San Pedro de Atacama
Oasis in the desert

Long before the Incas conquered what is now northern Chile in the mid 1400's, there were inhabitants who lived around one of the rare sources of water in the Atacama Desert. The water ran off the Andes, forming oases, and into the desert where it evaporated.
The people who lived there were agrarian, raising their crops in family-maintained plots. They developed a culture called “Atacameño”, and they were there for a long time, developing settlements along the Rio San Pedro. They also built fortresses for protection from other groups. The earliest found Atacameño artifacts date from 11,000 BC.
The Spaniards passed through, a century after the Incas, when Diego de Almagro came by on his way south. Though there was water, there wasn't the gold found in Peru and Mexico.
Nevertheless, the Conquistadores set up a small outpost. The area continued as the center of the Atacama region, now under a different administration. Over time, it gained in importance as mining operations developed around the settlement and San Pedro became the administrative center of the desert.
San Pedro was a main stop on the cattle drives from Argentina to the nitrate mines as well as a stop on the Salta-Antofagasta railroad. When both these activities ended, San Pedro lost importance.
In the 1870's, the governmental offices were transferred to Calama, about 60 miles (100 km) to the west, and San Pedro lapsed almost into obscurity.
Today, San Pedro de Atacama is one of the most widely visited places in Chile. The inhabitants (fewer than 3000) still raise crops; much as their ancestors did, sending their produce to Calama and other markets. The streets of the town are narrow, lined with buildings of adobe and the native wood of carob, “chanar” and pepper trees.
As in most towns in South America, the center of town is the plaza and the shade trees provide welcome relief from the sun and glare.
The church of San Pedro, dating from 1641 and named an historical monument in 1951, has suffered damage from earthquakes over the years, and in 1964 the current tower replaced the one before it. It is built with the same white adobe as the rest of the buildings in the village, with wood from the cardón cactus and leather straps in lieu of nails. Because rain is so scarce, the desert air preserves the adobe.