7 Days Exploring the Atacama Desert

Trip Description

Accomodation

Stay program

• day 1

  Arrival to San Pedro - Astronomical Tour

  Today you will arrive at Calama Airport to start your adventure. From here, you will take a shuttle transfer to San Pedro de Atacama, which takes around 90 minutes. Upon arrival in San Pedro de Atacama, you will be transferred to your hotel. Today, you will have the chance to learn and enjoy one of the brightest nights you will ever see. You will have a short ride to the middle of nowhere, where the tour will start. We will be there between 8 PM and 10 PM, since we need total darkness for the tour to begin. We will observe different types of stars according to their age (blue, yellow, and red), doubles, and variable solar systems. Then, we’ll go for nebulae (delivery rooms of stars) and cluster stars. At the end of the tour, we will observe nearby galaxies, clusters of billions of stars that have traveled together almost from the beginning of our universe. After that, we will include some pictures of you with this amazing sky as a background, taken by a professional photographer. Finally, the driver will take you back to your hotel, where you will spend the night.

• day 2

  Visit the magnificent Laguna Cejar, the Ojos del Salar, and the Laguna Tebiquinche.

  Today, we will visit a series of lagoons located inside the Atacama salt flat, the largest salt flat in Chile. First, we will discover the famous Cejar lagoon and the Piedra lagoon, surrounded by green and yellow grasses, which highlight the color of the water, while offering a unique landscape of turquoise waters and volcanoes. In the Piedra lagoon, we will enjoy a swim with a floating effect similar to that of the Dead Sea. Next, we will visit the Ojos del Salar, two deep freshwater wells in the middle of the desert, as well as the Tebinquinche lagoon, where we will walk along its trail to admire the incredible views where the sky merges with the desert and the whiteness of the salt.

• day 3

  Lunar Landscape at "Valle de la Luna"

  Today you will head to "Valle de la Luna" or Moon Valley, and be amazed by the enormous figures of salt and clay shaped over the years by the wind. There is no life in this valley, nor humidity, making it the most inhospitable place on the planet. When the sun sets, it paints pie tones on the edges of hills and ravines, while the wind blows among the rocks and the sky shifts from pink to purple and finally to black. We will have the chance to share a cocktail and some snacks before ending the tour with a stop to see the sunset in one of the most beautiful locations in the area. After that, you will be dropped off at Plaza Turis Tour, where you can walk back to your hotel or take a taxi. This is necessary since all the tours end simultaneously and the town of San Pedro is small.

• day 4

  Discover the colorful Rainbow Valley

  On this day, we will leave San Pedro de Atacama to the west, and our first stop will be Yerbas Buenas, an area of great historical importance due to one of the most important groups of petroglyphs in the region. Through this place, indigenous caravans crossed from the Argentine northeast and the Bolivian Altiplano, arriving at the Pacific Ocean. We will see varied carvings and drawings in the rock, such as camelids, birds, monkeys, and dogs. Then, you will visit the famous place known as Rainbow Valley. We will make a stop to stretch our legs and visit this place. It is a light walk of 1 hour to get there, and then 1 hour back. Its name comes from the varied colors of the rocks, a result of the different minerals they contain. After the tour, with explanations from our guide and time to take pictures, we will go to the Salado River area, where there is a small valley in which we will be able to walk to see the landscape. After that, we will return to San Pedro de Atacama to end the activity.

• day 5

  Relax in the mountains at the Puritama hot springs

  In the morning, we will pick you up from your hotel and continue our adventure heading to Puritama Hot Springs, which are located in the middle of a canyon. Surrounded by fox tails, the Puritama Hot Springs, which means Water (Puri) and Hot (tama), have a total of 8 pools with thermal waters that have a temperature between 28 ° and 31 ° Celsius, suitable for the whole family. Their water has a significant concentration of minerals, including calcium, magnesium, sodium, and boron, all revitalizing elements for the body and mind. We ascend the Andes range to the thermal baths of Puritama, where we access a well-equipped complex, with restrooms and changing rooms. Here, you can bathe in beautiful pools of crystalline thermal water. You can also take advantage of this trip to enjoy a walk in the pre-cordillera.

• day 6

  Explore the wonderful hidden lagoons of Baltinache and Vallecito (magic bus)

  Discover two wonderful places in the heart of the Atacama Desert: the Hidden Lagoons of Baltinache and Vallecito. This excursion can be done in the morning or in the evening. Your guide will pick you up and we will head towards the desert where Vallecito is located. Then, a technical stop will allow you to walk around, take photos, and observe the salt mountain range with a 360° panoramic view, as well as discover the magic bus where you will hear the story of this mystical place. The second stop is the 7 Hidden Lagoons of Baltinache. After an hour's drive, we will arrive at our destination, where you will have the opportunity to admire the magnificent view of this place and take photos. These lagoons have a high salt content in the water, which is why it is not possible to swim there. Capture the beauty of these two magical places with breathtaking photographs.

• day 7

  Goodbye Atacama! - Transport to Calama airport

  See you soon Atacama! Today, you will be picked up at your hotel to head to Calama Airport for your next flight.