San Pedro de Atacama

Get up before dawn to enjoy the show just as the sun rises, with the craters of El Tatio as the main attraction. Located 4,200 meters above sea level, its fumaroles (smoke from the geysers) create amazing white steam columns which are at their best between 6 and 7 in the morning. On your morning outing see how the local endemic wildlife (viscachas, vicunas, nandues) and other birds leave their hiding spots, looking for their breakfast among the yaretas (fern like plants) and giant cacti. Tired? Finish your day in the healing hot springs that the destination offers. https://chile.travel/en/where-to-go/north-and-the-atacama-desert/san-pedro-atacama/el-tatio-geyser

A must-see for tourists following the “Inca trail”; this is an oasis of shade in the middle of the desert. Inhabited by communities from Atacama, its easy-going pace is only interrupted by religious festivities which, depending on the patron saint, include confetti, flour or algarrobo drinks (fermented drink made from the pods and seeds of the algarrobo tree). Try the typical food of the north and don’t forget to visit the San Francisco Church, built in the 1600s. It is the oldest church in Chile and was built using millennial indigenous techniques. Go in and marvel: it is made out of mud and cactus wood. https://chile.travel/en/where-to-go/north-and-the-atacama-desert/san-pedro-atacama/chiu-chiu

The peculiar rocky formations and dunes of Moon Valley (Valle de la Luna) and the changing colours of Mars Valley (Valle de Marte) and the Salt Mountains are an attraction that you can’t miss while visiting the Atacama Desert. At night, both places become the most romantic spot for stargazing. Found just a few minutes from San Pedro de Atacama, you can get to these mystical settings on bike, trek around them and enjoy sandboarding on the dunes. Visit them and appreciate the overwhelming shadows that the desert displays. https://chile.travel/en/where-to-go/north-and-the-atacama-desert/san-pedro-atacama/moon-and-death-valley

Tulor Village was an important city circa 2800 b.C. with 200 inhabitants. Today, it´s a museum that seems to have been burried under the sand, right in the middle of the desert. The new town features houses built with mud, just like the first inhabitants used to build their homes, surrounded by walls that worked as protection. The constructions reach the 2 meters high and most of them have balconies. https://www.visitchile.com/en/tulor-village/

Center-stage of many surprises, the 3,000 square kilometer salt lake is an unbeatable sight. Home to Andean birds and a large lithium reserve, its thick crust forms heaps that crackle at sundown when temperatures drop quickly. The Atacama Salt Flat is one of the main attractions of the Los Flamencos National Reserve. Be amazed by the large number of long-legged birds that nest and feed in its “watery eyes”, like those of the Chaxa Lagoon. Keep your eyes wide open to try to spot the differences between the Andean, Chilean and James flamingos. https://chile.travel/en/where-to-go/north-and-the-atacama-desert/san-pedro-atacama/atacama-salt-flats

In the enormity of the desert, you’ll find lagoons, salt flats, and mountains that are intertwined with the landscape. Together they create magical sights! The Los Flamencos National Reserve invites you to enjoy the beauty of the landscape around it. The diverse climatic conditions of its seven areas will surprise you as you become one with your surroundings. You can see its variety of flora and fauna where flamingos take center stage. Walk along the trails around the spectacular altiplanic lagoons, discover the Chaxa Tourist Center and see how the sun sets behind Moon Valley (Valle de la Luna). https://chile.travel/en/intereses-destacados/national-parks-and-reserves/los-flamencos-national-reserve

Founded by Belgian priest Gustavo Le Paige, the Archaeological Museum that takes his name shows the evolution of the atacameñan culture throughout more than eleven thousand years, through a valuable collection of Andean archaeology that it includes, among other things, pieces of ceramics, clothes, utensils, and mummies, being famous the old atacameñan mummy found in the desert and baptized like Miss Chile. The history of the museum goes back to 1955 when Le Paige takes root in San Pedro by its church work and, in a parallel way, dedicates to the study of the atacameñan past. Crossing villages and cemeteries he manages to collect the material that is kept in the parochial house. With the aid of the local population, the priest reunites the materials and initiates the construction of a place where to expose the pieces and soon he obtains the support of the Catholic University of the North, then pertaining to the Jesuita order, to qualify the museum. In 1957 the first museum is inaugurated, which contained numerous Hispanic pieces (ceramics, textile, metals) and atacameñas mummies. In 1963, with the support of the Catholic University of the North, it inaugurates the first pavilion of the present museum, located in the center of San Pedro de Atacama. This museum counts with a collection of approximately 380,000 pieces found in the atacameñan territory, that correspond to the period from the origins of the San Pedro culture to the arrival of the Spanish. https://www.explore-atacama.com/eng/touristic-services/padre-le-paige-museum.htm