The best things to do in the Atacama Desert: salt lagoons, geysers and starry skies

If you’re looking for things to do in San Pedro de Atacama and the surrounding Atacama Desert, here’s what not to miss.

Everything was stiller than I’d ever thought possible. I’d watched as the park had emptied out and the tour buses had left one by one until I was the only person left in a vast, wide-open landscape in Chile’s Atacama Desert.

It was like someone had flicked a switch. One moment, there were people milling about the lake taking pictures and huddled in small groups. The next, I was alone. As it grew quieter, the landscape of the surrounding 1,200 square mile Atacama salt flat felt larger and larger.

Welcome to the Atacama Desert: the land of wide-open landscapes and vast panoramas, of silence and stars in the north of Chile. If it’s not at the top of your South America bucket list, it should be.

Few who visit fail to be impressed by the scenery, but few also get to experience the truly solitary nature of the area thanks to the predominance of large tour groups organising excursions from the region’s hub, San Pedro de Atacama.

I’d met a Chilean on the road a few weeks before and told him of my plans to travel to the region, asking him for recommendations. Rather than give me a list of places to visit, he surprised me with a completely different answer.

“If you go to the Atacama Desert, you should hire a car or a camper and strike off on your own. It’s a completely different world,” he’d advised. “Most people stay in San Pedro de Atacama and go on tours. Doing it on your own is much better. You aren’t distracted by anything but your surroundings.”

Maybe it was the authority of his tone, but on the back of that two-minute conversation, I hired a campervan, picked up the keys and set off from San Pedro de Atacama into the world’s driest desert. That is how I found myself in the middle of the Atacama’s largest salt flat (Salar de Atacama) as the sky darkened around me without a soul in sight.

The Atacama had such a hold on me that I went back, this time in July, in the depths of the southern winter. That trip couldn’t have been more different. I stayed at Nayara Alto Atacama and booked the option with a private guide and driver, so instead of eating my meals off a rusty table under the open sky, I was exploring with Rodolfo, a guide who grew up in nearby Calama and knew every corner of the region like the back of his hand. Both trips had their merits, and you’ll find the best of each below: the road trip that first won me over, and the places I finally got to on my return.

Some links in this article may be affiliate links, which means we may receive a small commission, at no additional cost to you, if you decide to purchase through one of my recommended partners.

The best things to do in the Atacama Desert

Laguna Tebinquinche

Sitting on the banks of Laguna Tebinquinche, a large saltwater lake less than an hour’s drive from San Pedro, I started to appreciate what the Chilean had meant about quietness. One by one, the stars and planets started to appear in the night sky, dotting the inky darkness with varying degrees of brightness until it was impossible to believe that the scenery in front of me was real.

There are lots of operators to choose from when it comes to exploring the Atacama’s night skies. I sat down with my glass of wine, charting the constellations in front of me, and reflected that sometimes the simplest option provides the best experience. It’s no wonder the Atacama consistently tops the list as the best stargazing spot in the world.

The lake is just as good at sunset, when its vast surface catches the fiery sky so completely that it feels like you’re surrounded by molten lava, changing moment by moment. It sits on land managed by the Coyo community, which charges a small entry fee (CLP 6,000 for adults, in cash). If you’d rather not drive, most tours pair it with Laguna Cejar and the Ojos del Salar, such as this Cejar, Tebinquinche and Ojos del Salar tour, which finishes at sunset.

Read next

Stargazing in the Atacama: what you need to know

Laguna Chaxa

I stopped off at Laguna Chaxa bright and early. Chaxa is best known for the three species of flamingos (James, Chilean and Andean) that frequent its waters. The lake forms part of a water system known as the “Soncor Sector,” all of which is protected as part of the Los Flamencos National Reserve.

On the face of it, Chaxa was still as death, excepting the flamingos ranging over its surface with their weirdly-stilted, uncoordinated walk. Look closer and you could see the millions of small algae and invertebrates on which the flamingos feed teeming in the waters. Away from the lake, the salt had created a pale-white rocky landscape through which a path was cut. I walked along it, flanked on either side by small saline pools around which the flamingos would gather, until you got too close for comfort, at which point they’d stalk away or fly to the next pool, intent on continuing their never-ending feeding routine.

The flamingos aren’t born pink, by the way: they get their colour from the algae they eat, which is why the young ones are white. Winter is a good time to see them here, as many fly down from the higher, colder lakes. Chaxa is run by the Toconao community, and tickets are now sold online in advance (around CLP 14,000 for foreign visitors).

Laguna Cejar and the Ojos del Salar

My July trip started the moment I landed: straight into the jeep and off to Laguna Cejar, a crazy experience I’d been hyped to try. Most of the Atacama’s salt lagoons are off limits for swimming, but here you can strip down to your swimmers and float like you’re in the Dead Sea. You’ll never make it down to the bottom, no matter how hard you try, thanks to the salt water’s buoyancy.

My top tip? Don’t get your face wet. The salt stings if it gets in your eyes. Strictly speaking, the swimming happens in Laguna Piedra, the smaller lagoon in the Cejar complex, as Cejar itself is protected. Do carry on past it to see the neighbouring lagoon, which is a favourite with the local flamingos.

You need to pay to get in (CLP 15,000 for adults), and tickets are sold online for a set date and time slot. Bring a towel, plenty of fresh water to rinse off, and a warm layer: the desert air cools fast once you’re out of the water.

On the way back, stop at the Ojos del Salar, two perfectly round pools sitting in the middle of the salt flat like a pair of eyes, before finishing at Tebinquinche for sunset.

Salar de Capur, Salar de Talar and the Piedras Rojas

My destinations for this day were two lesser-visited high altitude lakes, the Salar de Capur and Salar de Talar, both accessed on a small road that eventually leads to Argentina. I bumped my way up, metre by metre, as the landscape changed from the pale hues of the salt plains to dull red volcanic earth, spotted with tufts of hardy bright yellow grass and thorny flowers.

Hikes are made significantly more challenging by the altitude, but even the shortest come with extraordinary panoramas. The two-hour round-trip hike to the Piedras Rojas (the red rocks) on the far side of the Salar de Capur was challenging. By this point I was at 4,000 metres, and scrambling over uneven ground becomes significantly more strenuous when you find it hard to breathe even standing still.

“Walk up like an old man and you’ll be able to come down like a young bull. Spring up like a young bull and you will come down like an ancient person, if you make it at all.”

All of a sudden, the advice I’d been given about the hike made complete sense.

Still, it was worth every step for the spectacular views across the lake. From my viewpoint on the piedras, the luminous pale green waters were edged with a pale-pink salt crust, itself flanked by ice-tipped purple volcanoes behind.

When I went back in July, the lake was frozen, which made for a really cool contrast. Be sure to walk down to the water: frozen, it looks more like a piece of turquoise than water. Winter is the time to see it at its brightest, too, as the water levels are lower and the minerals more concentrated. The walk is much easier than it was on my first visit. The local community from Socaire has built a marked path in exchange for paid access, and it now takes about an hour, mainly because you have to move slowly at over 4,000 metres. When I went you paid at a kiosk in Socaire on the way; tickets for Piedras Rojas and the Miscanti and Miñiques lagoons are now sold together online (around CLP 13,000 for foreign visitors).

Look up at Volcán Capur while you’re there. If the other volcanoes impress you with their size, this one wows with the rainbow of colours cascading down its sides: brilliant white in places, purple and basalt grey in others, towering over an equally colourful lake. On the way back from the lakes, I stopped for a Nayara picnic: Thai chicken curry, rice, quinoa and cauliflower soup with croutons, plus drinks and desserts. Luxury means different things to different people, but to me, there’s no greater indulgence than a stellar meal in the peace and quiet that only comes from being in the middle of nowhere.

It’s about 150km and two and a half hours from San Pedro, so most people combine it with the lagoons below. If you’re not driving, this Piedras Rojas, highland lagoons and Chaxa tour covers all three in a day (park fees are paid separately).

Lagunas Miscanti and Miñiques

I missed the Miscanti and Miñiques lagoons on my first trip to the Atacama. Big mistake. Luckily I made it on my return, and the sight of the two high-altitude lakes, one brilliant blue, one dark cerulean, both surrounded by bright yellow grass and vibrant volcanoes, is one to remember.

A path leads down to Laguna Miscanti, with sulphur crusting its edges, and from there you climb over an outcrop of lava to reach Laguna Miñiques. Although Miñiques is fed by Miscanti, it’s a completely different colour, because the water is filtered as it flows through the volcanic rock between the two.

Keep your eyes open for vicuñas, the small, wild relatives of the llama, which blend in so perfectly with the grass that you have to look carefully to spot them. The lagoons sit at over 4,000 metres, so save them for a few days into your trip, once you’ve acclimatised.

Read next

How to visit Lagunas Miscanti and Miñiques

Socaire

As you climb towards the lagoons, the landscape changes at around 3,000 metres and terraced fields appear around Socaire, a village of a few hundred people where farmers still grow quinoa and purple potatoes on terraces watered by irrigation channels that go back centuries, to Inca times and beyond. One theory goes that these terraces, or andenes, gave the Andes their name.

Stop to see the little church, built of adobe with beams of chañar and cactus wood, and if you’re passing at lunchtime, Cocinería San Santiago serves local cooking made with fresh ingredients. It’s the natural break on the long drive to Piedras Rojas and the lagoons, and many tours stop here.

Salar de Pujsas, Tara and Quisquiro

Any road trip covering a large area is always one half excitement as you reach each new destination, and one half easygoing chat, numb posteriors and tapping to music between them. Sure, there are plenty of things to do in the Atacama Desert, but much of the pleasure of exploring the region is just watching another unbelievable landscape unfold as you turn a new bend on the road.

During the course of the week, I drove around 1,000 miles in Bruno, the name I’d given to my brightly-coloured campervan. The altitude added its own dimension of strangeness. At one point while driving at 4,900 metres I had the vague feeling that I might be dreaming.

I set off to the east of the Atacama to visit the Salars de Pujsas, Tara and Quisquiro. The route was popular with truck drivers transporting goods between Chile and Argentina, which made for interesting driving: they take every slope and turn at speed, so take frequent rest breaks. Then, Quisquiro: I turned a corner and there it was.

The view kept on unfurling in front of me, to the point where it was impossible to take it all in at once. Quisquiro was a rainbow of deep azure blues, dotted with clouds of white and crimson reds: a perfect reflection of the surrounding scenery. Climbing down from the road, everything else disappeared, swallowed by the unending salar, everything quiet and still except for the alpacas and vicuñas roaming in skittish packs.

On the way back, I passed a signpost pointing to the turnoff for Bolivia. Seconds later, I caught a glimpse of the vivid colours of Laguna Verde through the volcanoes. Laguna Verde had been one of the highlights of my road trip from Tupiza to the Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia the year before. Seeing it again from above was an unexpected pleasure.

All three are reached from Ruta 27, the paved road to the Paso de Jama border crossing into Argentina, and the views here were some of my favourite in the whole Atacama. You’ll need a 4×4 if you want to leave the main road on the dirt tracks to get closer to the Salar de Tara.

Stargazing in the Cordillera de Sal

Driving back down into the valley of the Salar de Atacama and up out of the other side, I found a spot miles from the main road and pulled up in the shadow of the Cordillera de Sal to watch the nightly star show unfold. No one around, no noise, no cars, and the stars came out in full force before being eclipsed by a rising moon around midnight.

I’ll admit that sitting in the shadow of the cordillera in complete darkness, other than the small beam of my torch and the starlight, was slightly unsettling. Anytime the wind blew, I’d glance nervously over my shoulder. But all I could see were the giant pillars of salt-ridden rock looming behind me. It was like I’d discovered a new planet, despite being less than half an hour from San Pedro de Atacama.

On my July trip I saw the night sky in a very different way. One of the reasons I chose Nayara Alto Atacama is its own observatory, which runs two guided stargazing sessions every evening. The astronomer pointed out southern hemisphere constellations such as the Southern Cross, showed the group how to find the south celestial pole from it, and picked out colourful nebulae and ancient galaxies through the telescope. If you’re a photographer, stay on once the session finishes: I took some of my best photos of the Atacama skies there.

If your hotel doesn’t have an observatory, book a session with a local astronomer, such as this stargazing and Andean astronomy tour. The winter months, roughly April to September, tend to bring the clearest skies, and it gets very cold after dark, so wrap up. Use a red torch to keep your eyes adjusted to the dark.

Valle de la Luna

I couldn’t miss the Valle de la Luna, one of the Atacama’s headline attractions. Ask anyone the best things to do in the Atacama Desert and nine times out of ten they’ll list it. It’s very much on the tour bus trail.

Going for sunrise rather than sunset meant I paid the fee, breezed through the entrance, and found myself completely alone. Thanks to a slightly later-than-anticipated start, I entered the park just as dawn began casting its light through the eerie shapes and weird rock formations. By the time I’d parked and wandered, it was getting lighter by the second.

I watched the sun rise and bathe the valley in warm hues, and I realised how grateful I was that I’d decided to hire the van. It had meant the freedom to explore little-known places and to enjoy solitude even in the busier ones.

Things work differently now. The valley is run by the Asociación Indígena Valle de la Luna, a group of six local communities, together with CONAF, and tickets (CLP 10,800 for adults) are sold online in advance for a specific date. You can only enter by vehicle or bike, not on foot, and the gates open at 8am from April to August and 9am from September to March, so a true sunrise visit like mine is no longer possible. Going first thing in the morning is still the best way to beat the sunset crowds. If you’d rather leave the driving to someone else, this Valle de la Luna sunset tour is one of the best-reviewed options (entry is extra).

Read next

Valle de la Luna: the closest you’ll get to Mars on Earth

Ckamur and the Valle de la Muerte

Ckamur is one of the Atacama’s newer attractions, and it was my answer to the crowds at the Valle de la Luna. It was free to enter when I visited, and you can hike, cycle or go quad biking here as well. For sunset, you can hike up the ridge of one of the peaks, then shuffle down its sandy side to reach the valley floor again.

It feels too easy to say that this looks like another planet, but there’s no denying it does. In fact, it was used as a filming location for The Mandalorian. Look carefully and you’ll recognise the undulating shapes, a rainbow of reds, yellows and shadows. What you won’t recognise is the iconic Licancabur volcano poking up behind the valley: the filmmakers cut off the top of it so the location wasn’t so identifiable.

The whole area sits in the Valle de la Muerte (Death Valley), and the name feels about right. The harsh conditions and high mineral content mean almost nothing grows here: rocks jut up, scissor-sharp, glistening with salt. Look in the right place and you can still see the remains of the old salt mine, where miners blasted the rock to reach the minerals within. The dunes here are also where San Pedro’s sandboarding tours head.

Sunrise at El Tatio geysers

It was nearly time to leave, but I couldn’t go without seeing the Tatio geyser field. El Tatio is the biggest geyser field in the southern hemisphere, with over 80 active geysers spread across its radius. Impressive by any standard.

The geysers are most active at sunrise, so seeing them meant waking up and getting on the road at 3:30am for the two-hour drive. El Tatio is 55 miles from San Pedro de Atacama, but I’d spent the night in the small hamlet of Guatín, 13 miles along the road, to shorten the morning’s journey.

After being off-grid for a week, it was strange to be surrounded by people, each on their own Atacama adventure, all trying to get as close to the geysers as possible while they started to bubble and boil. Even the crowds couldn’t detract from the slightly ethereal sight of 80 geysers erupting, hissing and steaming across my line of vision.

I went back on my July trip, and the second visit started, as all good trips do, at 3am. It’s about an hour and a half from San Pedro to the geyser field, which sits at around 4,300 metres, and I got there for about 4:30am, just as the first light was hitting the field. It was -15°C. My British self is not made for those temperatures, but I’ll do it for views like that. I set up my tripod for a time-lapse and watched the sky turn from purple to gold as, one by one, the geysers and fumaroles came to life. I’d seen it all before. Was it any less spectacular the second time? No.

The field is split in two. The southern field has the most geysers, where water erupts out of the ground, while the northern field has the biggest fumaroles, where steam pours out instead. Split your time between both. Head to the southern field just as the sun comes over the Andes: as it catches the steam from one of the fumaroles, the minerals light it up in a rainbow of colours. Rodolfo called it “nature’s fireworks”, and I can’t think of a better way of describing it.

Wrap up warm: layers, a hat, a buff and gloves, plus thick-soled shoes, as the ground is so cold you can feel it through thin soles. Stick to the marked paths, too. There have been fatal accidents here, and the local communities who run the site are careful to close off dangerous areas. Entry costs CLP 15,000, which tours usually collect in advance. As the field is over 4,300 metres up, save it for the end of your trip, once you’ve acclimatised.

Whatever you do, don’t head straight back to San Pedro afterwards, as most people do. Rodolfo had a trick up his sleeve: instead of breakfast in town, he drove me away from the crowds to a verdant river valley cut through by a crystal-clear stream, where I had a picnic breakfast with vicuñas grazing around me, and rheas too. There was nobody else there. If you’re booking a tour, look for one that includes breakfast out in the landscape, like this El Tatio sunrise and breakfast tour, which also includes the entry fee.

Hiking in Guatín Canyon

I spent some time at the geysers after the tour buses had set off, but the magic was gone: they quiet to a gurgle once the sun has fully risen. So I drove back down the road toward San Pedro. By the time I made my slow descent to Guatín, the small hamlet where I’d camped the night before, I was reflective. The trip was coming to an end, but I did have time for one last hike into the Guatín Canyon.

The Guatín Valley is distinguished by the spectacularly large candelabra cacti that line its sides, some of them up to 7 metres tall. As I hiked into the canyon, I was soon surrounded by towering cacti, pampas grass and dense riverside vegetation. It is a peaceful hike, the perfect foil to the busy geysers. I made my way along the riverbed unobserved and undisturbed, forgetting that there was an outside world to rejoin. Just me, crunching and crackling through the river’s floor, savouring my temporary escape from reality.

The canyon starts at Guatín, where the Puritama and Purifica rivers meet to become the Vilama. You’ll either need someone to pick you up at the other end or do it as an out-and-back. I simply walked until I was satisfied and turned round.

Puritama hot springs

After a freezing morning at El Tatio, the Termas de Puritama, about 30km from San Pedro on the road up to the geysers, are the obvious place to thaw out. Eight natural pools step down a green canyon, fed by warm, mineral-rich water and edged with grasses and wooden walkways: a surprisingly lush scene in the middle of the desert. Places are limited, so book online in advance on the official Termas de Puritama site. Entry is around CLP 38,000 for adults, in morning or afternoon sessions.

Rainbow Valley

Rainbow Valley (Valle del Arcoíris) is one of the region’s newer attractions, even though it has been here for millions of years. It’s worth the drive of an hour or so to see hills streaked red, orange, green and yellow by different minerals, with more plant and bird life than you might expect. Combine it with the Yerbas Buenas petroglyphs nearby, where you can see rock carvings left by the desert’s early inhabitants. Each site charges around CLP 5,000, paid in cash, or join a Rainbow Valley and Yerbas Buenas tour.

Cerro Toco

If you want a summit, Cerro Toco is one of the few volcanoes near San Pedro that you can climb without technical gear. The top is at 5,604 metres, and the views stretch over the ALMA telescope array on one side and into Bolivia on the other. The altitude is the real challenge, so only attempt it after at least two or three nights in San Pedro and a couple of trips above 4,000 metres. This guided Cerro Toco ascent handles the logistics.

Read next

How to hike Cerro Toco

Things to do in San Pedro de Atacama

While I spent most of my time in the campervan, I also spent a few days in San Pedro de Atacama itself before and after the trip. The town is small, dusty and charming in a quietly confident way. It knows it’s the gateway to something extraordinary, and it doesn’t oversell itself. Here’s what I’d recommend.

Museo Gustavo Le Paige: San Pedro’s archaeological museum holds a remarkable collection of finds and anthropological material that walks you through the history and culture of local life over thousands of years. The original museum has been closed for some years and the long-planned new building has stalled, but a smaller temporary exhibition space shows part of the collection, including textiles and baskets. It’s open on weekdays only. The human remains the museum was once known for haven’t been on display since 2007, out of respect for the Atacameño communities’ ancestors.

Iglesia San Pedro: One of San Pedro’s oldest buildings, dating to the 17th century. It won’t stop you in your tracks, but the simple, whitewashed church on the main plaza is the kind of building that tells you something about the town’s history without any drama. Look up at the roof, made of algarrobo beams overlaid with slices of cactus wood.

Pukará de Quitor: A 12th-century stone fortress built by the Atacameño people on a hillside about 3km north of town. A short trail leads up through the ruins, and the longer loop climbs to viewpoints over the oasis, the valley and Licancabur. Entry is around CLP 6,000 to 7,000.

Aldea de Tulor: The circular mud-walled houses of this ancient village, south-west of town, are invaluable in understanding local history. Entry is around CLP 5,000, in cash.

ALMA Observatory: The Atacama is home to some of the world’s most important observatories, and ALMA’s giant radio telescope array sits on the plateau above San Pedro. Its free weekend public tours have been suspended for some time while the observatory works on bringing them back, so check the ALMA visits page before you plan around one.

Tierra Atacama: It might be the middle of the desert, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a blow-out stay. A short distance outside San Pedro itself, Tierra is one of the most beautiful hotels in Chile, a remarkable property that uses the surrounding landscape as its backdrop. Go for a drink at the bar even if you’re not staying.

Nayara Alto Atacama: My base on my July trip, in the Catarpe Valley a few kilometres outside town. I had one of the most comfortable beds I’ve ever slept in, six small pools (two of them heated, which you’ll want in winter) and a wonderful 90-minute Ckautcha massage with a heated herbal poultice. The all-inclusive option with private tours is expensive, but if you want to explore the Atacama at your own pace, I’d highly recommend it. Read my full review.

Hotel Desertica: I spent one night here after a few days on the road in Bolivia, and its standalone circular turi rooms were exactly what I needed. The restaurant is great, too. Read my review of Hotel Desertica, or see my pick of the best hotels in the Atacama Desert.

La Casona: The best food in town, in my experience. Go hungry and prepare to fill up on Chilean staples such as pastel de choclo. Prepare to wait during busy periods, as it’s popular.

Karaván Restobar: One of the things that has really changed in San Pedro since my first visit is how much fresh, contemporary food there is. This relaxed, desert-chic restobar on Caracoles has a good choice for vegetarians and vegans and great cocktails. Try the Andes Tonic, with Chilean gin, pineapple and orange juice and rosemary syrup.

Check out my Atacama Desert guides

• The San Pedro de Atacama travel guide
• Why you need to visit El Tatio geysers
• How to visit Lagunas Miscanti and Miñiques
• Hotel Desertica: the best place to stay in San Pedro
• 3 day Atacama itinerary
• Visiting the Atacama? Use this handy map
• Valle de la Luna: the closest you’ll get to Mars on Earth
• Stargazing in the Atacama: what you need to know
• My stay at Nayara Alto Atacama
• Where to stay in the Atacama Desert
• Hiking Cerro Toco

Love this? Save and share on Pinterest!