Atacama Desert, Chile!

I didn’t really know what to expect when visiting Atacama Chile.  While I love nature and being outside, the desert is not my favorite.  I’ve spent a lot of time in Utah, so red rocks and salt flats are not at the top of my list of things to see.  But I had three weeks in Chile and wanted to have an open mind. 

It was breathtakingly beautiful.  I am so glad I went! 

I recommend 3 full days in Atacama.  Basically, you want one day around San Pedro, one day to go South, and one day to go North.  This order is not arbitrary.  Because of the elevation, you’ll want to explore in this order in order to help acclimate.    

There are dozens of tour companies in San Pedro that offer trips to the main sights.  We rented a car in Calama and I am so glad we did.  This allowed us to see the sights at our own pace and without the crowds that come with a tour.  Navigation is super easy (there aren’t enough roads to get lost on).  But the roads are rough.  While there are lots of horror stories of people getting stuck in the sand and getting a flat tire, if you drive slowly and carefully, I think you are ok.  Really, the scenery and the journey is the main thing to “to do” so you want to be able to take your time and enjoy it.

**Make sure to reserve a car in advance.  As far as possible in advance.  They book up quickly.   

We stayed at Hotel Pascual Andino in San Pedro and I would highly recommend it. It is small, beautiful and centrally located. It was one of my favorite places I stayed on that trip.

You’ll want visit as close to a new moon as possible so you can go stargazing.  There are dozens of tours in town.  I picked a smaller company, Atacama Desert Stargazing,  @ $150 per person it was considerably more expensive, but worth every penny.  Jorge keeps his tours to 6 people or less.  His energy is contagious.  He will pick you up at your hotel, spend an hour providing a star lecture and then you spend the rest of the time looking through his several telescopes.  I have now personally seen the rings around Saturn and the Jupiter’s moons.  It was pretty amazing!!

Layers layers layers!  Temps can vary 30 degrees in a single day.  Hat, coat, gloves, scarf and then sweating in a tank top.  I am not exaggerating.  At any given time we were over dressed and then an hour later, underdressed.

While San Pedro de Atacama is a small town, it had surprisingly good food options.  My two favorites were La Casona and Adobe.  The chicken pil-pil at Adobe was fantastic.  Hotel Pascual Andino made my 2023 short list of favorite places I stayed.  It was small, quite and beautiful in an ideal location with a great breakfast.  It had parking and a fantastic shower. 

Around San Pedro de Atacama – Valle de Luna has four trails and 20km of unique and gorgeous scenery.   You need to book in advance at PuntoTicket.com – Sitio Oficial de Venta de Entradas and the ticket includes sunset.  Plan on 2-4 hours here. 

Driving South – 10 hours.  Bring layers, snacks and water.  Fill up with gas before leaving San Pedro de Atacama.  There are no gas stations and not many places to eat.  While I will mention several “stops” the journey is really the destination. 

            Pass through the Tropic of Capricorn.

The central square and church in Tocano

            Valle de Jere is an oasis in the desert.  It has a traditional house and is where families come for a picnic to escape the heat.

            The main attractions are stops at Salar de Aguas Calientes and Miscanti and Miniuque Lagoons.  The landscapes are spectacular.  You will need to buy tickets in advance and to check in at Socaire beforehand.  I was afraid the check in would be hard, but it was very obvious. 

            On the drive back to San Pedro we stopped at Laguna Chaxa to see the flamingos.   

Heading North is even more driving but still worth it. 

            The road to Tatio Geysers is rough.  It is recommended to go at sunrise but I am glad I didn’t drive in the dark and we had the place to ourselves by mid-morning. 

            We then headed West to Chiu Chiu.  The town was disappointing but the drive was magnificent. 

In addition to magnificent scenery, we saw donkeys, lamas, emus and flamingos.

If I were reading this post, I would think it doesn’t sound worth it and there wasn’t really much there.  But really that impression could not be farther from the truth.  The landscape itself is the destination and it changes by the second.  It was definitely a favorite for everyone on the trip.