High (average elevation: 7,500 feet), dry (one of the planet's most arid places), and utterly desolate, Chile's Atacama Desert possesses a harsh beauty. An oasis here was first inhabited some 11 millennia ago, and the settlement has evolved into the small town of San Pedro de Atacama, home to about 2,000 permanent residents, some of whom run the funky adobe hotels and restaurants that serve a growing number of Chilean hippies, international backpackers, and others who come to explore the surreal landscape.

The country code for Chile is 56. Prices quoted are for May 2006.

Lodging
Explora Atacama has fans who like its high-desert minimalism and excursions— including horseback rides, volcano climbs, and archaeological tours—that are part of the price. Detractors find it an alien recent arrival and not part of the indigenous culture they've come to experience (22-06-60-60; explora.com; doubles, from $1,546 per person for three nights, all-inclusive).

In San Pedro, La Casa de Don Tomás is a classic adobe compound behind a low wall. Guest room furnishings are fashioned from willow branches, and the pool is lined with boulders and has mountain views (55-85-11-76; dontomas.cl; doubles, $100). The four-year-old Hotel Altiplánico has Internet access and a sleek swimming pool in a courtyard ringed with cabanas (55-85-12-12; altiplanico.cl; doubles, $140). Both are just blocks off the main drag, Caracoles Street.

Like most places in town, the 21-room Lodge Terrantai is constructed of natural materials taken from the surrounding desert, but here they've been put together in a more modern design. The hotel is directly behind the town's namesake 17th-century church, where raucous religious festivals can go on into the wee hours. It has a small but refreshing pool, a restaurant with an outdoor fire pit, and a well-edited list of Chilean vintages (55-85-10-45; terrantai.com; doubles, $144). Takha Takha Hotel has 13 rooms and plenty of places to put up a tent on the grounds for about $8 per person per night. It is run by the matriarch of the Quezada clan, one of the oldest families in San Pedro; her son operates an outdoor vegetarian restaurant and Internet café on the premises (55-85-10-38; doubles, $59–$66).

Dining
La Estaka has dirt floors, a healthy menu, and perhaps the best pisco sour in San Pedro (259D Caracoles St.; 55-85-12-01; entrées, $9–$12). La Estaka's owners' second restaurant, Adobe, is the hot spot in town, where almost everyone who visits comes at least once to dig into local specialties served by handsome waiters around a blazing bonfire (211 Caracoles St.; 55-85-11-32; entrées, $8–$13). Another place to see and be seen is the Hotel Kimal's Paacha Restaurant, where Cameron Diaz and Drew Barrymore tucked in on their way through the desert (452 Domingo Atienza St.; 55-85-11-52; entrées, $10–$14).