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Atacama Landscapes. 

A program made for photographers in the unique Atacama Desert. 8 days / 7 nights

Overview

Come with your camera to discover amazing landscapes in the world driest desert. You’ll travel every day among astonishing landscapes surrounded by Volcanoes and secret paths in valleys, salt flats, gorges and learning about Atacama history, culture, archeology, astronomy, flora and fauna. This is a high quality tour in Atacama including cocktails, private tours and everything you need to focus in your "Best Photo".

Itinerary

Day 1: Transfer Santiago Hotel/ Satiago Airport – Flight to Calama – Transfer Calama Airport to San Pedro de Atacama Hotel. PM HD Moon Valley Tour.

Our driver will pick you up and transfer you to the Santiago Airport to take your domestic flight

 Once you arrive to Calama Airport, you’ll take a 90 minutes transfer to San Pedro de Atacama and check in at your hotel. (Regular Service)

 

At 15:00 PM we’ll head toward the Salt Mountain Range (Moon Valley), which forms a natural barrier between the Pacific Ocean and the Atacama Salt Flat.

When crossing these famous valleys, and after observing the impressive Kari’s ravine, we can know a large part of the structure of the Salt Mountain Range, which gives the geography of the Atacama salt flat a unique aspect in the world. In addition to knowing the salt caverns and a salt mine that is a Moon Valley's referent. You will visit the Mars valley as well.

At sunset you will see while a spectacular change of colors happens in front of your eyes and enjoy a delicious cocktail.
 

Afterwards we return to San Pedro de Atacama by van and drop you off at Hotel or town.
 

Recommendations: Warm Clothing, Comfortable Footwear, Cap, Sunglasses, Sunblock and Water.

Included: Cocktail at Sunset

Pick up time: 15:00PM

Arrival Time: 20:30 PM

 

Lodging at San Pedro de Atacama Hotel

 

 

Day 2: AM Cejar Lagoon & Tebenquiche Lagoon – PM Rainbow Valley & Yerbas Buenas – Astronomic Tour at night.

 

This classic of the heart of the Atacama’s Salt Flat offers a tour where it is possible to enjoy the refreshing bath of different types of water, under the attentive view of the volcanoes of the Andes, first in the emerald waters of the Laguna Piedra (Cejar), in which you can experience the flotation effortlessly, then continue and shake the salt of the body by an exceptional swim in the sweet waters of the Tebenquiche Eyes, ending the tour with a visit to the extraordinary Tebenquiche salt flat and its fascinating living rocks, colonized for millions of years by extremophiles who have chosen these incredible ecosystems to survive, where until their discovery life was unthinkable.   

 

Recommendations: Warm Clothing, Comfortable Footwear, Cap, Sunglasses, Sunblock, towel, swimsuite, flip-flop and Water.

Included: Cocktail and Pisco Sour accompanying the swim

Pick up time: 09:00 AM

Arrival Time: 13:30 PM

 

Drop off will be at town where you can lunch.

After lunch we will enjoy a Rainboy Valley Tour:

 

On this trip you can know the heart of the Domeyko Mountain Range and its fantastic formations colored by its particular geology, as well as a green Pucará built as a defense by the ancestral inhabitants of the area thousands of years ago, to later meet Yerbas Buenas, area of ​​passage and caravan rest whose high anthropological value can be verified in petroglyphs more than 3.500 years ago.

 

Drop off will be at hotel or town depending your preferences.

 

Recommendations: Warm Clothing, Comfortable Footwear, Cap, Sunglasses, Sunblock and Water.

Included: Cocktail

Pick up time: 15:00 PM

Arrival Time: 20:00 PM

 

At night we will visit the Space observatory. San Pedro de Atacama is an exceptional place to observe the sky and stars. The tours start with an explanation and display of the stars that can be observed at the given time of year. Then will continue with observations of really impressive objects, such as the craters of the moon, the rings of Saturn, star clusters, galaxies, and other marvels of the universe, then there will be a talk on everything you have just seen. The tour ends by sharing the experience around hot chocolate, cookies, wine, and snacks, returning to San Pedro, a good time to either continue enjoying the evening or resting for the following day.

 

 

Lodging at San Pedro de Atacama Hotel

 

 

Day 3: Atacama Salt Flat – Chaxa Lagoon – Miscanti & Miniques Lagoon – Socaire/Toconao – Piedras Rojas

After breakfast, we’ll drive towards Atacama Salt Flat and enter the National Flamingo Reserve. This National Reserve is formed by a gigantic depression of more than 3.500km2, located 2.300 masl, The Salar is the biggest salt field in Chile and its large quantities of salt make the surface white and rough. The dryness and altitude of the salt field allow an excellent panoramic view of the area. The bottom of the salt field is composed of an enormous lake, which receives water from mountain rivers and melting snow. As it has no runoff, several small lagoons have formed, where we can observe the three types of flamingos living in the area, the English, the Andean and the Chilean. we’ll visit Socaire village at 3.300 masl to acclimatize and photograph the small church of San Bartolomé and Toconao town
We continue our day driving to Miscanti and Meñiques lagoons of crystalline water and intense blue color at 4.350 and 4.100 masl where we’ll walk and visit this beautiful place. After we will visit the amazing Piedras Rojas (Red Stones), and return to San Pedro de Atacama

 

Recommendations: Warm Clothing, Comfortable Footwear, Cap, Sunglasses, Sunblock and Water.

Included: Lunch at natural habitat & Cocktail.

Pick Up Time: 08:30 AM

Arrival Time: 19:00 PM

 

Lodging at San Pedro de Atacama Hotel

 

 

 

Day 4: Tatio Geysers & Jauna and Tocorpuri Vegas + Alto Loa

On this trip we started by knowing the El Tatio geothermal field. We’ll reach the 4.350 mts and enjoy breakfast. They are shaped by a series of fumaroles that erupts water and steam of volcanic origin. We will visit the Vegas of Jauna and Tocorpuri, and then continue touring a large part of the Alto Loa to visit different ancestral villages, pukarás and petroglyphs over 5,000 years old. 

 

Recommendations: Warm Clothing, Comfortable Footwear, Cap, Sunglasses, Sunblock and Water.

Included: Breakfast, Lunch at natural habitat & Cocktail.

Pick Up Time: 06:15 AM

Arrival Time: 18:30 PM

 

Lodging at San Pedro de Atacama Hotel

 

   

Day 5: Hidden Lagoons of Baltinache & Puritama’s hotsprings + Bike

 

This trip invites you to enjoy the impressive beauty of 7 lagoons of intense turquoise and emerald color, as well as the refreshing bath of passive flotation that in 2 of them you can experience, to then continue with the enjoyment and relax in the pools of the Hot Springs of Puritama, famous for its natural beauty. The place is designed for the family to rest on a set of 8 pools of warm water which have a temperature between 25 to 30ºC. The water has medicinal and therapeutic properties as it is nourished from the minerals brought by the Puritama River. This wonder is an exception of nature in the middle of the most arid desert in the world.

Leaving the thermal water we will take the bicycles to start from there the descent to San Pedro de Atacama. Unforgettable.

 

Recommendations: Warm Clothing, Comfortable Footwear, Cap, Sunglasses, Sunblock, towel, swimsuite, flip-flop and Water.

Included: Snack, Pisco Sour (or Juice) accompanying the swim, Lunch and Bike.

Pick up time: 09:00 AM

Arrival Time: 19:30 PM

 

Observation: for safety, the descent by bicycle is without photographic equipment.

 

Lodging at San Pedro de Atacama Hotel

 

Day 6: Full day Tara Salar & Pacana’s Monks + North Aguas Calientes Salar + Hidden Lagoon

 

In this tour we know a lot of the East of the zone, heading towards the three-frontier with Bolivia and Argentina, on the way to the Paso de Jama. We will pass by the feet of the Licancabur, Juriques, Toco, Chajnantor Volcanoes, among others, to continue towards the Queipiaco Lagoon located in the Pujsa’s Salar sector, continuing towards the North Aguas Calientes Salar and its underwater geysers, to then enter Cross country through the desert to meet the Pacana’s Monks, the Hidden Lagoon (Chita), and the Tara Salar and its imposing cathedrals, as an open book to understand the geology and anthropology of the area full of typical flora and fauna

 

Recommendations: Warm Clothing, Comfortable Footwear, Cap, Sunglasses, Sunblock and Water.

Included: Lunch at natural habitat & Cocktail.

Pick Up Time: 09:00 AM

Arrival Time: 18:00 PM

 

Lodging at San Pedro de Atacama Hotel

 

 

 

Day 7: FREE DAY OR VISIT TO ALMA PROJECT BOOKED BY YOURSELF

 

Lodging at San Pedro de Atacama Hotel

 

 

Day 8: Transfer San Pedro de Atacama Hotel/ Calama Airport - Flight to Santiago de Chile – Transfer Airport/Hotel. Regular Services.

 

Depending on your departure flight, a shared transfer will pick you up at your hotel and take you to Calama airport to take a flight to Santiago de Chile. Depending your preferences, our transfer will be waiting you on the departure for transport you on your accommodation or you can wait your international flight at Airport

Highlights

 

- Moon, Mars & Rainbow Valleys

- Tatio Geysers and Wetlands

- Atacama, Aguas Calientes & Tara Salt Flats

- Cejar,  Tebenquinche and Baltinache Floating Lagoons

-Meñiques & Miscanti Lagoons

- Puritama Hotsprings

- Bike Ride.

- Astronomical Experience

- Alto Loa, Socaire & Toconao ancient villages

- Piedras Rojas & Pakana Guardians

- ALMA observatory

Included 

• Accommodation in selected hotels.

• All tours in private services, except the regular services mentioned in the program.

• Local English speaking guides

• Private Transfers In / Out in Santiago de Chile

• Shared Transfers In / Out in Atacama Desert.

• Lunch and dinner mentioned as included in the programs

• Coctels & Snack mentioned as included in the program

• Entrances to National Parks

Not included

• International or domestic flights

• Accident Insurance (you MUST have your own insurance)

• Lunch, dinner, beverages & cocktails not included on the program

• Tour Leader. You can consider include a tour leader that would take care of all your need or requests during the travel.

• Tips for drivers and guides

What to bring?

  • Trekking shoes and clothes to take hikes and bike in the spots.

  • A 5-10 kgs backpack for activities, leaving the rest of the luggage at hotel. Depending the season, if you have a raincoat with possibility of putting the bag inside is better.

  • Flip flops and towel.

  • Sunscreen and sunglasses.

 

Best travel period?

  • We recommend to take this trip all the year with better visibility of stars and landscapes in November.

 

Banks and money exchange:

 

The exchange and / or cash withdrawal at ATMs can be done at airports in your arrival. You can find ATMs in  San Pedro de Atacama as well.

Comments & Restrictions

  

  • A good lunch can cost from 20-30 USD per person.

  • The Astronomic tour is closed 3 days before and after full moon.

  • The altitude in San Pedro de Atacama is 2.048 m.a.s.l. and some tours can arrive over the 4.000 m.a.s.l. so, if you have problem with altitude consult with your doctor.

Useful Information

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