Chile: Atacama desert

They call San Pedro a gateway to the Atacama desert. But in my humble opinion it is a lot more than just a gateway. San Pedro is a symbol of life in one of the most extreme environments in the world. Its high altitude and dry climate pose a daily survival challenge for its inhabitants. And yet, the city flourishes in these extraterrestrial conditions.

Before I go on with San Pedro I take a quick step back to the Easter Island, 24 hours before we arrived to San Pedro. After a magical experience on the island me and Lili were on our way to the airport. Our kind host was giving us a complimentary ride with his car. He didn’t speak English, so we had to communicate with him with our very basic Spanish.

He asked us where we are heading next. When he heard that we are going to San Pedro he got really excited. He said that during his youth he was many times there and it is very very beautiful place. “Beautiful” isn’t somehow a match to describe a desert and if this description was coming from any other person, I would just skip it. But it came from an inhabitant of the magical Easter Island! Some days later we found out that “very very beautiful” was actually an understatement.

I would skip the logistics part of our Chile trip as we will tell you more about it in the Santiago article.

Welcome to Atacama desert

Flashforward to our arrival at Calama airport. Maybe for many international tourists Calama is the actual gate to San Pedro and the Atacama desert as it is the closest place you can reach with an airplane. Calama is where you take your rent-a-car or you get picked-up by your travel agency. We have read that the best way to explore San Pedro and its surroundings is with a rent-a-car, so we rented a small car – Chevrolet Onix – which we thought should do the job for two day stay in San Pedro. If we come back to this moment and have to select a car again, we would rather take a four wheel drive, but more about this later in the article 🙂

And before the story continues a small disclaimer from us: we are not usually into mountains and trekking, so what you will see further below is the story of a couple of “average” tourists staying two days in San Pedro de Atacama 🙂

San Pedro de Atacama- our base point

Everything went smoothly with the car rental and we headed towards San Pedro. Up until this moment it was business as usual: small regional airport, couple of rent-a-car desks, Spanish-speaking service, keys handover and hitting the road.

However, about 10 km after Calama we saw the first of several traffic signs, which warn you to check the level of your fuel tank as there are no gas stations ahead! We started realizing that visiting San Pedro isn’t exactly ordinary touristic experience. This feeling was aided by the desert landscape along the road. There was nothing on the sides. Here and there you would see something like a bus stop, but no signs of living creatures at all. Just a straight asphalt road in the middle of the desert. After about 80 minutes of low traffic drive we made it to San Pedro.

Once we left the “Welcome” sign behind us, the nice asphalt road transformed into a desert sand. Maybe there was some asphalted road underneath buried below sand, stones and mud, but we never saw it. This was a big hint in regards to what roads were expecting us in the next two days around San Pedro 🙂

Lili’s 5 good-to-know tips when travelling to San Pedro de Atacama:

• You are going to be in the desert with all its characteristics. It is very hot during the day and the temperature at night can fall to zero or even below. Sand and dust are everywhere and you are almost always covered by a thin film. Plan your clothing in accordance with the extreme conditions.
• Coming from the first tip: stay hydrated and use suncare. The sun is extremely strong at above 2000 meters and sunbathing isn’t a smart idea. Try to cover your body as much as you can: wear long sleeves and a hat.
• San Pedro de Atacama is at 2200 -2400 meters and some of the places of interest are above 4000 meters high. Altitude sickness isn’t uncommon. Symptoms of AMS (acute mountain sickness) include dizziness, shortness of breath, headache and nausea. Keep in mind that drinking alcohol deteriorates your symptoms. Good precaution against altitude sickness is having enough time in San Pedro to acclimatize. Usually three-four days should be sufficient. Still, as AMS is not a matter of age and fitness, there isn’t a guarantee that you will avoid the symptoms even after acclimatization.
• The best way to explore San Pedro de Atacama and its surroundings is to hire a car. Take a four wheel drive. Do not expect nice asphalt-paved roads. Although you see the roads to many of the points of interest on Google maps, they are most likely unpaved ones.
• Keep in mind that the city and most of the places to visit are really remote. If you get sick or injured you will be transported to Calama or even farther to receive an adequate medical treatment. Which takes time and can be very expensive. Therefore, be extra-cautious with all activities that you undertake: trekking, cycling, bathing in geysers and others.

First meeting with Atacama desert

We arrived in San Pedro about 11:30 and we were ready to start exploring. We had a plan to go to Laguna Chaxa first. It is a big salt lake, where we could see flamingos. However, upon check-in at the hotel we got briefed from our nice host. It seemed that we are unlucky as we were coming after several weeks of rains (an extraordinary event for the driest desert of the world!) and many of the points of interest were still closed for visitors. The gravel roads were damaged from the rain and yet to be repaired. So a 150 km drive to Laguna Chaxa would have been in vain. We had to re-think our plan.

Before listing all the places which you can see in just two days in Atacama desert, we want to recommend one very cute place to sleep over for the night. Domos Los Abuelos is within 10 minutes walk from the centre of the town, very close to the Museo de Meteorito. It consists of many independent igloo-shaped bungalows. Some of them are equipped with bathroom while others shared it. The place has even a swimming pool and a very cosy relaxing area. It was a unique experience sleeping in the mud igloo 🙂

Top things to do in Atacama desert from San Pedro de Atacama:

As you can imagine two days is a short time, so you have to pick carefully the things you want to see. And remember the distances might seem small, but the roads do not allow you to drive fast. Plan sufficient time for getting from one place to the other.

• El Tatio geyser field

After the disappointment from the closed Laguna Chaxa (meaning that we won’t probably see any flamingos), we had to quickly adjust our plan. Our host told us that the El Tatio geyser field is open for visitors, but she recommended the sunrise as best time to visit (also recommended by most of the online sources that you will find).

All the tours were starting at 5:30. What we also read is that on the way to the geysers, there is some “remote” chance to see flamingos. “Remote” chance was enough for us: we decided to go right away. From our experience there are some places, which are worth visiting outside the most touristic hours. This gut feeling never led us down before. And this time was no exception.

Our Navigation said we have 80 km to get there, which initially doesn’t seem a lot. But strangely enough it also said that we need 1:40h to cover the distance! We thought this was probably a mistake.

But it wasn’t! Since the very beginning we were driving on an unpaved gravel road. And remember, we did not opt for a four wheel drive. While many people will probably give up the idea after couple of unsecured turns next to a vast abyss, we were crazy enough to continue our uphill drive with the modest Chevrolet Onyx.

The view around was changing fast- obviously we were going to the mountains. I have to say that we were not aware where exactly we were going- neither how high it is, nor what to expect to see. Lili was wearing a beach flamingos dress in fame of the flamingos – not suitable for 4000 meter mountains.

Atacama desert wildlife

The first surprise came at about one third of the whole distance – we saw a llama! Many llamas! This was the first time we saw such animals in the nature. And they were all so cute. Not far from them, we saw the FLAMINGOS!!!

The trip has paid off even before getting to the geyser field 🙂 Being extremely excited, we wanted to get closer to the flamingos – we moved towards the lake. And like in a movie, Lili started sinking in the sand beneath her feet. For a moment we thought that we are in trouble, but fortunately she was able to come back quickly. This was a reminder for us to take extra caution in this wild territory.

The road upwards seemed infinite. And what was a bit scarier: we were the only car on the road. After 2.5h drive, we finally got to the geyser field. Normally there is a checkpoint and a ticket office (most things to see in Atacama desert have admission fee). The ticket costs CLP 10 000.

Unbelievably high 

However, by the time we reached it (15:30), there was no one there. So we just went to the geysers. Driving. The field was splendid: there were many active geysers pouring hot water sometimes up to several meters high.

The scenery was amazing – we were on a plateau surrounded by snowy mountains contrasting with the bluest sky we have ever seen. We were enjoying one of the top attractions of San Pedro all alone (even felt a bit creepy).

While walking around we felt dizzy, we couldn’t catch our breath. And no wonder: we were at 4300 m above sea level, where a mild altitude sickness isn’t uncommon. No need to say the temperatures were much lower than San Pedro – maybe 8-10 degrees.

Although there was a natural swimming pool, we didn’t feel too well to stay much longer and headed back to San Pedro.  

At places the stony downhill road was challenging for the Onyx. Still, we survived it and around 18:30 we made it back at the hotel. After the adventurous journey, we found the dinner especially tasty. Read further below for our restaurant recommendation.

• The Moon valley (Valle de la Luna)

On the second day we had again ambitious program. It was time to visit the places of interest which were just around San Pedro de Atacama. We went first to the Moon valley where you pay a ticket of CLP 1500 and you can visit several things. Be careful though to take the right direction as we firstly took a wrong turn. We ended up stuck in the sand and thankfully there was one car nearby. The people helped us go out of the sand. Otherwise it could have turned into a survivor movie.

One important advice when you drive on sandy sections: don’t stop, don’t switch gears, just drive until you get to a stable surface 🙂 We came back to the start checkpoint and followed the correct direction this time. Soon, the Moon Valley showed up in its full surrealism. Driving along you get the feeling that most of the Mars movies are filmed there. We were surrounded by reddish rocks, dunes, salt lakes, plains and mountains- a moonscape (no wonder where the name of the valley comes from 🙂  

Actually Atacama’s landscapes are unlike other deserts and several movies and television programmes have been filmed in the area. One of the most famous of which is Stanley Kubrick’s  Space Odyssey.

Here is what attractions you can see at the Moon Valley:

1. The Great Dune Trail

Atacama desert is mostly a rocky desert and seeing sand dunes was somehow uncommon. They were formed as a result of thousands of years wind blowing and accumulating of sand. You can see around the dune the natural barriers which constitute its base.

The Great Dune is one of the first stops in the complex. We parked our car and in 15 mins walk we reached the top of the dune, unveiling an amazing view. You see the huge valley cut by the dusty road. A surreal picture.

2. The Amphitheater

This is another beautiful formation which you can see from the Great Dune viewpoint. It is also known as the cordillera de la Sol (Salt Mountain Chain). It is formed by the horizontal accumulation of thin layers of materials (sand, clay, salt), which were subsequently destroyed by movements in Earth’s crest. A chain of peaks formed under the natural forces of water and wind and quite similar to an accordion.

3. Salt mine Victoria

The last place which we visited in this areas was the abandoned salt mine Victoria.

The salt looked as if the rocks were covered by snow and ice. We saw marvelous crystals of gem salt, formed by the low atmospheric pressure and dry climate.

• Stone of Coyote (Piedra del Coyote)

With the same ticket we paid for the Moon valley, we visited another interesting place. We had to go back on the main road and drive 6 kilometers direction Calama. You can park relatively close to the rock and after a short walk you stumble upon a beautiful view to another mountain formation. You will see many photos of people on the edge of the rock, but this isn’t actually allowed and is very dangerous. We strongly advise that you stay within the safety zones.

• San Pedro de Atacama village

There are many things to see around San Pedro, but make sure that you envisage some time to explore the city itself. Walking down its sandy streets you see the following:

– Church of San Pedro de Atacama (Iglesia San Pedro de Atacama)

Constructed during the Spanish colonial period, it is reportedly the second oldest church in Chile. You will see it just opposite to the municipality on the main square of the city.

– The municipality building

Located on the same square as the Cathedral. A white colonial building. When you are facing it, on the right hand side you will find a covered market which leads to the main road and where you can buy souvenirs, clothes and other stuff.

– Shopping

Besides the bazaar which we just mentioned, you will find a lot of small shops across the town (in the central area). This was very surprising as the dusty streets don’t suggest the existence of such shops. Most of the items sold are of high quality. Beachwear, mountain clothes, llama products, etc are just small part of what you can find there.

– The main street

Besides many shops, restaurants and tour agencies, the main street of San Pedro de Atacama also has a number of galleries and craftsman ateliers. Before finding this street, we thought we are among the very few visitors in this desert town. However, the street is so lively at every time of the day, basically you see all the fellow tourists there. You can have some rest and refreshment from the dust and warm weather in the cute bars and cafes (we recommend those two Barros Cafe and Ckunza Tilar).

– Museo de Meteorito

The last stop of our visit to the desert was Museo de Meteorito. But why is there a museum for meteorites in San Pedro? The answer is simple. Meteorites fall everywhere around the world, but Atacama desert with its huge plain areas makes it easier to trace and find them.

The museum is located (temporary as its main building is under renovation) in a balloon- like construction. The ticket costs CLP 3000 and  the whole visit is around half an hour. They provide you with headset which guides you through the exposition of meteorites and also explains everything you need to know about them.

The best part of the visit of course is holding a real meteorite!!! Have you ever done this? They have high content of iron and metal and are much heavier than normal terrestrial rocks. At the end of the tour you can as well buy some jewelry made of meteorites, but it is quite expensive.

In the short time span of two days we saw many unique sceneries and created memories that we will keep with us forever. However, there are many other activities/ places worth visiting, if you plan a longer stay. Below is just a short list with the ones that we would see/attend, if (when) we come back again some day:

– Salar De Uyuni 

Yes, this is the famous Salar De Uyuni in Bolivia. One of the most beautiful places in South America. You can get there with a three day tour from San Pedro. However, beware that you spend almost the full time on altitudes of more than 4000 meters. If you haven’t acclimatized well (at least two-three days in San Pedro) the chances that you experience some symptoms of Altitude Sickness are really high. Even acclimatized you can still feel dizzy, short of breath and with a headache. Plan carefully if you decide to go there.

– Puritama spring

You can get to them if you make a short turn from the road to the El Tatio geysers. The Puritama is actually a warm river, that springs from a rock! Water temperature is usually around 33ºC. It is amazingly clear and pure. If you have time don’t miss it.

– Salar de Tara

Referred from trekkers as “San Pedro’s best-kept secret”. However, this term depends on your interests 🙂 The ride is very long (three four hours) along acceptable road. The place is well above 4500m, so consider it carefully in the same way as Salar De Uyuni.

The landscape is stunning. You will see some peculiar stone formations, quarries, stone towers and the big Tara salt lake. The fauna is abundant and particular to that unique environment. However, I stress again that  this isn’t a popular tourist destination and is very remote.

– Valle del Arcoiris

About 40 kilometers from San Pedro. Unfortunately closed during our visit. It is also popular as the Rainbow valley which stands out for the color of its reddish, beige, green and white earth.

– Laguna Cejar

Amazing location not too far from the city. Unfortunately closed during our visit. It is kind of natural spa located just 16 km away from San Pedro de Atacama.

– Sandboarding at Death Valley

Another very close location that brings joy to all lover of extreme sports.

We left San Pedro with a very positive and inspired feeling after very intensive 48 hours of adventure. But we also left with a sigh of relief that we go back to the civilization. As a conclusion San Pedro is a must-visit place when you go to Chile. We hope that you go there soon and see yourself why 🙂

If you’d like to know the other locations we visited in Chile, you can visit the section dedicated to this country. For more long-haul trip ideas, we also have something for you.