Sports Illustrated Swimsuit models found the perfect fit at the Alto Atacama Desert Lodge & Spa in Chile’s Atacama Desert—part of the hotly anticipated 2010 Swimsuit Edition, which hits newsstands today. The Atacama, the driest desert in the world and one of the most otherworldly destinations beyond the moon, gave celebrated photographer Raphael Mazzucco the chance to work with a endless array of colorful and one-of-a-kind Andean “altiplanico” backdrops to showcase high-fashion swimwear and the beautiful models who wore them.

Four of Sports Illustrated’s models traveled to the Atacama Desert including Julie Henderson, Daniella Sarahyba, Irina Shayk, and Zoe Duchesne. The models posed for thousands of photos in the Alto Atacama Lodge’s guestroom terraces and against the dusty orange hills that surround the lodge property, at turquoise-colored salt flats, sand dunes and oases.

Following two days of acclimatization, Julie Henderson and Irina Shayk traveled to altitudes of up to 14,000 feet to pose at the Salar de Tara’s wetlands and the world’s highest active geysers at Tatio. The Alto Atacama Lodge’s alpaca “Pepito” got camera time too, sidling up to a bikini-clad Irina Shayk.

On hand to cover the photo shoot was CNBC’s Sports Business Reporter Darren Rovell, who flew to Chile to interview SI editors and models on location at the Alto Atacama Desert Lodge for his special “A Model Business: Inside the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.” The CNBC Original Series provides a behind-the-scenes look at the scouting, set-up, and inner-workings of the Atacama photo shoot and Sports Illustrated’s much-anticipated franchise that is the most profitable magazine single issue in the world. The show premieres Tuesday, February 9 at 9pm ET.

For a look at behind-the-scenes photos of the models at the Alto Atacama, visit http://www.si.com/swimsuit.