5 Unmissable Places to Visit in The Atacama Desert, Chile

Looking for the perfect Atacama Desert Chile itinerary? Well, you’ve come to the right place!

The Atacama desert is also known as the driest place on earth and stretches for over 600 miles.

As you can imagine, it is a region packed with things to do that shouldn’t be missed on a trip around South America. We visited during our 9 months travelling around Central and South America and would honestly say it included some of the highlights of our trip.

At the heart of this incredible place is the rustic village of San Pedro de Atacama. Filled with an eclectic mix of indigenous and modern cultures, San Pedro feels a lot more like its neighbour, Bolivia, than it does Chile. But, this made it one of our favourite little towns and the perfect place to base yourself for your time in the Atacama Desert, Chile. We spent only 3 days here as we were on a fairly tight time schedule by this point of our trip but, we could have happily spent far longer here. There are easily enough spots to keep you entertained for 7 days + even for two, fairly quick-paced travellers like us (we know it’s not ‘cool’ to say that we’re fast-paced travellers anymore, but, that’s just how we have always enjoyed travelling).

If you’re considering a trip to the driest place on earth, have a read of our Atacama Desert travel guide and here are a few tips along with our guide to the top 5 sites in the Atacama Desert that must be added to your Chile plan.

Where Is The Atacama Desert Located? 

The Atacama Desert is located in northern Chile. Unless are travelling overland, the best way to reach the region is by catching a flight to Calama Airport. From there you can catch a bus or a hotel transfer/ taxi to reach the main town of San Pedro De Atacama. From there, you can tick off all of the incredible spots located within the Atacama Desert.

If you are on a longer South American backpacking trip and are also planning on visiting the Uyani Salti Flats then the Atacama Desert is a great spot to start your Uyani tour or end your tour in. We chose the former and loved this option.

What month is best to visit the Atacama Desert, Chile?

The most popular season for visiting the Atacama Desert in Chile is the months of December, January, and February. This is the summer months in the Atacama. The pleasant day temperatures and warmer nights make for a wonderful time to explore the desert. We visited during June and although it was sunny it was also very cold at times, especially during the evenings.

What to pack for the Atacama Desert?

Pack layers: It might be a desert, but, during the winter and at night the Atacama Desert can get very cold. It’s a good idea to bring warm weather clothing in the form of lots of layers so that you can take each layer off as the day heats up.

Protect your skin: The Atacama Desert, Chile sits at 8,000 feet above sea level. This means that the sun is really strong here. So, even if you feel cold your skin will be feeling the heat. Good sunscreen is essential for packing for your trip to The Atacama Desert!

Hiking boots: There are tons of epic hikes around the Atacama Desert, especially around San Pedro de Atacama in Valle de Luna and Valle de Arcoiris. A pair of sturdy and comfortable hiking boots will make the experience all the more enjoyable and comfortable. It’s important to note that we only had running trainers with us and were fine. So, whilst hiking books will make your time comfier; they are not essential.

How should I travel around the Atacama Desert?

The Atacama desert, in Chile, is huge and therefore, all of the spots are fairly spread out. There are two options for getting around and this is either via guided tours or by hiring a car. We opted for the former and whilst this is the more expensive option we thoroughly enjoyed the input that our guides had. Plus, after 3 weeks of road-tripping around Patagonia, it was nice to be able to sit back and relax whilst we took to various places.

Of course, a tour certainly has its downfalls; not being able to stop in places for as long as you want, being more expensive and not being able to just pull over. The Atacama Desert is one of Chile’s most incredible, diverse places to visit. It is filled with stunning landscapes of salt flats and saline lakes, high-altitude geysers, giant volcanoes and unique rock formations. This northern Chile region is filled with magic, wonder, and hundreds of photos just waiting to be taken. 

If you have a cool spot you want to visit. It is, therefore, definitely down to personal preference if you want to take tours or hire a car in Atacama.

A point to note is the roads aren’t your normal roads. If you choose to drive be prepared to be off the road for the majority of it. You can hire cars online beforehand or from car hire shops in San Pedro. We saw two whilst we were there just off the main road.

How should I book my tours in the Atacama Desert Chile?

There are two main ways of booking tours in the Atacama Desert and these are before, online. Or, when you arrive in the town of San Pedro. Of course, both have pros and cons. If you book online before then you will most probably end up paying more. However, you will also be guaranteed to be able to visit where you want, when you want.

We opted for a mixture of the booking before and booking trips whilst we were there. This was due to our slight time restraint. We found booking online much more effective for us. We struggled to get a spot on the tour that we wanted to Laguna Chaxa and ended up spending a whole afternoon asking tour offices if they had space for us the following day. Which, a lot didn’t.

Top 5 things to see in the Atacama Desert, Chile

1. Swim in the Hidden Lagoons of Baltinache

The Hidden Lagoons of Baltinache is, in our humble opinion, a must-see in the Atacama Desert.

Hidden within the desert are these incredibly vivid seven bodies of transparent turquoise water. Which in contrast to the white of the shimmering crystals of salt flats, make this one of the most incredible landscapes in Chile.

Either take a refreshing dip in one and float just like you’re in the dead sea or admire it from the side. As it wasn’t boiling hot here we decided to admire them from the side. Whilst we weren’t able to get that classic ‘floating in the water reading a book’ photo we did stay warm and dry.

We opted to visit the Lagoons of Baltinache via a tour with Denomades. The tour costs CLP$ 33.000/ £33 per person. The tour lasts 5 hours and you can opt for either a morning or afternoon tour; 08:00 am to 01:00 pm or 02:00 pm to 07:00 pm

You start your trip to these pools by driving through the amazing desert and end it with a cocktail and snacks while watching the sunset behind the mountains; an amazing afternoon not to be missed.

2. Visit Laguna Chaxa

The beautiful Laguna Chaxa is located in a salt flat, a short drive from San Pedro de Atacama in Chile. Laguna Chaxa is one of those places that we had seen so many photos of and had numerous times in our ‘saved folder’ on Instagram. The ‘laguna with the flamingos’ was high on our bucket list and it only exceeded our expectations.

Surrounded by incredible desert the laguna is home to 3 out of the 5 different types of flamingos; the James, Chilean and Andean flamingo. It’s the perfect spot to come bird watching or relax and enjoy the insane landscape.

You can either hire a car to visit here or go on a tour, we opted for the latter which was a half day tour and cost us 30000 CLP (£28) each. In addition to this, you had to pay for the entrance to the park, which cost 8000 CLP (around £7.50).

3. Spend time in San Pedro de Atacama

This one is a bit of a ‘cop-out’ but, we truly loved the town so much that we thought it deserved its own spot on our list. San Pedro de Atacama is a small town set in the Andes mountains of northeastern Chile. Its dramatic landscape is full of desert, salt flats, volcanoes, geysers and hot springs. It’s an amazing place to stop off in if you’re visiting Chile and a perfect base if you plan on visiting any of the famous spots which the Atacama has to offer.

The town really revolves around tourism. Filled with over a hundred tour operators, tons of restaurants (from budget to fine dining) and lots of little bars. It reminded us a little bit of when we visited Pai in Thailand; a bohemian town, a bit commercialised and just generally the type of place you want to spend a while in.

4. Explore The Valley Of The Moon – El Valle De La Luna

Located 13 kilometres (8 miles) west of San Pedro de Atacama in Chile is the El Valle de la Luna. It is filled with impressive rocks, crafted from a pale rusty colour that juts out in long ridges and peaks. Nestled inside the Los Flamencos Natural Reserve The Valley Of The Moon is part of the Cordillera de la Sal. The geological formations are like no other and are said to resemble the moon, hence the name.

Agencies often offer this tour combined with Death Valley, as both attractions are relatively close. It is a half-day tour that usually ends with drinks while watching the sunset at Moon Valley.

5. Marvel at the El Tatio Geysers

One of the most popular spots to visit in the Atacama Desert Chile, aside from San Pedro, is the El Tatio Geysers.

As we were going on the Uyuni Salt Flats tour after, which included a trip to see Geysers, we chose not to go on this day trip. However, if you aren’t planning on going on this tour then this is a great alternative to see from Atacama. Sitting at an altitude of 4300m, the geysers are constantly shooting jets of water and clouds of steam into the air in incredible visual displays.

The best time to visit the geysers is at sunrise. This is when the golden light allows you to actually see the water rising up.

We hope you’ve enjoyed reading our Atacama Desert travel guide! Are you planning to visit soon? Which places are you planning on visiting? Let us know in the comments below!