If, while driving through the hot Chilean Atacama Desert (South America), you suddenly meet a huge hand on the way, you might think that it was a hallucination from lack of water and the mercilessly scorching sun. You can rub your eyes for a long time and pour water on yourself, but this giant hand will never disappear.
And it will not disappear because it is not a mirage at all … but what is it then? Maybe the giant, unable to withstand the scorching sun, fell and died in the middle of the desert, and the sand fell asleep under the influence of the wind, leaving only a part of his hand on the surface? Not at all, this is a real object, or rather a sculpture created by the Chilean sculptor Mario Irarrázabal.
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This reinforced concrete sculpture "Mano de Desierto", 11 meters high, was erected in 1992 75 km from the city of Antofagasta with the financial support of the corporación Pro Antofagasta corporation. Its author explained its meaning as follows: it expresses how vulnerable and helpless a person is when facing the forces of nature alone. And in the Chilean Atacama Desert, which is considered the hottest desert on the planet, the Valley of Death, where there is nothing but sand and sun for many kilometers, not everyone who dares to overcome it on foot will be able to survive. Therefore, when going on an excursion to inspect the giant hand, take water, food and sun products on the road.
The local landmark is so popular that tourists and locals often decorate it with graffiti and various inscriptions, but luckily it is well looked after and all inscriptions and drawings are periodically erased.
You can get to the sculpture as part of tourist groups, by passing cars, as well as by a rented car. The monumental "Hand of the Desert" is located 75 km south of the city of Antofagasta, not far from the legendary Pan-American Highway. At the city exit, take Route 26 or Route 28 to the intersection with Route 5, part of the Pan-American Highway. The Desert Hand is located a couple of hundred meters from the road, so it will be difficult not to notice this extraordinary eleven-meter sculpture.
