Desierto del Diablo (Devil’s Desert) landscape in Puna de Atacama, Argentina

The Devil’s Desert

South of Bolivia’s otherworldly salt flats and east of Chile’s famous Valley of the Moon lies an Argentine landscape many liken to the surface of Mars. Explorers who named the area had another comparison in mind, branding it Desierto del Diablo (or the Devil’s Desert). Whether it deserves its dastardly title is up to you, if you’re willing to drive nine hours from the nearest sizeable city to judge for yourself. Truth be told, you’ll probably find neither Martians nor devils living in this extension of the larger Atacama Desert, one of the world’s driest and most inhospitable regions.