Our Time in San Pedro de Atacama

During our epic South America Adventure planning sessions, we spent many hours preparing our perfect San Pedro de Atacama itinerary. The Atacama Desert is reknown for its otherworldly landscapes and awe-inspiring night skies. There are salt lagunas with unique ecosystems found nowhere else. But, there is also dry desert heat and high altitudes that will leave you gasping for breath. We knew we needed to be prepared to maximize our time in San Pedro de Atacama.

This article is about our personal experiences in San Pedro de Atacama and the surrounding area, and the itinerary we followed.  If you are interested in planning your own trip, check out this post for more information on how to get to the sites mentioned here.

Arriving in Calama

We began our journey in Calama, with a mid-afternoon flight from Santiago, Chile. After collecting our luggage, we headed to the rental car counter.  The clerk spoke very little  English.  She handed us the keys to our SUV and then pulled out her phone to type for quite a long time.  She showed us the screen of her translator app:  “If you go to the grocery store in Calama, one of you must stay in the car or they will smash your windows and take all of your belongings.  San Pedro is quiet but put your bags in the trunk or they will steal them.”  Oh-kayyyy, we thought.  Welcome to the desert.

In truth, we weren’t that surprised.  Everywhere we went in Chile, we were warned to watch out for crime.  Overall, it did not seem too different from other destinations; travelers should be wary wherever they go.  We did have a rude awakening when we arrived at the bus terminal in Santiago on our first day, but other than that we had no actual problems.  

However, in lieu of that warning, we decided not to stop for supplies in Calama.  Our itinerary for San Pedro de Atacama had us arriving at our AirBnB with enough time to get groceries in town. We hopped on route CH-23 and headed east into the desert. The already barren landscape became more desolate the farther we went.  We saw heat waves shimmering on the horizon.  At one point, these blended with a rocky hill to create an illusion of a floating spaceship – our first mirage!  After about 75 minutes of driving, we rounded a bend and were stopped in our tracks.  An otherworldly landscape spread out before us.  Later we learned we were looking into the Valle de la Luna, or Moon Valley.

Our First Impression of San Pedro de Atacama

We reluctantly tore our eyes away from the magnificent view and continued on to the town of San Pedro de Atacama.  We immediately noticed that this was a unique town unlike anywhere we’d been before.  It was like a scene from the old days in the Wild West, combined with what I imagine Woodstock might have looked like.  The roads were unpaved and dusty and the brick buildings low and cobbled together.  And everywhere there were tourists – gathered in the shade of the few trees, walking out of the local grocery store, browsing the street stalls, and, especially, walking singly and in groups down the middle of the street.  These weren’t your regular tourists with matching outfits, cameras, and fanny packs.  There were ragged backpackers hoisting 75lb bags, retirees with colorful clothing and big hats, and chic young women sporting the latest fashions in sundresses.  

We had planned an intense 5-day itinerary for our time in San Pedro de Atacama. Most of the sites are managed by a local community of atacameños, and it is important to know the entry requirements.  It is amazingly difficult to get accurate information, and there is no consistency or central website to go to.  Some require pre-registration, most are closed one day per week, and the opening hours can vary.  By the end of our trip, we realized these requirements are two-fold.  First, of course, to protect these delicate environments it is important to have a conscientious oversight committee.  But secondly, by making the information difficult for outsiders to access, it encourages tourists to work with (and pay) local guides rather than renting a car yourself, as we did.

Day 1: The Long Drive from San Pedro de Atacama to Las Piedras Rojas

For our first full day in the Atacama, we decided to take a long drive to visit the scenic Piedras Rojas and the altiplanic Lagunas Miscanti and Miniques.  Both of these sites are managed by the town of Socaire, and visitors are required to check in at a station in town before heading out to the sites.  This seems reasonable until you realize that the sites are over an hour away.  The poor traveler who doesn’t know about this requirement is forced to backtrack to the town of Socaire to register before being allowed to enter the sites. Fortunately we were forewarned!

One of our favorite parts of traveling is seeing wild animals in their native habitat.  The Atacama desert did not disappoint.  Our drive began with a herd of goats at the side of the road.  Next, we passed through a grove of trees where a solitary llama was grazing on the leaves.  A trio of burros stared curiously at us from the rise of a hill.  And finally, what we had been waiting for… a herd of vicuñas!  These small relatives of llamas are found in the higher altitudes of the Andes mountains. We felt incredibly lucky to have spotted them and stopped to take about a hundred pictures.  As our drive continued, we saw at least ten more herds of vicuña, including one group that mosied across the road right in front of us.

Laguna Tuyajto

On the advice of another traveler, we headed to the farthest point of our journey first: Laguna Tuyajto.  Throughout our drive, we climbed slowly but steadily in altitude.  We topped out at 13,500 feet!  My dad pointed out that pilots use supplemental oxygen above 12,000 feet.  We had been warned multiple times of the effect of altitude sickness, but it is hard to understand until you actually experience it.  As the day wore on, we both acquired headaches, had difficulty catching our breath even on short hikes, and eventually became rather nauseous.  

Laguna Tuyajto was our first glimpse of one of the beautiful atacameño salt lagoons.  In the high altitude, the water was a stunning turquoise.  We excitedly walked down a path from the parking lot to the shore to explore further.  The salt crust on the edge of the laguna crunched underfoot and there was a brittle dryness in the air.  The Tuyajto and Colorado mountains loomed in the background.  After taking some stunning pictures, we headed back up the path.  That’s when we realized our mistake.  In this high altitude, the gentle 100-yard slope down became an onerous trudge back to our car.  We stopped several times to “take more pictures”, aka catch our breath.

Salar de Aguas Calientes Sur

Back at the car, we turned around on the highway to head back to the towards the Salar de Aguas Calientes Sur.  This salt flat and lagoon stretches across the landscape with the Andes mountains as a backdrop.  It is known for the large red rocks that border its northeastern shore.  These volcanic rocks contain large amounts of iron that have oxidized, giving them a red color.  

In Socaire, we were given a ticket with an entry time for Piedras Rojas of 1 PM.  With all the photo stops we took, it was past 2:30PM when we finally arrived!  The park ranger chastised us as he stamped our ticket, pretending like he wouldn’t let us in, but the joke did not translate well with our limited Spanish.  He assured us he was kidding and then let us know the trail would take about an hour.  That’s when we made our second mistake.  Despite all the warnings we’d read to “stay hydrated!” to mitigate altitude sickness, we left our water in the car.  After all, at home we frequently take hour-long walks without a water bottle, and this trail did not look challenging.

The Altitude Sickness Begins

About a third of the way along the trail, I began to notice a dryness in my mouth and thought longingly of the water bottle left behind in our car.  The wind picked up and gusted around me, trying to wring the last bit of moisture from my lips.  I lowered my head and plodded determinedly onward, one foot in front of the other.

We rounded a final bend in the trail and approached an open area of large flat rocks spread above the lagoon.  A ranger explained the rules in slow Spanish: basically, wander where you want around these rocks, but stay away from the edge.  There were several groups peacefully watching the lagoon and a few couples taking pictures off to one side.  I approached the edge of the rocks (not too close!) and peered over.  The open water was a stunning turquoise and rippled in the brisk breeze.  A thick sea foam had formed where the waves lapped against the shore.  The quiet murmur of other hikers and the whistling of the wind was all that could be heard.

This is a vista that deserves to be lingered over. Something that could inspire the least poetic to write a verse.  But by this time, a fierce headache had begun to set in.  As much as I wanted to soak in the view, I felt an intense need to lie down.  I took one last look, drinking in the scenery, before reluctantly heading back to the trail.

Laguna Miscanti and Laguna Miñiques

The afternoon was getting on by the time we made it back to our car, and we still had one more stop to make.  The Lagunas Miscanti and Miñiques were 30 miles away. Unbeknownst to us, the last four miles were down a bumpy gravel road, full of switchbacks that wound its way up to these two altiplanic lagoons.  I was thankful that Joe was driving because I knew I would not have been able to navigate that.  

We finally arrived at the ranger’s station around 5PM.  The ranger showed us a panorama map of the reserve, complete with paper cutouts of vicuña grazing in the cardboard fields.  We got back in our car and went along the scenic drive. There was a hiking trail that went along both lagunas, but we were in no condition to attempt them.  At this point, even getting out of the car for a photo op was exhausting.

Laguna Miscanti is the first and largest with an area of 15 square miles.  Laguna Miñiques, at the end of the road, is only ½ square mile in size.  Both are formed by meltwater, from Mount Miscanti and the Miñiques Volcano respectively.  They were certainly scenic lakes, with the by-now-familiar salt crust on their surface creating a stunningly white contrast to the blue waters beneath.  However, at the end of a long day, after having already spent considerable time at Laguna Tuyajto, we probably didn’t appreciate these lagunas as much as we should have.  

The ranger’s map was true to its depiction, and we saw a herd of vicuñas grazing in the field in front of Laguna Miscanti.  We also saw an Andean gull standing fearlessly in the middle of the parking lot.  Using our binoculars, I spotted a few horned coots on the shore of Laguna Miñiques.  And maybe a pair of flamingos paddling like ducks far out in the middle of Laguna Miscanti.  Do flamingos paddle like ducks?  I’m not sure, but they looked pink!

One Final Surprise

We headed home after a long day, both feeling the effects of altitude sickness continue to grow.  Returning back down the windy gravel road, I tried to keep watch for Andean desert cats.  But the nausea was too intense, so I closed my eyes and breathed a sigh of relief when we finally made it to the paved highway.  Suddenly I heard Joe exclaim, “What is that?!”, and opened my eyes to see three gigantic birds run across the road in front of our car.  I fumbled with my phone and managed to get a picture of the last one, who kindly paused for a minute before taking off again.  They were rheas, the largest bird in South America, distantly related to the African ostrich and the Australian emu.  What a great way to end an amazing day!

Day 2: In Search of a Laguna

Lagunas Escondidads de Baltinache

The next day, we allowed ourselves a slow start since we were both recovering from the altitude sickness of the previous day.  Our original plan was to visit the Lagunas Escondidas de Baltinache, where visitors were able to float in the salty waters. After our experience with the road to Lagunas Miscanti and Miñiques, we changed our minds.  The way to Baltinache included a miles-long rough gravel road where “a flat tire is part of the adventure.”  No, thank you!

Laguna Cejar

Fortunately, the day before I had spotted a sign for Laguna Cejar, and a quick Google search revealed that swimming was also allowed here. (Well, not so quick on the search as the WiFi at our rental was glacierly slow.) We headed out and arrived there after a relatively easy drive by 1:30PM… only to be told that a) we had to buy tickets ahead of time online, and b) they were closed for the day anyways.  This was an ongoing frustration for us.  Each of the sites around San Pedro de Atacama are managed by a different agency with a different, nearly impossible to find, website. 

We had a brief consultation of our options and decided to continue down the dirt road to Laguna Tebenquiche.  We weren’t sure what to expect, but the sign we had passed earlier assured us that it was open and cost only 5,000 CLP per person.  So we continued down the dirt road that was, thankfully, fairly well maintained.  After about ten minutes we arrived at a ranger station.  The ranger had some basic Spanish and explained the rules.  She added that the water in Laguna Tebenquiche was quite low, almost gone, because it was summertime.  I asked her if we might see flamingos, and she looked sad, said maybe some young, white ones.  I think she meant that with the low water, there are no brine shrimp and therefore no flamingos… but she could’ve been saying something completely different. At any rate, we did not see any flamingos that day.

Los Ojos del Salar

Just past the ranger station were two almost perfectly round ponds, Los Ojos del Salar.  The banks rose about five feet above the water, giving them the appearance of sunken eyes.  With our limited Spanish, the ranger only told us that swimming was not allowed and offered no additional information about them.  Coming from Minnesota, the land of 10,000 lakes, we see water everywhere.  We of course understand that in the desert, this is a rarity.  But in the disappointment of not getting to swim as planned that day, we did not realize how special these ponds are.

It was only later that I found out the true significance of Los Ojos del Salar: they contain fresh water!  They are much deeper than the two-foot salt lagoons; some say they have no bottom.  It is a mystery as to how exactly these two perfectly round ponds welled up in the middle of the desert.  As the only source of fresh water for miles, they have a unique ecosystem and attract many of the desert animals.

Laguna Tebenquiche

We continued on to Laguna Tebenquiche, a five square mile lagoon in the northern half of the Salar de Atacama.  This portion of the desert is very flat, with shimmering heat waves dancing on the horizon far in the distance.   As we approached the laguna, we saw an expanse of snow inexplicably covering the land.  No, not snow. Salt!  In the summer, the water in the laguna almost completely evaporates and only a thick crust of salt remains.  Salt… and halophiles, or salt-loving microbes. 

Laguna Tebenquiche is one of the saltiest parts of the Atacama, and even of the world.  Scientists come here to study extremophiles, microbes that live in regions no other organisms can.  The microbes here are thought to date back to some of the first life on earth.  Incredible!  Even though microscopic organisms were invisible to us, just imagining the miracle of life happening even here, in such a seemingly hostile place, made me shiver in delight.

Star-Gazing in the Atacama Desert

Any trip in the Atacama Desert absolutely must include a star-gazing tour.  The dry air and high altitude combine to make the skies here the best in the world for celestial observations.  That is why scientists built one of the largest telescopes in the world, ALMA, here. 

We had our tour booked with Felipe of AtacamaScope.  He picked us up in San Pedro de Atacama and drove our group of six through many weaving backroads before finally coming to a fenced field.  He flipped a switch and a line of Christmas lights led us to a circle of benches surrounding a four-foot telescope.

A Tour of the Night Sky

Over the next two hours, using his telescope and a simple laser pointer, Felipe took us on a mesmerizing tour of the night sky.  Through the telescope, we looked at Saturn and Jupiter, and saw their rings and their larger moons.  He then showed us the Small Magellanic Cloud and the Large Magellanic Cloud, two galaxies visible in the southern hemisphere.  We looked at Sirius, the dog star, which is quite close to Earth at only 8 light years away.  It is actually a triple star system, consisting of a blue-white star, Canis Majoris; a white dwarf star, Sirius B; and a newly discovered third star.  (New to modern scientists, anyways; the Egyptians seem to have known about it.)  We saw the Orion Nebula, one of the brightest regions of star-forming gas clouds in the night sky.  And we looked at the star Betelgeuse, which scientists believe has already gone supernova and that someday relatively soon – probably decades – the light from that explosion will reach us as the star becomes as bright as our sun.  Wow!!!

While Felipe’s telescope was enlightening, what was equally incredible were the observations we were able to make with our naked eyes.  Felipe pointed out the constellations, like Taurus, Orion, Canis Major, and Gemini.  We saw the Southern Cross, the southern hemisphere’s equivalent to Ursas Major and Minor. And best of all, spread across the sky, was the Milky Way, the spiral galaxy that Earth itself is a part of.  I was literally left speechless as I tried to comprehend all of this.

Day 3: An Other-Worldly Place

La Valle De La Luna

After contemplating the night sky, we were ready to go to the moon!  Or, at least, the Valley of the Moon.  Here is one of the harshest environments found in the Atacama Desert, with hardly any life, either flora or fauna.  The desolate landscape and the dusty, rocky features looks as many imagine the surface of the moon.  In fact, this location has been used to test one of the Mars rovers.

The ranger at the visitor center gave us a map and marked several trail options.  We knew we wanted to see Duna Mayor, so we decided to head there first and then see how we felt.  Along the way, we passed by some stunning canyons and remarkable scenery.  The most amazing vista was the Amphitheater, a huge curved rock formation that looks like a crater on the moon. 

Duna Mayor

The ranger had marked the Duna Mayor trail as a “Y” shaped trail, starting from the parking lot and then branching off into two viewpoint options that did not connect.  (Keep reading, because we discovered it was actually a loop trail.)  We started up the main trail, where the footing underneath was a fine and shifting sand.  Fortunately, this gave way to a firmer packed dirt as we approached the fork in the trail.  We headed towards Mirador 1, as we had read this would give us the best view of Duna Mayor. It climbed along the side of a steep cliff of hard packed dirt, clay, and salt.  Back home in Minnesota, we would have considered this a fun day hike.  Here under the scorching sun and at an elevation four times what we were used to, we definitely noticed the incline as we worked our way uphill.

Mirador 1

There was no shade to be found at the top – the small shelter was reserved for the park ranger – but there was an incredible view.  We saw that the trail turned to follow the ridgeline of the hill we had climbed, heading back in the general direction that we came.  We were uncertain if this would loop around to connect with the main trail, but we decided to follow the hikers in front of us and see where it led.  Walking along the ridge, being able to look in every direction and see the Valle de la Luna spread out beneath us, was incredible.  The path was wide enough that I did not feel a sense of vertigo, but I did watch my footing carefully.  

Mirador 2

As it turned out, the ridgeline trail led us to Mirador 2, which was right in front of the peak of Duna Mayor.  There was a large group of tourists taking selfies, but I managed to push to the front long enough to snap a quick picture of the dune stretching out before me.

At Mirador 2, we had the option to return down to where we saw the fork in the main trail, or to continue to descend the ridge on the back side.  Turns out the trail was a loop, after all. The latter option led to a different parking lot and would have required a ten minute walk on the park road.  Being hot and tired, we took the road more traveled and shorter!

The Achaches & Mina del Sal

There were two other trail options presented to us by the park ranger.  The first was the Achaches overlook.  The park ranger had marked this as a 90-minute loop trail which winds through the canyons on the west side of Duna Mayor.  The other trail option was Mina del Sal, a short 30-minute hike through a former salt mine.  There was some abandoned mining equipment hidden somewhere behind the rocks, but we had mixed information about whether or not we could actually enter the salt mine.  It was late in the day, so we decided to pass on any more hikes.

Las Tres Marias

Finally, we came to the end of the park road, where the landscape leveled out a bit.  Away from the canyons and dunes, the wind has eroded the mixed rock-salt outcroppings into some interesting shapes.  There is a group of three famously known as Las Tres Marias, or the three Marias.

Day 4: Archaeology and Volcanoes

Our fourth day was a bit of an unplanned day.  We spent the morning wandering around the town of San Pedro de Atacama.  Along the way, we came across the R.P. Gustavo Le Paige Archaeological Museum.  Father Gustavo Le Paige was a Jesuit missionary based in San Pedro de Atacama in the 1950s.  During his time here, he collected over 380,000 atacameño artifacts.  The muesum is managed by the Universidad Catolica del Norte.  The artifacts on display were in one large room and included hats, baskets, musical instruments, ceramic vessels, and weapons.  

Later that afternoon, we decided to drive in the one direction we hadn’t gone yet: east.  We took Route 27-CH, heading directly towards the Licancabur Volcano.  We felt our ears pop as we gained in elevation and the mountains loomed larger.  The volcano tops out at 19,400 feet. Hidden at the top is a crater lake, one of the highest in the world. 

Had we continued along the highway, we could have driven all the way to the Bolivian border.  But the day was getting late and we turned back towards San Pedro de Atacama.  As we descended back down the foothills, we watched the sun set over the Atacama in the most spectacular burst of colors.

Day 5: Spa Day at Puritama Hot Springs

For our final day in San Pedro de Atacama, we booked an afternoon time slot at the nearby Puritama Hot Springs.  The Puritama spring runs through a deep Andean canyon, with several natural pools that have been further enhanced by the Explora tourism company.  The geothermal activity of the Tatio Volcano heats the spring, warming the water to a comfortable 82-88 degrees F.

Valle de los Cacti

The drive to the Puritama Conservation was relatively easy.  We headed north out of San Pedro de Atacama and drove along the paved Route B-245 for about 30 minutes.  Along the way, we passed through the Valle de los Cacti, an apt description as the area was dotted with more pole cacti than I’ve ever seen.  These are Cardon Cactus, a rare species native to the Atacama Desert that can reach 7 meters high.  Many of the specimen in this valley are over 100 years old!  There were other cacti here, too, ranging in size and color from petite yellow pincushions to auburn shrubs full of prickles.  The Valle de los Cacti is where the Puritama and Purifica rivers come down from the mountains, creating an ideal environment for these unique plants.

We ascended to the ridgeline above the valley, where we encountered a herd of goats grazing peacefully amongst the cacti. A pair of llamas guarded the goats.  I’d read about this practice before and loved being able to see it in person.  One of the llamas, an inquisitive white fellow, walked right up to our car and over to the driver’s side, clearly hoping that Joe would roll down the window and offer him a snack. (He didn’t!)

Puritama Hot Springs

We finally reached Puritama Hot Springs, pulling up to the gate just a few minutes before our scheduled time of 2PM.  There were only a handful of cars in the parking lot, so we eagerly headed down the path, hoping to be one of the first in the pools.  The walk from the parking lot is an easy 10 minute downhill stroll.  If you’d prefer to avoid that, order the VIP tour. You will be driven into the valley and dropped off a few feet from Pool #1 and the VIP area.

There were several staff members walking along the boardwalks that lead to the pools.  One greeted us and showed us the central facilities with changing rooms and bathrooms.  He explained that the pools are numbered one through eight, with one being the top and warmest pool and eight being the farthest away, coolest pool.  The pools contain minerals that have been washed down from the Andes mountains. Soaking in the waters is thought to be good for your health.

Pool #2

Pool #2 was right next to the entryway, hidden behind a clump of pampas grass.  There was only one other couple in it at the moment, so we decided to jump in and check it out before exploring the rest of the hot springs.  It was a nice secluded spot. Despite the many groups we could see entering the boardwalk system, we had the pool almost completely to ourselves for an entire hour.  After that, more people started to realize that it was the best pool!  It became quite crowded, with close to twenty people in the waters at peak time.  By then we had staked out our spot on some natural rock seats and stubbornly held our ground.

Pool #2 has a basin about ten feet in diameter, with natural rock seating around the periphery of the downstream side.  The upstream half is open to the stream and leads to the bottom of a waterfall, the overflow from Pool #1 above.  We watched many families swim-walking upstream to have a photoshoot under this waterfall.  Pampas grass grew along the sides of the entire streambed, but the grass had been neatly trimmed to keep it from trailing in the water.  This greatly reduced the amount of slimy vegetation, although there was still an occasional clump of algae that floated by.

Pool #1

After two hours that went by surprisingly quickly, we decided to surrender our prime spot at Pool #2 and check out the rest of the grounds.  We had intended to head downstream towards Pools #3-8, but Joe noticed that the way to Pool #1 was clear.  When we first arrived, there was a barrier in front of that path and the pool appeared to be reserved.  However, after a vanful of tourists left from the VIP parking lot, the barrier was disappeared.  So, we headed up the path to Pool #1.

Pool #1 was amazing!  It was easily three times as big as Pool #2, noticeably warmer, and had less of a current.  We floated blissfully in the calm waters. Best of all, it was empty!  At least, for a while.  Even when others arrived, there were only ten of us and we didn’t feel too crowded.  We ended up spending our remaining time here and never did get a chance to check out the lower pools.  While I generally love exploring, I was absolutely content knowing we had had the most enjoyable time soaking in the Puritama Hot Springs.  What a perfect way to end our time in the Atacama Desert!

Our Advice

The Atacama Desert is truly a unique place, with a surprisingly varied landscape.  We had an amazing experience during our visit, but there are a few things we’d do differently if we went back.

Acclimate to the Altitude!

If you are researching a trip to San Pedro de Atacama, you’ve probably already read countless warnings about altitude sickness.  Trust me, it isn’t something you can really understand until you experience it.  We come from Minnesota, at around 750 feet elevation.  San Pedro de Atacama is at 8,000 feet.  And on our first day, we drove up to Laguna Tuyajto at 13,500 feet.  Don’t do that!!  We’d recommend an activity at a lower elevation, such as La Valle de la Luna, on your first day.

How Many Lagunas are Enough?

There are many lagunas in the San Pedro de Atacama area, and each one is uniquely beautiful and worth seeing. But… as travelers, we often have limited time to experience a place.  Packing too much into one day will leave you too exhausted to appreciate the next day.  For example, we visited three altiplanic lakes on our first day: Lagunas Tuyajto, Miscanti, and Miñiques. The drive to Lagunas Miscanti and Miñiques was quite challenging and we didn’t feel we got a lot more out of it.  Later, we decided to skip Laguna Chaxa after we had already visited nearby Laguna Tebenquiche.  

Guided Activities vs. Self-Exploration

We opted to rent a car and explore San Pedro de Atacama on our own.  I’m glad we did, but I do think this is a personal decision that could easily go either way.  You can read more about our thoughts on this subject here.

Accomodations

Getting a good night’s sleep can make all the difference on a vacation, especially one with as many challenges as the Atacama Desert.  We unfortunately ended up in a hot, stuffy AirBnB with a very uncomfortable bed.  It is true that the desert nights are cool, but that means nothing if there are no windows that you can open.  We always read the reviews carefully, but that is no guarantee and sometimes you just get unlucky.