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Best Time for the The Atacama Desert
Sweet spot: May, June, July — computed from NASA POWER climate normals across the route's overnight towns, balancing temperature, rainfall and daylight.
Shoulder seasons dodge both the altiplanic winter rains and the January crowds — nights are freezing year-round.
Desert winter: -10°C dawns at the geysers; pack serious layers for the 04:30 El Tatio run.
| Month | Temp | Rain | Daylight | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3.1–31.1°C | 8 mm | 13.2 h | |
| February | 2.8–30.3°C | 9 mm | 12.8 h | |
| March | 0.3–29.0°C | 5 mm | 12.2 h | |
| April | -1.4–27.5°C | 1 mm | 11.5 h | |
| May | -5.9–26.0°C | 2 mm | 10.9 h | |
| June | -5.2–25.0°C | 0 mm | 10.6 h | |
| July | -6.7–25.9°C | 1 mm | 10.7 h | |
| August | -6.0–27.6°C | 0 mm | 11.2 h | |
| September | -4.3–26.4°C | 0 mm | 11.9 h | |
| October | -3.1–29.1°C | 1 mm | 12.5 h | |
| November | -1.0–29.1°C | 1 mm | 13.1 h | |
| December | 0.1–29.8°C | 4 mm | 13.4 h |