San Pedro de Atacama - Chile

401

irosetravel

Aeropuerto El Loa Calama (CJC) image
Chilean Rent A Car image
Altiplanico San Pedro de Atacama image
Altiplanico San Pedro de Atacama image
Altiplanico San Pedro de Atacama image
Sernatur image
San Pedro de Atacama image
San Pedro de Atacama image
Altiplanico San Pedro de Atacama image
Lagunas Escondidas de Baltinache image
Lagunas Escondidas de Baltinache image
Lagunas Escondidas de Baltinache image
Lagunas Escondidas de Baltinache image
Valle de Marte / Valle de la Muerte image
Café Aloja image
Laguna Piedra image
Laguna Piedra image
Laguna Piedra image
Laguna Tebinquiche image
Laguna Tebinquiche image
Ojos del Salar image
Ojos del Salar image
Geysers Del Tatio image
Geysers Del Tatio image
Geysers Del Tatio image
Geysers Del Tatio image
Toconce image
Toconce image
Toconce image
Restaurante Agua Loca image
Restaurante Agua Loca image
Feria Artesanal San Pedro de Atacama image
Valle de la Luna image
Valle de la Luna image
Valle de la Luna image
Altiplanico San Pedro de Atacama image
San Pedro de Atacama image
Catarpe image
Catarpe image
Garganta del Diablo image
Garganta del Diablo image
Aeropuerto El Loa Calama (CJC) image
Aeropuerto El Loa Calama (CJC)
Chilean Rent A Car
Altiplanico San Pedro de Atacama
Altiplanico San Pedro de Atacama
Altiplanico San Pedro de Atacama
Sernatur
Catarpe38 of 42
38 / 42
irosetravel

San Pedro de Atacama - Chile

irosetravel

6 Days

6 Cities

Friends

Day 1
Calama San Pedro de Atacama

22 Nov

Calama image
Aeropuerto El Loa Calama (CJC)

Calama07:00 AMActivity

Calama image
Chilean Rent A Car

Calama08:00 AMActivity

San Pedro de Atacama image
Altiplanico San Pedro de Atacama

San Pedro de Atacama10:00 AMLodging

San Pedro de Atacama image
Sernatur

San Pedro de Atacama02:00 PMActivity

San Pedro de Atacama image
San Pedro de Atacama

San Pedro de Atacama04:00 PMActivity

San Pedro de Atacama image
Altiplanico San Pedro de Atacama

San Pedro de Atacama08:00 PMLodging

Day 2
El Loa San Pedro de Atacama

23 Nov

El Loa image
Lagunas Escondidas de Baltinache

El Loa02:00 PMActivity

San Pedro de Atacama image
Valle de Marte / Valle de la Muerte

San Pedro de Atacama04:00 PMActivity

San Pedro de Atacama image
Café Aloja

San Pedro de Atacama08:00 PMFood

Day 3
San Pedro de Atacama El Loa San Pedro de Atacama

24 Nov

San Pedro de Atacama image
Laguna Piedra

San Pedro de Atacama11:00 AMActivity

El Loa image
Laguna Tebinquiche

El Loa03:00 PMActivity

San Pedro de Atacama image
Ojos del Salar

San Pedro de Atacama04:00 PMActivity

Day 4
Antofagasta Toconce Antofagasta

25 Nov

Antofagasta image
Geysers Del Tatio

Antofagasta05:30 AMActivity

Toconce image
Toconce

Toconce10:00 AMActivity

Antofagasta image
Restaurante Agua Loca

Antofagasta08:00 PMFood

Day 5
San Pedro de Atacama El Loa San Pedro de Atacama

26 Nov

San Pedro de Atacama image
Feria Artesanal San Pedro de Atacama

San Pedro de Atacama03:00 PMActivity

El Loa image
Valle de la Luna

El Loa08:00 PMActivity

San Pedro de Atacama image
Altiplanico San Pedro de Atacama

San Pedro de Atacama09:00 PMLodging

San Pedro de Atacama image
San Pedro de Atacama

San Pedro de Atacama10:00 PMActivity

Day 6
Catarpe San Pedro de Atacama Calama

27 Nov

Catarpe image
Catarpe

Catarpe12:00 PMActivity

San Pedro de Atacama image
Garganta del Diablo

San Pedro de Atacama02:00 PMActivity

Calama image
Aeropuerto El Loa Calama (CJC)

Calama06:00 PMActivity

Calama

22 Nov

Aeropuerto El Loa Calama (CJC)
07:00 AM

Aeropuerto El Loa Calama (CJC) image

Good

  4.2 Travogram_google  (2694)

After an early morning flight from Santiago we arrived at El Loa Calama airport which is the closest airport to San Pedro. There we rented a car to make our road trip happen. The airport is small and cars are limited so make sure to book in advance.

3 mins by Walk

Chilean Rent A Car
08:00 AM

Chilean Rent A Car image

Average

  3 Travogram_google  (67)

All big companies had ran out of cars but luckily this company still had cars available. You have to rent an SUV for the region as there are a lot of dirt roads. We had a Nissan Kicks that we rented for approximately 50$ per day. What I didn’t like about the company is that we arrived a bit earlier than the time we booked the car for and they made us wait for an hour even if the car was already there..

1 hour 13 mins by Car

San Pedro de Atacama

22 Nov

Altiplanico San Pedro de Atacama
10:00 AM

Altiplanico San Pedro de Atacama image
Altiplanico San Pedro de Atacama imageAltiplanico San Pedro de Atacama
Altiplanico San Pedro de Atacama image
1 / 3

Excellent

  4.5 Travogram_google  (98)

We stayed at Hotel Altiplanico for our entire stay and I highly recommend it. The hotel is built as a circular village, each room being a small house connected through little paths. I really liked the service, healthy food and overall vibe of the hotel.

5 mins by Car

Sernatur
02:00 PM

Sernatur image

Good

  4.3 Travogram_google  (67)

As many things seemed to be closed, we made a stop at the Sernatur which is the Chilean national tourism service agency. Indeed, many places are currently closed because of covid.

3 mins by Car

San Pedro de Atacama
04:00 PM

San Pedro de Atacama image
San Pedro de Atacama image
1 / 2

Good

    

By the end of the afternoon we drove along the desert road. The views of volcano Licancabur are stunning! The desert road was shut off after a few kms though, as it is closed on certain days…

3 mins by Car

Altiplanico San Pedro de Atacama
08:00 PM

Altiplanico San Pedro de Atacama image

Excellent

  4.5 Travogram_google  (98)

Our hotels restaurant had delicious food and we had an excellent dinner there.

El Loa

23 Nov

Lagunas Escondidas de Baltinache
02:00 PM

Lagunas Escondidas de Baltinache imageLagunas Escondidas de Baltinache
Lagunas Escondidas de Baltinache image
Lagunas Escondidas de Baltinache image
Lagunas Escondidas de Baltinache image
1 / 4

Excellent

  4.7 Travogram_google  (1436)

This is one of my favourite places I’ve seen during our SPA trip! It’s a long drive from San Pedro and not an easy one but it is so worth it. I advise to come around lunch time because that is the only time where the tours don’t come and you will have the place to yourself as most people take tours. You can swim in 2 of the 5 pools, due to the high salinity you can float like in the Dead Sea. I would advise to not spent too much time inside the water as the salt is harmful for your skin and you are not allowed to use sunscreen (to protect the environment). This place has no showers but they give you a jerrycan with water so that you can rinse off the salt after swimming.

51 mins by Car

San Pedro de Atacama

23 Nov

Valle de Marte / Valle de la Muerte
04:00 PM

Valle de Marte / Valle de la Muerte image

Excellent

  4.6 Travogram_google  (127)

Normally we had planned to visit Valle de Marte also known as Death Valley but because of covid it was closed 😞 If you go after the pandemic I highly recommend visiting this valley and take at least an entire afternoon to do so because there is a lot to see.

7 mins by Car

Café Aloja
08:00 PM

Café Aloja image

Average

    

It’s a restaurant that also works as a bar, has live music and cocktails. They have tables inside but also a terrace outside. The food varies from “Japanese” food to Chilean food. The dishes were gigantic, I was only able to eat a tiny bit of it 😅 I prefer smaller portions of higher quality.

San Pedro de Atacama

24 Nov

Laguna Piedra
11:00 AM

Laguna Piedra image
Laguna Piedra image
Laguna Piedra imageLaguna Piedra
1 / 3

Good

  4.7 Travogram_google  (712)

If you don’t come with a tour, you are only allowed access until 1pm. The entry costs 15 000 CLP. There is one salt lake where you can swim and 2 other lakes where you can admire the landscape. The place has good showers and changing rooms.

24 mins by Car

El Loa

24 Nov

Laguna Tebinquiche
03:00 PM

Laguna Tebinquiche imageLaguna Tebinquiche
Laguna Tebinquiche image
1 / 2

Good

  4.8 Travogram_google  (491)

This is another salt lake where you can walk around for an hour. The lakes are inhabited by extremophile organisms that are the oldest organisms on earth. You can see them under the form of “rocks”. The entry costs 5000 CLP and also includes entry to los Ojos del Salar.

4 mins by Car

San Pedro de Atacama

24 Nov

Ojos del Salar
04:00 PM

Ojos del Salar imageOjos del Salar
Ojos del Salar image
1 / 2

Dislike

  4.6 Travogram_google  (2372)

When you google this place you always see drone footage because from above, these 2 holes look like 2 eyes. However it is not allowed to fly drones anymore (in none of the places we have been to actually) and from the ground it just looks like a dark hole of dirty water.

Antofagasta

25 Nov

Geysers Del Tatio
05:30 AM

Geysers Del Tatio image
Geysers Del Tatio image
Geysers Del Tatio image
Geysers Del Tatio image
1 / 4

Excellent

  4.8 Travogram_google  (6494)

This is the 3rd largest geothermal field in the world and the highest in altitude (4200m). We went with a tour which I highly recommend since you have to leave very early. They came to pick us up around 4:30 am because the best geothermal activity is before sunrise. Our guide gave us plenty of information about the place and even took (good) pictures of us.

1 hour 55 mins by Bus

Toconce

25 Nov

Toconce
10:00 AM

Toconce image
Toconce image
Toconce image
1 / 3

Good

    

After visiting the geysers, the bus stopped in the middle of the Andes mountains and we had breakfast. The views were just stunning and on the way we could see vicuñas and other animals. On the drive back to San Pedro we made many stops to admire the landscapes and we saw many different birds and species of flamingos 🦩

2 hours 8 mins by Car

Antofagasta

25 Nov

Restaurante Agua Loca
08:00 PM

Restaurante Agua Loca image
Restaurante Agua Loca imageRestaurante Agua Loca
1 / 2

Excellent

  4 Travogram_google  (178)

We had a lovely dinner at this place that serves Chilean food and had live music! I ordered a cocktail called “Lagunas escondidas de Baltinache” and they did an amazing job recreating the place! It even tasted as salty as the water of the lakes 😂

San Pedro de Atacama

26 Nov

Feria Artesanal San Pedro de Atacama
03:00 PM

Feria Artesanal San Pedro de Atacama image

Average

  4.3 Travogram_google  (67)

We wanted to find a nice place to buy souvenirs and this place was recommended to us. However none of the articles they sold looked authentic, actually all shops sold the same objects meaning it is mass produced. I ended up not buying anything.

18 mins by Car

El Loa

26 Nov

Valle de la Luna
08:00 PM

Valle de la Luna imageValle de la Luna
Valle de la Luna image
Valle de la Luna imageValle de la Luna
1 / 3

Excellent

  4.3 Travogram_google  (75)

The valley is closed due to covid but we were able to overlook it from a mirador and see the sunset. If you go when it’s open again, make sure to take at least half a day to hike through this valley and watch the sunset from the grand dune.

17 mins by Car

San Pedro de Atacama

26 Nov

Altiplanico San Pedro de Atacama
09:00 PM

Altiplanico San Pedro de Atacama image

Good

  4.5 Travogram_google  (98)

Since we didn’t have a lot of time to eat before our evening tour, we ate a quick pizza at our hotels restaurant.

3 mins by Bus

San Pedro de Atacama
10:00 PM

San Pedro de Atacama image

Excellent

    

The Atacama desert is the driest place on earth and therefore the best place to see the stars! Many agencies offer astronomical tours where they take you to see the stars and planets through telescopes. I chose one specific tour because they also offered HD astro pictures. We received a lot of information about the cosmos, watched multiple stars through telescopes, as well as Venus, Jupiter and Saturn. We had a break with hot chocolate and cookies and ultimately, everyone got to pose for some pictures under the stars ✨

Catarpe

27 Nov

Catarpe
12:00 PM

Catarpe image
Catarpe imageCatarpe
1 / 2

Good

    

Catarpe is a fertile valley inhabited by the indigenous people from the region but still accessible to tourists for a small fee. We visited the Iglesia San Isidro, an adorable little white church. On the way back we came across a pack of llamas (see video) and I even got to kiss one of them since the lady guiding the pack told me they liked that 🙈

4 mins by Car

San Pedro de Atacama

27 Nov

Garganta del Diablo
02:00 PM

Garganta del Diablo image
Garganta del Diablo image
1 / 2

Good

  4.7 Travogram_google  (364)

The valley also gives access to la Garganta del Diablo, which leads to a canyon. You can hike until a hill and go up to have a view over the entire valley and on volcano Licancabur on the other side. Side note: the guy at the entry said that this would take an hour in total but if you are not a good climber (I am but my bf not that much 😂) it is most likely to take you double that time because of the heat and steep path at the end.

1 hour 27 mins by Car

Calama

27 Nov

Aeropuerto El Loa Calama (CJC)
06:00 PM

Aeropuerto El Loa Calama (CJC) image

Average

  4.2 Travogram_google  (2694)

We drove straight from the Catarpe valley to the airport where we had to give back the car and take our flight back to Santiago. I was a bit disappointed that the airport didn’t have much options of food and drinks (they didn’t have juices, only soft drinks). It was great trip nonetheless, one that I had on my bucket list for a very long time. If you have any questions please ask me in the comments and I will be glad to answer them all ❤️

Trip Recap

Country Visited

chile

Month Traveled

November

Traveler Type

Friends

Trip Duration

6 Days

Lodging Cleanliness?

Satisfied

Social-distancing

Mostly

Mask-wearing

Mostly

How crowded it was?

Medium

Did you feel safe?

Mostly

Drinking Water

Tap

Rental Car

Yes

Mode of Payments

CC

Tipping at Restaurants

Yes

English Speaking

Common

Comments ()
Comments ()

Add Comment...