum linariifolium and the white trumpets of Nolana acuminata, whilst other little side turns reveal dainty Alstroemeria graminea. Big leaved Nicotiana solanifolia comes as a lush surprise in the desert. Overnight Taltal

Day 6.    Paposo (10 October)

Hopefully the rains have been kind and this more northerly outpost of the flowering desert will have a vibrant display. If not there are still remarkable cacti popualations including Copaipoa cinerea subsp. columno-alba and magnificent sweeping coastlines patrolled by sea lions and pelicans. Overnight Taltal

Day 7.    Pan de Azucar (11 October)

Beginning our return south we will spend the day at the scenic Pan de Azucar with fragrant Helichrysum pycnophyllum, drifts of pretty Leucocoryne appendiculata and more amazing cacti. Depending on the season (it's different very time) there may be the first big drifts of Cistanthe longiscapa painting the spectacular coastal landscape. Overnight Caldera

Day 8.    To Vallenar (12 October)

A relatively short distance but one packed with flowers including vast drifts of Nolana baccata, sky-blue Zephyra elegans and gullies packed with gorgeous Alstroemeria philippi, Balbisia peduncularis and Mirabilis elegans, Overnight Vallenar

Day 9.    Llanos de Challe (13 October)

A full day in these amazing flowery plains with Myostemma bagnoldii, Cistanthe longiscapa and with luck the first stunning globes of Bomarea ovallei, the Garra de Leon or lion's paw. Rocky slopes are filled with snow white Schizanthus candidus. Overnight Vallenar.

Day 10.    To La Serena (14 October)

Cutting across country we discovery a hidden world strung with the lovely vines of Tropaeolum kingii and blue T. azureum, impressive polyploid forms of Leucocoryne narcissoides and finish with some dazzling desert gardens before pushing on south. Overnight La Serena

Day 11.    To Santiago via Los Molles (15 October)

There will be stops as we progress along the coast including a charming little nature reserve offers a window into the coastal flora with stands of endemic Puya venusta, rocks peppered with little barrels of Eriosyce chilensis with rich pink flowers and close to the waves, the waxen beauty of Alstroemeria peregrina will hopefully have begun flowering. Overnight Santiago Airport.

Day 12.    Flights (16 October)

Return flights.