Things to Do in San Pedro de Atacama
Everything here is an excursion. San Pedro itself is a few streets of adobe with a church, a museum and a great many tour agencies, and the reason to be in it is that it is the only base within reach of a hundred kilometres of desert. This is the whole menu, ranked by what a first visit should not miss rather than by what is most photographed.
- #1
Stargazing
The sky a third of the world's large telescopes were built to use.
Two and a half hours at a dark site with telescopes and a guide, from about $34. It is the cheapest thing on this list and the one with the strongest claim to being unrepeatable elsewhere. Check the moon phase before you book, because a full moon undoes it entirely.
- #2
El Tatio geysers
The largest geyser field in the southern hemisphere, at 4,320 m before dawn.
A 4:30 a.m. pickup, ninety minutes of mountain road and a valley venting steam at −10 °C as the sun comes over the ridge. The average fountain is only 75 cm high; the scale is what makes it. Do it on your third day, not your first.
- #3
Valle de la Luna
The salt valley 13 km from town, and the sunset everyone comes for.
Four hours, about $32, and at town height so it works on your first afternoon. Note that pedestrian entry is not permitted and the CONAF ticket must be bought a day ahead, so this is one to take as a tour unless you have planned it.
- #4
Piedras Rojas and the altiplanic lagoons
Ten hours, 4,140 m, and the best full day in the region.
Red mineral shores on the Salar de Talar, Lagunas Miscanti and Miñiques, flamingos on the salar coming home. It is a long day at real altitude and the operator publishes an exclusion list; it belongs on day four.
- #5
The salt lagoons at Cejar
The only place in the desert where you get into the water.
Brine dense enough to float in, about $39 for a half day. The floating actually happens at Laguna Piedra — Cejar itself is now look-only — and the admission closes twelve hours before departure.
- #6
Sandboarding in Valle de la Muerte
The highest-rated thing anyone sells here, and the only one that is purely fun.
Three and a half hours on a long dune, board and instruction included, 4.9 from 134 reviews. There is no lift: you walk back up through soft sand at 2,500 m, which is the entire workout.
- #7
Rainbow Valley and the Yerbas Buenas petroglyphs
The excursion every three-day itinerary drops.
Mineral-banded hills 90 km north, paired with rock art older than the Inca. Because it has no sunset slot and is a long drive, it is the only place near San Pedro you can stand in without a queue.
- #8
Termas de Puritama
Eight thermal pools in a canyon, and the only warm water on this list.
About 30 km from town, linked by wooden walkways, charged separately from any tour. It is the right thing to do on an afternoon when you have decided not to drive anywhere at 4,000 m.
- #9
Pukará de Quitor and the town itself
A pre-Inca fortress 3 km away, and the one thing you can do on foot.
A short steep climb with a view over the whole oasis, reachable without a tour. The R. P. Gustavo Le Paige archaeological museum in town is the other half of an afternoon that costs almost nothing.
- #10
The crossing to Uyuni
Three days into Bolivia, and not really an Atacama excursion at all.
It sleeps two nights above 4,000 m, needs a passport, and ends in another country. Worth doing, at the end of the week rather than the start, and only if your onward travel leaves from Uyuni.
Frequently asked questions
What is the one thing not to miss?
The stargazing. It is the cheapest excursion on the list and the hardest to replicate anywhere else on Earth.
What can I do without a tour?
Walk to Pukará de Quitor, visit the archaeological museum, and explore the town. Almost everything else is too far out and several sites restrict private access.
Is there anything to do in the town itself?
A little: the museum, the church, the plaza and the restaurants. San Pedro is a base rather than a destination, and that is worth knowing before you arrive.