Pampa del Tamarugal National Reserve

Pampa del Tamarugal National Reserve is located in Chile’s Tarapacá Region, within the communes of Huara and Pozo Almonte. Covering over 130,000 hectares, it protects a unique desert ecosystem: a forest in the middle of the Atacama, made up mainly of tamarugo and algarrobo trees adapted to extreme aridity.
The reserve is home to wildlife such as culpeo and chilla foxes, owls, hawks, native rodents, and more than 18 species of birds. It offers camping areas, interpretive trails, and environmental education centers.
A major highlight is the Pintados Geoglyphs, an extraordinary set of more than 450 pre-Hispanic figures—geometric, anthropomorphic, and zoomorphic—etched on hillsides between the years 700 and 1500 AD. Spanning over 3 km, they are among the most significant rock art sites in South America. Their exact purpose remains under study, though they may have served ritual, navigational, or cultural identity roles.
The reserve also includes the Llamara Salt Flat, a non-high-altitude saline ecosystem with natural springs and primitive microbial life, valuable for scientific research and conservation.