The Mano del Desierto is a large-scale sculpture of a hand located in the Atacama Desert in Chile, about 60 km to the south and east of the city of Antofagasta, on the Panamerican Highway. The nearest point of reference is the "Ciudad Empresarial La Negra" (La Negra Business City). It lies between the 1309 and 1310 km marker points on the highway he giant hand sculpture can be found in the Atacama Desert in Chile, one of the driest and most deserted places in the world. Created in 1992 by Chilean sculptor Mario Irarrázabal, the work soon came to be known as the Mano del Desierto, Desert Hand. The idea behind the huge hand reaching out to the sky was to express human frailty, pain and loneliness. It is an homage to the vulnerabilities and weaknesses of the human soul in the face of injustices and suffering around the world. The sculpture is 11 meters tall and is located 1,100 meters above sea level. It is a massive and majestic statue which dominates the entire valley. The statue was built in iron and concrete in order to rough the extreme temperatures of the Atacama Desert, which is known for its heat in the daytime and extreme cold at night. It can easily be seen from a distance as well, and can be visited via Route 5, the Pan-American Highway which is located about 43 miles from the city of Antofagasta. The Mano del Desierto is often victim to vandalism by tourists, due to its secluded location. It has been painted and graffitied. Thanks to the help of volunteers, the statue is cleaned every six months and restored to its original state