We chose San Pedro de Atacama as our last stop in Chile. Together with Torres del Paine and Easter Island, San Pedro is the third most popular tourist destination in Chile. And for a reason, as we discovered unearthy and breathtaking landscapes in this desert region of Chile. We explored Valle de la Luna (Moon Valley), and Geyser del Tatio.
From Santiago, we opted to take a short one hour flight over a 24-hour bus ride. The flight was a little bit more expensive (around 50$), but we really did not want to spend 24 hours in a bus not getting any sleep. Also, since San Pedro is located 2400m above sealevel, we thought we needed to be well rested to adapt and not get altitude sickness.
San Pedro is a small pictoresque town close to the border with Bolivia. Many tour agencies organize tours to different parts of the desert, as well as tours to the world famous Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia. But, before we head to Salar de Uyuni and Bolivia, we had three days in San Pedro.
Valle de la Luna
The tour to Valle de la Luna brings you to several highlights: the Moon Valley itself, but also a cave where rocks covered in salt can be found. As this area used to be a sea, salt is predominant in this area and shapes the landscape. After the caves, which were not that interesting, we got to see a huge sanddune, as well as a small canyon with an overhanging cliff, called Piedra del Coyote.
After snapping a picture or two there, our driver brought us to the Valle de la Muerte (Death Valley) for the sunset. Unfortunately, on the road (or, cliff would be more appropriate), the jeep got stuck in sand and slowly slided towards the edge. We decided to get out, leave the jeep, and look for transport back to San Pedro once down in Death Valley. Luckily, there were ample people as this is a popular spot for sandboarding. In the end, the tour was not that great, but it gave us a basic impression of what the landscape looks like.
Geyser del Tatio
Our second tour left at five in the morning to bring us to Geyser del Tatio, to see a large amount of steaming hot geysers. We left early not because of the sunrise, but because the difference in temperature (it gets really cold in the desert at night, we were freezing) makes the steam from the geysers fully visible. After sunrise, we decided to take a bath in one of the geysers, unfortunately the surface was very uneven, and the water felt not very comfortable even though it supposedly was 29°C.
On the way back to San Pedro, the driver stopped at a few spots which offered a great view of the Bolivian Andes Mountains, as well as a lagoon full of flamingos. A great conclusion to an early, but very nice day. After we arrived back in our hostel, we did what everyone does here at midday: sleep. We needed it, as the next three days in Salar de Uyuni will be packed.
