San Pedro de Atacama and the Atacama Desert

The Oasis Town At The Heart Of The Atacama, The Driest Non Polar Desert On Earth; Base For The Valle De La Luna, El Tatio Geysers, The Salar De Atacama And Some Of The Clearest Night Skies Anywhere · San Pedro de Atacama, Antofagasta

San Pedro de Atacama is an adobe oasis town at about 2,400 metres on the edge of the Atacama, the driest non-polar desert on earth, and it is the base for one of the most extraordinary landscapes in South America. Within a couple of hours lie the eroded ridges and salt caves of the Valle de la Luna, the flamingos of the Salar de Atacama, the turquoise altiplano lagoons of Miscanti and Miniques below snow-capped volcanoes, the red rocks of Piedras Rojas, and the El Tatio geyser field, where steam columns rise at 4,300 metres in the freezing dawn. The air is so dry and clear that the night sky here is among the best on the planet, which is why the world's great observatories are nearby. The town itself is small and dusty, with a whitewashed colonial church, and is full of tour agencies, hostels and restaurants. Much of the land around belongs to the indigenous Lickanantay communities, who run many sites. Altitude is the thing to respect: the best excursions go far higher than the town.

Plaza de Armas, San Pedro de Atacama, Antofagasta, San Pedro de Atacama, Antofagasta, Chile

The town is open at all times. Tours to El Tatio leave before dawn, around four or five in the morning; Valle de la Luna tours run in the afternoon for sunset. Many sites are run by indigenous communities with their own opening hours and fees. Summer rains, the altiplanic winter of January and February, can close roads and sites.

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