The Paranal Basecamp (1997)

While construction work progressed at the summit of the Paranal mountain, a small town has gradually emerged at the foot of the mountain - the Paranal Base Camp.

The base camp contains important installations for the ESO Paranal Observatory. In the foreground: The power plant and storage facilities. On the left side is seen the 10-m wide entrance to the Mirror Maintenance Building (MMB) with the aluminizing plant for the giant VLT mirrors. The low white buildings behind the storage and MMB contain dormitories and offices. The wide road leads to the summit, as does the utility duct (electricity, water, communications) to the right.

This photo was obtained in the evening, well after the Sun had set behind the Paranal mountain.