The 'desert bloom' aspires to be declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This spectacular flowering occurs in the Atacama Desert, between the cities of Vallenar and Caldera, in northern Chile.
Rutas del Desierto, a road operated by Sacyr Concesiones, is a privileged witness of this phenomenon.
The flowering of more than 200 unique species takes place, on average, every seven years, after intense rainfall in the Atacama Desert, the most arid desert in the world. This phenomenon has already become a tourist attraction on one of the most unique highways on the planet.
Committed to its protection
For us, the protection of the 'desert bloom' is a commitment to the care of the environment and the development of the communities along the route.
Together with the Regional Government of Atacama, the National Tourism Service (Sernatur) and the Municipality of Caldera, we carried out several actions aimed at informing and orienting users about the observation and preservation points of the place.
One of the actions was the installation of signage, which indicates the distance to the interior roads that connect with Route 5 and lead to the areas with the most flowering.
Observation points
In addition, general service areas of the Concession have been set up as observation and information points; additionally, a card was given to the toll plazas Totoral and Puerto Viejo, which had a QR code with content related to the desert.
The 'desert bloom' is an important boost to the local economy of the Atacama region because the number of visitors increases significantly during the flowering period.