We had a great opportunity to spend a 3 day weekend in the Atacama desert, the oldest and driest (non-polar) desert on earth. This is definitely a unique destination.
Getting There
We flew LATAM Airlines into Calama, Chile from Santiago and rented a car. It’s a 90 min drive from the airport in Calama to San Pedro de Atacama, the small town from which we based all of our activities. San Pedro de Atacama is small but interesting. The town seems to be made out of adobe and none of the roads are paved.
Accommodations
We stayed at Pascual Andino which is located right in the midst of town. It’s walking distance to restaurants and a short drive to several sightseeing stops i.e. Moon Valley (Valle de la Luna).
It is a small boutique type of hotel with about 10 rooms. There are outdoor common spaces to recline and relax. There is a common dining room where breakfast is served every morning.
We had room 7 which has a king sized bed and patio with a large ensuite bathroom that has a huge walk-in shower. The bathroom has a ceiling that allows sunlight and privacy. The bathroom tile is a dark slate, so it’s a bit dark in there at night time. The accommodations were clean, comfortable and cozy. The decor is adobe mud walls and indigenous designs.
Breakfast is included and it consists of typical continental fare: breads, pastries, coffee, tea, fruit, yogurt. You can have hot eggs made to order. The coffee was absolutely terrible which was unfortunate, but everything was fine: not outstanding but not terrible. If your excursions have you up and out early, you can let the staff know and they will pack a to-go breakfast for you. The to-go breakfast is a sandwich, fruit, and juice.
Overall, it was a lovely stay and a nice central spot from which to explore the Atacama desert. I would definitely return.
Activities
Since we had just a short visit of a few days we had short list of must-see places to go:
Salar de Atacama – Laguna Chaxa (Salt flats – Lake Chaxa)
Tatio Geysers
Valle de la Luna (Moon Valley)
We wanted to visit the the termas (hot springs) as well but just didn’t have the time.
We drove ourselves to each place and it was pretty simple and straightforward. The salt flats were quite interesting to see – just miles and miles of hard crystals on the ground with a lake in the middle. And in that lake there are flamingos! There is a small entrance fee for the lake.
We woke up really early to drive the 1.5 hours to Tatio Geyers based on recommendations that you see it at sunrise so the steam from the water contrasts with the sunlight. Honestly it was cool to see and hear the bubbling water, but it was pretty cloudy that day so I don’t think we got the full effect with the sunrise light. There was an entrance fee of 10.000 CLP per person.
Moon Valley reminded me of a planet you would see on Star Trek. The rocky terrain and the lack of greenery really seem other worldly. The Atacama desert is also where NASA tested the Mars rover and when you see Moon Valley that totally makes sense. Again, there was a small entrance fee of 3.000 CLP per person to enter.
Food
We ate at Adobe, a well recommended restaurant in town, and a Peruvian restaurant on the same street and found them to be just okay, not great. We found two places we really loved and highly recommend: Jardin Meraki and Franchuteria. You must try the croissants at Franchuteria. They have absolutely amazing sweet and savory French pastries in the middle of a Chilean desert.
Returning Home
We departed on a Monday morning, driving back to the airport in Calama early to catch a flight to La Serena, Chile (not quite ‘home’) to see the 2019 solar eclipse the next day. The Calama airport is small and easy to navigate. There is a Priority Pass lounge that is pretty simple and basic with substandard food choices for the breakfast time we were there, but I guess it’s better than nothing!
We enjoyed the brief trip to the desert and would welcome a return visit one day.
-J