Spring has arrived in the Southern Hemisphere, the southern half of the world, and in Chile even the desert is in bloom. The Atacama, known as one of the driest deserts on Earth, is covered with flowers. This happened after El Niño, a weather pattern that raises global temperatures, brought heavy rains to the region in 2026. The rain allowed seeds and bulbs to grow, many of which had stayed underground for decades.

“It is a unique phenomenon; there are more than 200 plant species,” noted Jorge Carabantes of the National Forest Corporation, which manages Chile’s protected nature areas. He explained that this flowering is extraordinary and very different from anything seen elsewhere.

Between July and August 2026, several regions had their heaviest rainfall since records began in the 1950s. The flowers cover about 17,000 square kilometers, and experts expect the largest bloom since 1997.

The colorful desert has become a popular attraction. Tourists from Chile and abroad are traveling to these remote places to see it. Officials expect nearly 300,000 overnight trips before the flowers disappear in November 2026. “It was striking to see how the flowers grow in such a dry place,” said Franco Moya, a tourist from central Chile.