4-Day Best of Atacama: Moon Valley, Tatio Geysers and Altiplanic Lagoons

Overview

Day by day itinerary

1. 1Calama Airport/ San Pedro De Atacama⌄

   At the appropriate time, we will pick you up from Calama airport and drive you on a 90-minute journey to your hotel in San Pedro de Atacama.

   Welcome to San Pedro de Atacama! In this village situated on a plateau between the mountains (at 2500 m.a.s.l.), adobe houses painted white, small restaurants in dirt streets adorned with lanterns, and snow-capped peaks watch over the village in the distance. Upon arrival at your hotel in San Pedro de Atacama, enjoy your first afternoon at leisure. Sugerences: Stroll through the handicraft market to see the exquisite ceramic pieces, a speciality of the Atacameños.

   Overnight: Overnight at a hotel of your chosen category in San Pedro de Atacama

2. 2San Pedro De Atacama - Full-Day Altiplanic Lagoons, Chaxa Lagoon and Red Rocks⌄

   After a morning pick-up at your hotel in San Pedro de Atacama, you will start your adventure. First, get ready to know Toconao town. Its simplicity, the calmness of its people, the handicrafts and the architecture will amaze you. Next up, you will head to Los Flamencos National Reserve to visit Chaxa Lagoon. Keep your eyes opened, as you may spot some flamingos in the wild and migratory birds. Also, observe the curious salt crusts formed on the surface of the Salar generated by the evaporation of saline groundwater. Then, get to know the small altiplanic village of Socaire with its iconic church and its agriculture. Finally, the moment you were waiting for; you will arrive at Miscanti and Meñiques Altiplanic Lagoons. Be amazed by its intense blue waters fed by underground rivers and enjoy the surrounding landscape of volcanoes and mountains. The lagoons are surrounded by the Andes Mountain Range and the Meñiques Volcano. Here, you may see flamingos and other birds.

   To further add to your experience, start a 1-hour hike along the foothills of the southern Andes, towards Talar Salt Flat, also known as Piedras Rojas, a place where the rocks are tinted by natural oxidation and weathering. A perfect spot for pictures! San Pedro de Atacama At the end of the trip, you will be driven back to San Pedro de Atacama. **Notes: The order of the visited attractions are estimated and may change due to the guide's evaluation.

   Meals: Breakfast · Lunch

   Overnight: Overnight at a hotel of your chosen category in San Pedro de Atacama

3. 3San Pedro De Atacama - Half-Day Tatio Geysers with Machuca & Moon Valley⌄

   After an early morning pick-up at your hotel, experience one of the most astonishing phenomena produced by nature! Visit the beautiful geothermal field, a manifestation of the inner heat of the Earth and take the most amazing photographs walking across the trails. At dawn, with temperatures below zero, an impressive show may be appreciated, generated by the violent steam flows that rise up to 10 Mts. Enjoy and take the best pictures! Soon after that, you will enjoy a picnic-style breakfast. On your scenic drive back to San Pedro, you will pass by Machuca village and admire the wildlife on Putana River bofedal (wetlands).**It is not advisable to eat anything until you reach the Geysers.

   You will return to San Pedro downtown and have some time at leisure to have lunch on your own or just relax.

   In the afternoon, you will visit a National Reserve located in one of the world’s driest and most hostile zones of the world: The Atacama Desert. The world-famous Moon Valley houses a set of landscapes of incomparable beauty that resembles a fragment of the lunar landscape, to which it owes its name. Once inside the reserve, visit the Salt Mountain Range and admire the landscape from different spots. You will understand the delicacy of the clay while visiting ‘Las Tres Marias’, craved by nature and female guardians of this cosmic landscape. For the perfect closure, admire the landscape from the Great Dune, a majestic body of sand from where you will be able to see the Andes, Domeyko and the Salt Mountain Range.**Note: This tour starts and ends at our local operator’s office in the downtown area of San Pedro de Atacama

   Meals: Breakfast

   Overnight: Overnight at a hotel of your chosen category in San Pedro de Atacama

4. 4San Pedro De Atacama/ Calama Airport⌄

   At the appropriate time, you will be driven on a 90-minute journey from San Pedro de Atacama to Calama Airport ‘El Loa’.**The order of the visited attractions are estimated and may vary due to traffic, bad weather, etc.**Extra tours and extra nights can be added to the original itinerary when requested in advance.

   Meals: Breakfast