By air
Calama (CJC), ~1.5 h to San Pedro
South America · Chile
Atacama, Chile
Salt flats, geysers and the clearest night skies
Getting there
Best time to visit
March to May and September to November — mild days
Don't miss
The Valle de la Luna
El Tatio
The Salar de Atacama
The altiplanic lagoons
Things to do
Stargazing tours
The El Tatio geysers at dawn
The Valle de la Luna at sunset
Where to eat
What to pack
Sun protection, warm layers for dawn and night
A quieter corner
Laguna Cejar, where you float as in the Dead Sea
Questions travellers ask
When should I plan a trip to the Atacama?
March to May or September to November, when the days are mild.
What should I pack for the Atacama?
Sun protection, plus warm layers for dawn and night — you'll want them for the El Tatio geysers at dawn and the stargazing tours.
How do I get to San Pedro de Atacama?
Fly into Calama (CJC), about 1.5 h from San Pedro. Once you arrive, look for Andean fusion cooking in San Pedro de Atacama.
What are the Atacama's must-sees?
The Valle de la Luna at sunset, the El Tatio geysers at dawn, the Salar de Atacama and the altiplanic lagoons. For something different, float in Laguna Cejar as in the Dead Sea.
About Atacama
- Desert
- Mountains
Where it is
The Atacama Desert stretches for some 1,600 km through northern Chile, west of the Andes; visitors base themselves in San Pedro de Atacama, an oasis village at about 2,400 m in the Antofagasta region, near the Salar de Atacama and the volcanoes of the Bolivian border.
History
The Atacameño (Lickanantay) people farmed the oases and herded llamas here for thousands of years, trading across the Andes and later coming under Inca rule. Spanish conquistadors crossed the desert in the 16th century, San Pedro's adobe church dates from colonial times, and from the 19th century nitrate and then copper mining brought wealth to the region.
People
The Lickanantay (Atacameño) people still farm and herd in the villages around San Pedro, and their ancestral language, Kunza, survives in many place names, though Spanish is the everyday language. Local cooking uses quinoa, llama meat and desert herbs, and the village celebrates its patron, Saint Peter, each June.
Known for
- The Valle de la Luna
- The El Tatio geysers at dawn
- Stargazing and observatories
- Flamingos on the Salar de Atacama
- Floating in the salty Laguna Cejar
Did you know?
The Atacama is the driest non-polar desert in the world, and its high, clear skies draw major observatories, among them the ALMA radio telescope array on the Chajnantor plateau at about 5,000 m.
We haven't written a guide for this place yet — you can still plan a trip here.