The Giant of Atacama

In the middle of a hot barren desert lies a strange homage to the Gods. It's an engraving of a figure with long thin arms, spiky hair (Simpson-esque) and what appears to be a large round bellybutton around the waistline. It faces east away from the Pacific Ocean on a plateau that protrudes out of the desert like an island in an ocean.

The geoglyph measures 282 feet tall and half that in width making it the largest prehistoric anthropomorphic figure in the world. It was shaped using thousands of tiny stones arranged by many different indigenous cultures somewhere around 1000AD.

This area is called Unita Hill and 'The Giant of Atacama' attracts visitors from all over the world. There are theories that say the figure has something to do with the changing seasons, stars and moon but nobody can be certain.

What surprises me most about this World Heritage Site is that despite nature's rough elements and human vandals, it has never been completely destroyed. Workers have retraced it so that it appears bolder from a distance but that is all they have fixed.

Trekking to the top of it was an unusual exception. On the farside is a panoramic view of miles of mountain range and windswept sand. Far off in the distance is a little oasis where flowers and fruit trees dot the desert.

It's deceiving but the altitude makes the short trek to the top a whole lot tougher than usual. Carrying my tripod, video and still camera I made it panting, wheezing and gasping for breath. My fellow 75 year old journalist nearly raced me there.