San Pedro de Atacama – As a self-driver through dream landscapes

There’s something magical about San Pedro de Atacama. The oasis city is surrounded by bizarre landscapes and is an excellent starting point for discovery tours in the Atacama Desert. After a month in Patagonia, we traveled via Santiago de Chile and the coastal town of Antofagasta to San Pedro de Atacama. For us, it was an acclimatization stop for the following weeks in the “Puna”, which includes both the Argentine and Bolivian plateaus (Altiplano).

3 days road trip around San Pedro de Atacama

In the early planning phase of our six-month trip, I briefly checked the car rental prices for San Pedro de Atacama and was pleasantly surprised. In San Pedro de Atacama there is currently only one rental car provider (Europcar), but the prices seemed reasonable to me at around 50 to 70 francs per day (depending on the type of vehicle). Unfortunately, I made the mistake of not reserving a rental car right away. “We still have plenty of time,” I thought to myself and postponed this pending matter to a later date.

When I definitely tackled the matter a good month before our arrival in San Pedro de Atacama, I found that there were no more cars available at my desired time. The direct enquiry with the car rental provider confirmed this. Well, very stupid. Especially because I had prepared myself to explore the diverse landscapes around San Pedro de Atacama as a self-drive on my own and not with tours. The only solution to get a car was to rent a car at Calama Airport (the main starting point for travel in the Atacama Desert) with a corresponding surcharge for the one-way rental, as we traveled from San Pedro de Atacama to Argentina by bus. In terms of price, this ultimately meant a rental price of a good 100 CHF per day. And mathematically, we would have been cheaper to take part in tours, although we wouldn’t have seen much of the region right away. Either way, learn from my mistake and reserve your rental car as early as possible. You have more flexibility if you rent in Calama and return your car there. In Calama you can choose from other local car rental companies in addition to Europcar.

Day 1: Detour to the Piedras Rojas and the Salar de Atacama

On the first day we followed the Ruta 23 a good 150 kilometers in a southerly direction to the Salar de Aguas Calientes (sometimes also called Salar de Talar). The tour operators advertise the place as “Piedras Rojas” – you can also find the same name on Google Maps as a reference. For me, the most scenic and diverse route we have driven in these three days. Unfortunately, however, during our visit, access to the Piedras Rojas and the Salar was severely restricted. On site, locals “monitored” the access points and only granted us access to one viewpoint. The reason for this is that a few weeks before our visit, a Brazilian had the stupid idea of kitesurfing on the lagoon. The protection of the fragile ecosystems of the Atacama Desert is of great concern to the local population. In addition, many places also have a religious or at least culturally and historically great significance for the inhabitants of Atacama. The irreverent behavior of the Brazilian led to Piedras Rojas being completely closed to all visitors for two weeks and currently only one viewpoint is accessible on days when locals patrol. Piedras Rojas is the last attraction in the region that is not yet controlled by the CONAF authority and does not require the purchase of an entrance ticket. I assume that trails will be laid out here in the next few months (analogous to the other sights around San Pedro) and then access will be clearly regulated.

On the way back, we made a short detour to the Miscanti and Miñiques lagoons, which are located at an altitude of 4,100 m above sea level at the foot of the Miscanti volcano. The entrance fee is 3,000 Chilean pesos per person. An impressive plateau, but unfortunately the weather did not play along.

The closer we got to the Salar de Atacama on the way back, the friendlier Peter was to us. I find it unbelievably impressive how green plateaus merge smoothly into barren salt deserts. Due to the rainy season, the contrast was much greater than if we had made the same trip in the dry season. Shortly before returning to San Pedro de Atacama, we added a bow to Laguna Chaxa (entrance fee 2,500 Chilean pesos). For all those who want to marvel at flamingos up close, this detour is a “must-do”. I was particularly impressed by the play of colours. Isn’t that just totally surreal?

Day 2: Morning excursion to the Geyser del Tatio

The geyser field at the foot of the El Tatio volcano is the third largest in the world after the one in Yellowstone National Park and Dolina Geiserow in Russia. It is located about 80 kilometres north of San Pedro de Atacama at an altitude of 4,000 m above sea level and can be reached via the unpaved B-245 (about 1.5 hours driving time). Most tour operators offer sunrise tours because that’s when the activity and atmosphere at the geyser field is most intense. At the beginning, I was a bit undecided about whether driving in the dark on an unpaved road was really a smart idea. In the end, we set the alarm clock for 04:30 a.m. and left San Pedro shortly before 05:00 in the morning. Since various tour operators leave at this time, I strategically attached myself to a minibus. With a few exceptions, the ride went smoothly (critical minivan overtaking manoeuvres made me sweat in the meantime). We were one of the first vehicles on site and were able to register at the entrance gate without a long queue and pay the entrance fee (10’000 Chilean pesos per person).

In addition to the great morning atmosphere at the geysers, the return trip to San Pedro de Atacama was a highlight of this three-day road trip for me. While I didn’t notice anything of the impressive landscape around me on the way there in the dark, I could hardly get enough of the rough beauty on the way back. At Machuca and Guatin there are branching valleys that can be explored on foot. At Guatin you can also see a large collection of the up to 10m high «Echinopsis atacamensis» cacti.

Tag 3: Rainbow Valley und Valley of the Moon

The Rainbow Mountains in Valle Arcoiris are one of the lesser-known sights around San Pedro de Atacama. The valley is located northwest of San Pedro and can be reached via Ruta 23. Google Maps guides you along a somewhat bumpy gravel road that leads past the official entrance gate. We were admittedly quite surprised when we reached the place and didn’t see a CONAF building anywhere and didn’t have to pay a park entrance fee. A marked trail leads around the fascinating rock formations in a good 30 minutes. As everywhere around San Pedro de Atacama, you should pay attention to the markings and not move outside of them.

The last detour took us to the Valle de la Luna. This is the attraction closest to San Pedro and that many tourists explore by bike. Honestly, it would be too hot for me under the scorching desert sun. The entrance fee here costs 3,000 Chilean pesos per person and for this you get an informative map with all trails and photo points in the valley. If you want to check out all the hikes and photo spots in detail, you can plan a good four to six hours in the Valle de la Luna. You can get a very nice overview of the moon-like scenery from the “Duna Mayor”.

Practical tips for San Pedro de Atacama

• The main starting point for journeys towards San Pedro de Atacama is the desert town of Calama at 2,250 m above sea level. Since I wanted to see a little more of northern Chile, I booked a flight to the coastal city of Antofagasta. From there we traveled a day later by bus to Calama (a good 3 hours drive).
• San Pedro de Atacama is located at an altitude of 2,400 m above sea level – most of the sights around it are at altitudes of well over 4,000 metres. Give yourself enough time to get used to the altitude. Drink enough and always protect yourself well from the sun (even on cloudy days).
• In San Pedro de Atacama, I booked a double room with bathroom for 3 nights at Hostal Montepardo, which is close to the bus terminal. The price for 3 nights was 230 CHF including breakfast – in my opinion a great value for money. The rooms are relatively small, but a great breakfast is offered (and if a tour starts early, the owner provides an extra packed lunch).
• If you book at Hostal Montepardo, you will enjoy a discount of 10-30% (depending on the tour) on most tours with a specific tour provider (Flamingo Tours). This didn’t help us, but it’s a nice touch for all guests who are not self-driven.
• Culinarily, San Pedro de Atacama didn’t knock our socks off with the exception of the Heladería Babalú (be sure to try the Rica-rica ice cream) and the Restaurante Baltinache (fixed menu with local products).
• In San Pedro de Atacama there is a gas station and it is located right in the center, which brought me to the brink of despair in terms of driving. The lanes are super narrow and sometimes tricky to drive.
• According to the price list of our hotel, the tour prices are as follows: (park entrance fees not included):Day trip Piedras Rojas: 45’000 Chilean pesos
  Geysir del Tatio: 22’000 Chilean pesos
  Half-day trip Valle Arcoiris: 28’000 Chilean pesos
  3 hours Valle de la Luna:
  15’000 Chilean pesos
• We took the bus from San Pedro de Atacama to Salta (Argentina). The drive over the Paso de Jama across the Los Flamencos National Park takes 10 to 12 hours, but is one of the most scenic bus rides in all of South America. Since there are no daily bus connections and the buses are usually fully booked (when we arrived in San Pedro de Atacama on a Wednesday, there were only free bus seats available for the following Tuesday), it is worthwhile to reserve the bus tickets online early. You can buy the tickets online via the recorrido.cl website. Depending on the provider, you will have to exchange the online ticket for “real” Boletos with the bus operator. We booked the tickets with Andesmar. Alternatively, the bus company Geminis serves the same route. And an extra tip for the long bus ride: You have the most space in the bus at the top of the front – via recorrido you can choose the seats and if you are early, then secure these seats.