In a country like Chile, stretching approximately 4,300 kilometres from north to south, there is no shortage of settings for any action sport: high mountains and volcanoes for skiers, mighty rivers for kayakers, challenging waves for surfers, imposing walls and glaciers for climbers and mountaineers, and endless routes and roads for cyclists. On several occasions, this paradise of options has earned Chile the title of the world’s best adventure destination.
To top it all off, in the north, the city of Iquique, the capital of the Tarapacá Region, known for its beaches and excellent climate, is an epicentre for sports like surfing and paragliding all year round. And, as if that weren’t enough, it also has the largest urban sand dune in the world: Cerro Dragón, Dragon Hill.
Arriving in Iquique after a journey along the coastal road, Ruta 1, feels like stumbling upon an oasis in the desert. The Atacama Desert on one side, the Pacific Ocean on the other, and the road that seems to cut through both vast expanses. The journey unveils rocks, sand, and water landscapes, interrupted by small fishing coves. And at the end of this mesmerising drive, Iquique emerges like a mirage, with its tall buildings and the large sand dune rising like a dream in the desert. According to some interpretations, the term ‘Iquique’ comes from the Aymara (Indigenous people in the Andes and Altiplano regions of South America) word ‘ique-ique’ (also spelled as ‘i-kiwe’), meaning ‘place of dreams’.
If New York has the Statue of Liberty and Paris has the Eiffel Tower, Iquique has the Dragon Dune, an iconic city symbol. Cerro Dragón is a geographical and urban landmark formed by a giant sand dune approximately four kilometres long and 200-500 metres above sea level, depending on the exact location within the formation. Some twenty thousand years ago the geomorphological action of coastal winds shaped the dune into a form that originally resembled the appearance of a sleeping dragon. The dimensions of this colossal dune also make it a paradise for sandboarding, the sport of descending sand slopes with a snowboard.
'You’ve probably come on the best day of the year,’ says Geovanny Pizarro, sandboarding instructor, founder of Diablos Adventure, and our friendly host in Iquique. Geovanny, or ‘Geo’ to his friends, is the president of Sandboard Chile, the organisers of the first edition of an event that commemorates the 2015 declaration of the dune as a Nature Sanctuary by Chile’s National Monuments Council.
‘Before that, this place was a mess,’ Geovanny explains. ‘People would dump garbage and debris on the dune, and although much progress has been made, there’s still a lot to do.’
One of the event’s goals is to raise awareness of the dune’s immense natural and ecological value through various activities and workshops. ‘Thanks to the four companies that make up our association, we have more strength to develop these kinds of events, which we believe are very important for highlighting the value of Cerro Dragón.’
In addition to workshops, sandboarding equipment is available for anyone who wants to try it, as are free classes and an evening of concerts and music at sunset. For now, we’re off to our private lesson.
‘Snowboarding is a sibling sport, but there are some differences,’ Geo tells me as we walk up the dune. It’s five in the afternoon, and the heat is intense, but I’m excited by what I see: a long, steep slope of sand that promises thrills.
Geo has represented Chile in international sandboarding championships and secured a third place in the 2016 World Sandboarding Tour. So, I’ll be learning from one of the best. ‘The first and most important thing is to wax the board well,’ he tells me at the top of the slope while I watch him do it. I imitate his movements with the paraffin, which is more akin to surfing than snowboarding. ‘Try not to leave any part of the base unwaxed; it’ll help you gain speed.’
Although the equipment is almost identical to snowboarding, I’m struck by the absence of edges on the board. ‘Indeed, we don’t need them in the sand,’ he explains. ‘In sandboarding, the edge doesn’t dig in as much; the friction is very different from snow, which also changes the technique.’
It’s time for the real deal. I tighten the bindings, stretch my muscles, and prepare to descend. ‘Try not to carve too much; the friction will prevent you from turning like you do on snow,’ Geo says just before I launch myself. ‘It’s more about finding a line and going for it without too many turns,’ he advises. I think about it, and in 3, 2, 1… I’m off! The first sensation as I pick up speed feels familiar, very familiar. However, when I try to apply pressure like I do on snow, I realise quickly it doesn’t work the same on this golden surface. Even so, I manage to string together a few decent turns before reaching the bottom of the slope. Wow. Not bad at all.
While I am making my way back up the dune, more local sandboarders join me, curious about who I am, where I come from, and my previous experience. There are girls and guys, young and not-so-young, all carrying their boards and eager to have a good time. Music plays in the background, adding to the lively atmosphere. Suddenly, I hear a drone and spot a rider descending quickly and with style. It’s Geo. And you can tell – oh, you can tell – his experience.
As the afternoon wears on, even more locals join the gathering. I keep riding up and down the dune, enjoying the sandboarding while groups of kids and families tumble and laugh, playing on the sand. The positive vibes remain strong as the sun sets over the city and the Pacific Ocean. Geo pulls a cooler from the car and offers us some cold beers. ‘The camaraderie in sandboarding is different from other sports, maybe because there aren’t many of us,’ he says, and we toast to the unforgettable day.
As the evening progresses, delicate electronic music with traditional Latin influences plays in the background. The dreamlike orange and pink hues fill the sky and sea as the skyscraper lights begin to glow. Am I living a dream? I savour the moment, reflecting on our wonderful experience in Iquique. Could this be why they called Iquique the city of dreams?
With Diablos Adventure, you can not only learn and glide down the largest urban dune in the world, the great Cerro Dragón, they also offer tandem paragliding flights in one of the best places in Chile to practise it, as well as buggy tours through the desert to the famous oasis of Pica.
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