The Atacama Desert in northern Chile sits at over 8,200 feet above sea level (2,500m), and is bordered by the Andes Mountains to the east and the Chilean Coastal Range to the west. It spans four countries – Chile, Argentina, Peru and Bolivia – and is the driest non-polar desert in the world. On average it receives less than an inch of rain per year, and with the Andes acting as a barrier to the very wet neighbouring Amazon basin, there are even some areas of the Atacama that have had no recorded rainfall in over 400 years!
It is also, without doubt, one of the most beautiful places I have visited. Barren panoramas, vast salt flats, spewing geysers and absolute silence and tranquillity. Unless you are an astronaut in training (you’re definitely my coolest subscriber!), the Atacama Desert is likely to be the closest you will get to walking on an extra-terrestrial landscape.
Don’t Miss
Stargazing – the north of Chile is one of the world’s best sites for stargazing. It is quite something to see the detail on faraway planets through a powerful telescope, whilst stood in a landscape that doesn’t look too different!
Otherworldly sundowners – cheese and charcuterie and a large glass of Chilean red wine whilst the mountains glow as the sun slowly sets behind them.
Valle de la Luna – this dramatic landscape of mountains, dunes and boulders is simply spectacular. The landscapes are so alien that NASA used it as a test ground for its Mars Rover.
Puritama Hot Springs – turquoise geothermal pools surrounded by tall grasses. An idyllic spot to while away the afternoon.
Need to Know
Language Spanish
Nearest Airport Calama (CJC)
Currency Chilean Peso (CLP)
ATM/Bank Several ATMs in San Pedro, and most hotels and larger restaurants accept card. Smaller venues are more likely to ask for cash.
Getting Around Tour, bike or hire car.
Staying in Touch Prepaid SIM cards are available across Chile in supermarkets and kiosks. Wifi is limited even in town, and connections patchy.
Weather Dry… very dry! Hot in the day, cold at night.
GETTING THERE
Given its location – 17,000 miles north of the Chilean capital Santiago – the Atacama Desert is surprisingly easy to get to. There are multiple daily LATAM and Sky Airlines flights from Santiago to El Loa Calama Airport. Flying over the Andes is beautiful, but just be warned… the hot desert air makes for a very bumpy descent into Calama…
The airport is about an hour from the town of San Pedro de Atacama. Many hotels provide free transfers, otherwise you can arrange a return trip to the airport for about $29.
Alternatively, buses from Santiago take about 22 hours to reach San Pedro. The most popular option is Turbus, which leaves from both Terminal Alameda and Terminal San Borja. Tickets range from 46,000 CLP (approx. £45) to 68,000 CLP (approx. £66).
GETTING AROUND
San Pedro is walkable – and many places offer bicycle rental – but to get further afield you will need to hire a car or book a tour.
In most places, I usually prefer renting a car or having my own form of transport. However, in the Atacama Desert I think it is preferable to join a tour. There are several reasons for this.
Desert driving can be tricky if you are not familiar with it, especially in the dark. In such an inhospitable landscape you risk getting into a seriously sticky situation if something goes wrong. As many of the most beautiful sights require very early or late evenings, the driving can be exhausting. I think you are likely to get much more out of your trip, if you are able to relax (and even sleep on the way!) and allow someone else to do the transport.
Also, unless you are already a top-notch geologist, learning about this weird and wonderful landscape, and the wildlife and peoples that live in it, from a local expert is fascinating. Our guides from Tierra Atacama were incredibly knowledgeable and we learned so much about Chile and the South American region as whole. Finally, there are few places better to enjoy a sip or two of an excellent Chilean red than whilst watching the sunset on this otherworldly landscape – much easier to do if you aren’t worrying about driving home afterwards!
Tour standards vary considerably so it is worth doing your research or seeking out other travellers’ experiences before booking. I would recommend going for a smaller tour, both as you are likely to get more from it as the guide will be better able to answer all of your questions, but also as the environmental impact tends to be more limited.
Tastur is a highly rated local company that specialises in private day trips to sights around the desert, and a number of more adventurous trips such as trekking or volcano ascents.
WHAT TO DO
San Pedro de Atacama – (2,408m/7,874ft) – narrow dusty roads and a short strip of mud adobe homes make San Pedro a sweet – if very touristy – town.
The bright white San Pedro Church was built in 1744, and stands in the main plaza. Its sloping roof is made from cactus wood. Be sure to visit the Church and hunt out some souvenirs in the nearby market afterwards. I bought the softest pair of alpaca wool socks that I still cherish!
The Atacama and the Atacameños
San Pedro was originally an important stop on the trade routes that connected the Andean highlands with the Pacific coast. From around 9,000BC this harsh region was the centre of the flourishing Atacameño people, and San Pedro was a rest stop for men driving the llama caravans to the sea for trading. In about 1450AD the Atacameños were brought into the Incan Empire, when the Inca ruler Topa Ina Yupanqui conquered the region. The Inca regime constructed new irrigation infrastructure and roads from the Salar de Atacama to what is now northeast Argentina. In 1540 it was the turn of the Spanish to annex the town, ruling the region until the Atacameño joined the Bolivian-led uprisings in the early 1800s. In 1824 the region became part of Bolivia, before falling to Chilean control in the late 1880s during the War of the Pacific.
San Pedro’s economy has long relied on salt and sulphur mining, and the Atacama remains the source of most of the world’s lithium. Today, tourism is the principal income generator in the town. Whilst this has brought jobs to the town, it has not been without challenges. Many older and indigenous residents have seen prices rocket and have left the town, feeling traditional cultures are being pushed out in favour of tourism infrastructure.
Progress is slowly being made, with some of the entrance fees to the various parks now returning directly to the local communities. As with anywhere, when choosing tours and businesses to support on your visit, try to ensure that you have researched those contributing most positively to the local economy and environment.
Machuca – (4,000m/13,123km) – small adobe village a couple of km outside of San Pedro. Often visited by tours on the way back from El Tatio Geysers. This village of just twenty houses and a wooden church now relies entirely on tourists for an income. Whilst it is therefore rather touristy, it is nonetheless an interesting glimpse into traditional life in the region. There are clean paid toilets (300CLP) and a small café serving BBQ-d llama skewers and empanadas.
Puritama Hot Springs – (3,500m/11,500ft) – eight large geothermal pools about 19 miles from San Pedro. Surrounded by tall grasses, this is a really idyllic spot to while away the afternoon after a morning’s hike. The temperature of the water varies from 25° to 30°C (77° to 86°F), and there are modern bathrooms and dressing rooms.
Stargazing – the north of Chile is one of the world’s best sites for stargazing and planet watching as it is cloudless for almost the entire year. Chile now houses 70% of the world’s astronomical infrastructure. Astronomy tours can be easily booked – it is quite something to see the detail on faraway planets through a powerful telescope, whilst stood in a landscape that doesn’t look too different!
The Atacama Desert is such a pristine environment for observing the stars that the European Southern Observatory operates the Atacama Large Millimetre/submillimetre Array here – more snappily known as the ALMA Observatory. It is the largest astronomical project anywhere in the world, made up of a single telescope with 66 high precision antennas located on the Chanjnantor Plateau. If you aren’t attending on a tour, the observatory is open for visitors at weekends.
Preparing for Altitude
Most places in Atacama are at serious altitude so remember to take it easy, drink lots of water and keep an eye out for the signs of altitude sickness.
This is essentially your body telling you it’s not getting enough oxygen. The higher you go, the thinner the air gets meaning as the altitude increases, the less oxygen there is for your body to use. Altitude sickness is your body’s way of telling you it hasn’t got as much oxygen as it normally requires.
Slow travel is the key. Be sure to give yourself enough time to acclimatise, and allow enough days that you are not tempted to try and pack everything into a brief visit.
Also be sure to pack moisturiser and lip balm – my skin dried up almost immediately! You will also want lots of layers. It gets extremely hot during the day, and very cold at night. I took this as the perfect excuse to buy lots of beautifully woven alpaca accessories in the market!
Salar de Atacama – (2,300m/7,900ft) – in the driest place on earth, where better to come than a 3,000 square km salt lake. Very different to their more famous Bolivian counterparts, the salt flats are teeming with flamingos and are the third largest salt flats on the planet. There are three main types here – the Andean, Chilean and James flamingo. Feeding on small crustaceans and algae rich in beta carotene gives the birds their famous pink colour. Book a tour that takes you for sunset and watch as the mountains glow as the sun slowly sets behind them.
Laguna Cejar – this sinkhole has a similar salt concentration to the Middle East’s Dead Sea, meaning you will float weightlessly. The water is refreshingly cold, and you will emerge feeling baby-bottom-soft thanks to the exfoliating salt. Avoid shaving your legs that morning though…! There are fresh-water showers and changing rooms next to the lake. Tie your hair up or wear a swimming cap as the extremely salty water is very damaging to hair,
Valle de la Luna – (2,200m) – this dramatic landscape of mountains, dunes and boulders is simply spectacular. The landscapes here are so alien that NASA used it as a test ground for its Mars Rover. I can’t think of anything I have seen that is even vaguely similar, and watching the colours change from orange to gold as the sun set was mesmerising. A geologist’s dream! Early morning and late afternoon are the best times to visit given the light and the temperature, but you are more likely to be competing with the crowds if you go in the evening.
Valle de Muerte – we took a moonlight walk through the rock formations with Tierra Atacama and it was incredible to be able to walk in the middle of the night solely by the light of the moon. During the day the landscapes here are surreal, barren and beautiful.
El Tatio Geysers – (4,320m/14,021ft) – the largest geyser field in the southern hemisphere, and some of the highest in the world. Best visited early in the morning when the geysers are backlit by the rising sun. Be warned it is seriously cold here – I wore every item of clothing I had packed and still had chilly toes!
WHERE TO EAT
Las Delicias de Carmen – what is not to love about a restaurant that has llamas hanging from the ceiling?! Particularly one that services fantastic, well priced authentic Chilean meals. Not fancy, but really lovely and big portions. Definitely the best bakery in San Pedro.
Charkikan – away from the main street, but worth the (short) walk to try the traditional Sopaipillas – pumpkin flour flatbreads served with a spicy sauce.
Café Esquina – if you like empanadas, this is the place for you. The empanadas here are the size of dinner plates – and delicious.
Aura Andina Restaurant – this cosy place serves good Chilean food at reasonable prices. The ceviche was my favourite.
Blanco – international dishes with a Chilean twist. The fish and Asian inspired options are particularly good.
Sundowners and tuck into a large glass of Chilean red! – almost all tours will set you up for sunset with a tasty spread of local produce and a Chilean red wine for sundowners. Valle de Luna (arrive before 5pm for last entry) and the Salar de Atacama are the top picks.
WHERE TO STAY
I think the Atacama Desert is one of the few places you should swap your “independent” travel for all inclusive! Most of the higher end hotels run small, bespoke tours to lesser visited areas whilst the big tour companies in town tend to be larger bus trips which all head to the same spots. Given part of the attraction of this beautiful landscape is the tranquillity and silence, this seems rather to spoil the magic!
Tierra Atacama – simply the most beautiful hotel I have ever stayed in. Expensive, but the service, meals and excursions are genuinely amazing. The first solar powered hotel in South America, their focus on sustainability is impressive. Full review coming soon!
Hotel Kimal – we spent a bit of time in town before heading to Tierra Atacama, and stayed at this lovely little hotel. Great location, with highly reviewed excursions. The pool and outdoor areas are lovely.
Lodge Altitud – ten minute walk to the centre of San Pedro, with simple rooms offering volcano views. Heated pool.
Check out my guides to the region if you are looking for more ideas for your South American trip – or have a look at my adventure series for more destinations as wild as the Atacama Desert!
Wayne Hamburger says
How strenuous was your trip to Atacama with Tierra? Much hiking? Was the hiking difficult?
@farawaydispatches says
It was all tailored to the guests on each trip – nothing was strenuous, and no hiking involved… unless you wanted to do more!