SANTIAGO (Reuters) -A rare blanket of flowers has transformed Chile’s Atacama Desert, the driest in the world, and drawn tourists and scientists to marvel at the fleeting blaze of colour.
“When we have winter rain fall, we get this flowering of different native species in the spring,” said Jorge Carabantes, regional head of protected areas at Chile’s National Forestry Commission, or CONAF, adding that 200 documented species can appear.
“They bloom for a short time before going dormant and then everything goes back to how it was before the rain.”
Families and visitors flocked to Llanos de Challe National Park to walk among the multi-colored fields of wildflowers, cameras in hand.
“It’s beautiful, something we must protect,” said tourist Ronald Lagos. “We’re delighted to be here.”
Alan Martinez, a teacher, said he made the trip knowing how rare the flowering is: “It doesn’t happen every year. We wanted to experience it this season.”
The Atacama bloom, unpredictable and ephemeral, has become both a natural wonder and a reminder of the desert’s fragile balance.
(Reporting by Rodrigo Gutierrez; Writing by Alexander Villegas; editing by Barbara Lewis)
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