Pan de Azucar National Park

Pan de Azucar runs along the coast north of Chanaral where the Atacama comes straight down to the Pacific, and the thing that makes it work is camanchaca - the dense fog that rolls in off the cold Humboldt current and condenses on the coastal hills, supplying moisture where rain effectively never falls. Cacti, bromeliads and lichens live on that fog alone, and with them guanacos, culpeo foxes and a large number of birds. Offshore, Isla Pan de Azucar holds a Humboldt penguin colony, visited by boat from Caleta Pan de Azucar. The beaches are white sand against black rock.

What you actually see

• Desert meeting the Pacific - with fog instead of rain.
• Cactus and bromeliads on fog - the camanchaca ecosystem.
• Guanaco and culpeo fox - living on the same moisture.
• A penguin island offshore - Humboldt penguins, reached by boat.

When to go

Year round; the fog is thickest in winter. A full day.

Honest expectations

Fog can sit over the park all day and hide everything. Boat trips to the island depend on sea conditions and do not land. Facilities are camping and basic - bring water. Roads inside are gravel.

Nearby

Chanaral is south; Bahia Inglesa and Caldera are further down the coast.