Stargazing in the Atacama Desert is an unforgettable experience. Explore the Atacama’s night sky with this guide.
On your way to go stargazing in the Atacama Desert but need help figuring out where to begin? Count your lucky stars, my friend, I’m here to show you the way.
The Atacama Desert is an ancient region with a Martian-esque landscape dotted with crunchy salt flats, steaming geysers, and jagged valleys.
But the Atacama is also an astronomer’s paradise with a booming “astro-tourism” industry that sees many people (myself included) make the trip just to ogle at the region’s stunning night skies.
It’s where one can admire a fuzzy-looking star with the naked eye, just to discover that it’s a massive cluster of hundreds of thousands of stars: a mind-blowing experience if ever there was one.
I’ve seen the Atacama’s night sky in two very different ways. On my first trip, I drove around the desert in a campervan and pulled over wherever the sky looked good, with nobody else for miles. On my July trip, I stayed at a hotel with its own observatory and an astronomer to explain what I was looking at. Further south, in the Elqui Valley, I joined a small-group session at one of Chile’s tourist observatories. This guide brings together everything I learned, along with the observatories and tours you can book now.
Start brushing up on your astronomy knowledge, it’s time to hunt down some of the galaxy’s finest displays in the Atacama.
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Can you see stars in the Atacama Desert?
Yes, 1000% yes! An astonishing fact about the Atacama Desert is that it’s one of the best places on earth to gaze upon the Milky Way.
The skies are so clear here that you can see some of the Southern Hemisphere’s most dazzling heavenly bodies, like the Southern Cross, the Large Magellanic Cloud (a small neighbouring galaxy), and the Tarantula Nebula inside it.
The unique geography and arid environment of the Atacama Desert make it the perfect place to stargaze. For starters, San Pedro de Atacama sits at about 2,400 metres (7,900 feet) and the high plateaus where the big telescopes live reach 5,000 metres, so there’s far less atmosphere between you and the stars. The desert has very little light pollution and is the driest non-polar desert on earth, which means there’s hardly any cloud for most of the year.
While you can see a lot with the naked eye, there are way more wonders you can observe through a telescope.
The Atacama Desert’s observatories are some of the most technologically advanced and scientifically renowned globally, including one of the world’s best astronomical observing sites, ESO’s Paranal Observatory. The skies are protected fiercely: in early 2026, a planned green hydrogen complex near Paranal was withdrawn after ESO warned that its lights would do severe, irreversible damage to what it calls the darkest and clearest skies on Earth.
When is the best time for stargazing in the Atacama?
To be frank, any time is an excellent time to view the Atacama Desert night sky thanks to its high altitude, roughly 300 clear nights a year, and lack of light pollution and radio interference.
However, you can visit the Atacama Desert from April to September for the most mind-blowing and brightest stargazing possible. This falls in the desert’s winter, when crowds thin out and the Southern Cross and the bright centre of the Milky Way ride high overhead. I was there in July and the skies were spectacular, but winter nights at altitude are bitterly cold (it was -15°C when I reached El Tatio before sunrise), so pack for sub-zero temperatures.
The months to be wary of are January and February. This is the so-called altiplanic (or Bolivian) winter, when humid air from the east brings afternoon storms and cloud to the high Andes. SPACE, the longest-running observatory tour in San Pedro, reckons that nights in this season are roughly half clouded and half usable, so build in a spare night or two if you visit in the southern summer.
Now, if we’re going to narrow things down to specific days, I recommend stargazing in Atacama in the days before, during, or after each New Moon. The lack of bright moonlight allows for clearer skies and won’t wash out the light from fainter stars. Most telescope tours don’t run at all for about a week around the full moon. If your dates don’t line up with a new moon, check the moonrise time: when the moon is waning, it rises later each night, so you can still get a few hours of proper darkness first. On my first trip, the stars came out in full force for hours before a rising moon eclipsed them around midnight.
Top Tip
Use this moon phase calendar to keep up-to-date with all the New Moons coming up soon, and check the moonrise times for San Pedro or Calama on the same site.
The best places to see the stars
If you’re going to do an Atacama Desert stargazing tour independently, you’ll have to know exactly where to go for the ultimate star-studded experience.
I can’t think of a better place to start than on the Salar de Atacama, as you get vast views of the sky. This is the largest salt flat in Chile, stretching south from just outside San Pedro de Atacama for around 100 km.
On my first night of the campervan trip, I parked up by Laguna Tebinquinche, a large saltwater lake on the edge of the salar, less than an hour’s drive from San Pedro. One by one, the stars and planets started to appear, dotting the inky darkness with varying degrees of brightness until it was impossible to believe that the scenery in front of me was real. 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. The lagoon is on land managed by the Coyo community, which charges a small entry fee, so check the opening times before you plan to stay after dark.
Stargazing on my own in the Cordillera de Sal
Later in the trip, 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.
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.
If you want to do the same, pick your spot in daylight, stay well away from the edges of ravines, and tell someone at your hotel where you’re going. The roads out of San Pedro are unlit and the main routes carry heavy trucks at night, so drive slowly and pull right off the road before you stop.
San Pedro de Atacama is also an excellent area for stargazing thanks to its high altitude (nearly 2.5 km above sea level) and the observatories on its doorstep, including San Pedro de Atacama Celestial Explorations (SPACE) just outside town. If it’s cloudy, the small Meteorite Museum in the centre of town (open Tuesday to Sunday afternoons, CLP 7,000 for adults) lets you handle rocks that fell from space.
This oasis town also has stunning sites and attractions, such as the Valle de la Luna, a lunar-like region enhanced by rugged mountains, dunes, and distinctive rock formations. It’s a daytime visit rather than a stargazing spot: the park closes before nightfall and tickets have to be bought online in advance.
Read Next
The Valle de la Luna is the closest thing to Mars on Earth
What about stargazing tours?
You can plan your trip independently by doing Atacama Desert observatory tours (visiting public observatories) or camping under the stars.
If you plan on touring the observatories, you must book these well in advance. Remember, the professional observatories only open to the public at weekends, and the ALMA Observatory has suspended its free weekend visits until further notice, so check its website before you plan around it.
However, you also have the option to go on an organised, guided tour. This saves you time on planning and may be an excellent alternative if you’re not looking to camp in the desert. Most of them pick you up from your hotel in San Pedro after dark, drive you a few minutes out of town to a private viewing site, and give you an astronomy talk, time on several telescopes and a hot drink or a glass of wine. Expect to pay around US$30 to US$45 per person for a group tour of two and a half to three hours. I recommend the following tours:
Observatories in and beyond the Atacama
Stargazing at Nayara Alto Atacama’s observatory
One of the reasons I chose Nayara Alto Atacama for my July trip was that it has its own observatory. The hotel runs two guided stargazing sessions every evening, where you can see the stars up close through the observatory’s telescope and chart the constellations as you lie back under a blanket on the reclined seats.
The astronomer was wonderful, pointing out southern hemisphere constellations such as the Southern Cross and showing me how to find the south celestial pole from it, as well as colourful nebulae and ancient galaxies through the telescope. If you’re even remotely interested in the night skies, be sure to nab a spot.
If you’re a photographer, wait until the session finishes and photograph the sky from there. I took some of my best photos of the Atacama skies there.
SPACE (San Pedro de Atacama Celestial Explorations)
SPACE has been running tours from San Pedro since 2003, and its general tour is the classic introduction to the southern sky: a talk under the stars, then time at a row of large telescopes. It costs CLP 45,000 per person, runs every night except for the seven nights around the full moon, takes two to three hours and is offered in English, Spanish and French, with a maximum of 16 people. The bus leaves from Calle Ignacio Carrera Pinto in the centre of town. Book online, weeks ahead in busy months, as it regularly turns people away.
ALMA
On the Chajnantor plateau, at 5,000 metres, ALMA (the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array) links 66 giant antennas into a single radio telescope. It used to run free weekend tours of its support facility, about 35 km from San Pedro, but public visits are currently suspended and the high site with the antennas has never been open to visitors. Check the ALMA website before you go, and read more in my Atacama Desert facts.
Paranal and La Silla
ESO’s Paranal Observatory, home of the Very Large Telescope, sits at 2,635 metres in the coastal mountains south of Antofagasta. Free guided tours run every Saturday at 10am and 2pm and last about three hours, but you must register online in advance and get yourself there, as ESO doesn’t provide transport. It’s a long way from San Pedro, so most people combine it with a night in Antofagasta. Children under four can’t visit. The Extremely Large Telescope is being built on neighbouring Cerro Armazones, but it isn’t open to the public.
La Silla, ESO’s older observatory, is 600 km north of Santiago at 2,400 metres, north of La Serena. Its free Saturday tours also need booking online. ESO has started adding occasional night visits to both sites, timed around events such as Chile’s Astronomy Day in March, so keep an eye on its visitor pages.
The Elqui Valley
If you’re travelling the length of Chile, the Elqui Valley, inland from La Serena, is the country’s other great stargazing region. Part of it became the world’s first International Dark Sky Sanctuary in 2015, and it’s full of small tourist observatories.
I went to Centro Astronómico Alfa Aldea, just outside Vicuña, and it was incredible. The group was small, which isn’t always the case at the bigger observatories, and the session started with a 3D video tour of the galaxies before we moved outside for a talk through the night sky and guided telescope viewing of stars and galaxies. Mine came with a glass of wine. It’s still running: the astronomy tour takes about an hour and 40 minutes and costs CLP 20,000 for adults and CLP 10,000 for children aged 4 to 12. Book by email or WhatsApp; it asks for a 50% deposit.
The municipal Mamalluca observatory, about 9 km from Vicuña, runs bigger group tours, and the scientific Cerro Tololo observatory offers free guided visits on Saturdays at 9am and 1pm, booked at least 24 hours ahead (no children under six).
What to bring for a night under the stars
You don’t have to be an expert stargazer to admire the dreamy skies of the Atacama desert at night, though there are a few items you might want to bring along to enhance your experience.
The Atacama Desert is chilly at night, so pack your winter clothing. Bring a hat, gloves and plenty of layers, and you’ll understand why most tours hand out ponchos or blankets. Plus, you’re visiting the driest place on earth, so bring enough water and sun protection during the day.
Basics aside, if you’re serious about stargazing and want to go it solo, I recommend bringing a beginner’s telescope and a camping chair for ease and comfort.
Also, carry a red torch to see into the darkness, as brighter torches may hamper your vision and prevent you from seeing the twinkling stars above.
If you want to photograph the Milky Way, a sturdy tripod and a remote shutter release are essential. On my first night of the campervan trip, I realised I’d left my remote shutter release at home in the UK, and spent hours holding my breath and handling the camera as gently as I could to stop it shaking. Don’t be me.
Where to stay for stargazing
The best thing about visiting the Atacama Desert is the freedom of having your own vehicle: you can drive out of town and find a dark sky in minutes. Wild camping is possible in places, but not inside the national reserves or on community-run land such as the lagoons, so ask locally before you pitch up for the night.
However, there are fabulous hotels near the Atacama Desert that will pleasantly surprise you, especially if camping isn’t your thing.
Nayara Alto Atacama (luxury)
The Nayara Alto Atacama offers something luxe and exclusive, and it’s where I stayed on my July trip. It isn’t cheap, but the all-inclusive packages cover meals, drinks and tours, as well as the twice-nightly sessions at the hotel’s own observatory. The hotel features a glamorous pool patio with relaxing loungers, elegant rooms, and an outdoor shower. The imposing red peaks surrounding the property endlessly grab your attention. Read my full Nayara Alto Atacama review.
Tierra Atacama (luxury)
Stay in the lap of luxury as stunning desert views and skies serenade you. Tranquillity and style envelop Tierra Atacama, complete with a hot tub, massage room, and uber-chic rooms. For more options at every budget, see my guide to the best hotels in the Atacama Desert.
Other questions about the Atacama’s night skies
Most travellers fly into Santiago and then fly once more or drive to a town near the Atacama Desert. These include Calama, Copiapó, Antofagasta, Iquique, La Serena, and Arica. For stargazing around San Pedro, fly to Calama (I flew from Santiago, as the bus takes almost a day) and it’s then about an hour and a quarter by road. Have a look at this Atacama Desert map to see which town is the closest to all the sites and activities you have planned for your trip.
Chile is one of the safest countries to visit in South America, and that includes its Atacama Desert. However, you must still protect yourself from the harsh environment by preparing for sun exposure, chilly nights, and altitude sickness. If you’re heading out alone after dark, as I did in the Cordillera de Sal, let someone know where you’re going and carry plenty of water and warm layers.
Absolutely. Step a few minutes outside San Pedro on a moonless night and you’ll see more stars than you knew existed. A tour or observatory session adds the telescopes and the stories behind what you’re looking at, which is why I’d recommend doing at least one, but some of my most memorable nights in the Atacama were spent on my own.
Explore more of the Atacama Desert at night
- Incredible things to do in the Atacama Desert
- Steal this 3-day Atacama itinerary
- Nayara Alto Atacama: the perfect escape in the Atacama Desert
- Weird and wonderful facts about the Atacama
- The best Atacama Desert tours
- Elqui Valley travel guide
- The best places for stargazing in the US
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