Rare wildflowers cover the Atacama Desert in Chile

Chile’s Atacama Desert is long and lean, nestled between the Andes and the Pacific Ocean.

The extreme dryness of the Sahara makes it one of the clearest places on Earth to view the night sky and is famous for being home to the largest radio telescope in the world.

But the normally barren landscape has been transformed by a carpet of colorful wildflowers, brought back to life by heavy rainfall during the Southern Hemisphere’s winter months.

This is thought to be an event that occurs only every few years, when above-average rainfall drenches the desert floor, bringing dormant seeds to life.

The Atacama Desert typically receives less than 15 mm of rain each year.

But the area saw more than 12 millimeters of rain during August alone, most of it falling in just one day.

The desert also saw a rare blanket of snow in June.

This magnificent flowerbed is made up of over 200 different species of wildflowers, some of which grow nowhere else in the world. It usually occurs between the end of August and November.

Although thought to be rare, the phenomenon also occurred in 2024, after heavy rainfall in the region.

This year’s supply will be at its peak for a few more weeks, according to CONAF, Chile’s national forest foundation.