Standing at the dunes of Valle de la luna at sunset

12 BEST Things to do in San Pedro de Atacama, Chile

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We’re so excited to share this guide to the Atacama Desert, which was hands down one of our absolute favourite places in all of South America. It still blows our minds that a place known as one of the driest on Earth (seriously, some parts have never seen a single drop of rain in recorded history!) can offer such an incredible variety of landscapes and experiences.

After road tripping through the region and researching it thoroughly, we’ve compiled our top 12 favourite things to do in San Pedro de Atacama—the ones you absolutely do not want to miss. And to make your planning easier, we’ve also included road maps, details on how to purchase the tickets, honest reviews of each site so you can decide which ones to prioritize, and plenty of tips to ensure your journey is seamless from start to finish.

Valley at Valle de la luna at sunset with rock formations

Is the Atacama Desert Worth Visiting? 

Having now visited over 40 countries around the world, it honestly takes a lot to surprise us. It’s a blessing of being able to travel to so many wonderful destinations, but a curse that everything we see gets compared to the best places we have visited. 

So with that said, we were completely surprised by how the Atacama Desert completely blew us away!

Being one of the driest places on the planet, we had expected only to see beautiful desert landscapes. But instead, here we found more volcanoes than one can count, rainbow-coloured active geysers, stunning lagunas teeming with flamingos, and turquoise salt pools in the middle of absolutely nowhere.

Add in ancient indigenous culture and one of the most spectacular dark sky zones to see the stars, and you’ve got a desert that seriously delivers! 

One moment we were spotting vicuñas and flamingos high in the Andes at over 3,000 meters, and the next we were gazing up at the Milky Way under one of the clearest night skies in the world. In Chile, we had also visited the iconic Patagonia and I think we would have to say that the Atacama Desert left an even bigger impression on us.

The Atacama Desert truly is one of the most spectacular places you can visit — and without a doubt, it’s well worth the trip.

Stunning sunset landscape in Atacama desert with red rocks


Things to do in San Pedro de Atacama + Our review 

The Atacama Desert is packed with unforgettable experiences — from jaw-dropping landscapes and unique wildlife encounters to soothing thermal baths and stargazing unlike anywhere else on Earth. The good news? You can base yourself in the charming town of San Pedro de Atacama, which makes it super easy to explore all the highlights nearby.

Vicunas fighting in the mountaintop

To help you plan your adventure, the attractions can generally be grouped into northern, southern, and western routes. For simplicity, we’ll list them all out here — but don’t worry, we’ve comprehensively broken them down by region and proper visiting order in our full Atacama Itinerary Guide to make your trip planning even easier.

Map of things to do in san pedro de atacama

⚠️ If you’re looking for the best day tours to take in San Pedro de Atacama, we have written a comprehensive guide with our hand-picked most recommended tours in the Atacama Desert.

👀 Alternatively, one tour platform many people don’t know about for South America and has been excellent throughout our travels is Denomades. It’s worth taking a look!


1) Valle de la Luna

Valle de la Luna, which translates to Valley of the Moon, will have you feeling like you stepped off planet earth and landed on Mars (or the moon!).

Standing at the dunes of Valle de la luna at sunset

It is one of the Atacama Desert’s most iconic landscapes and truly lives up to its name. Here, you’ll wander through windswept sand dunes, surreal rock formations dusted with salt that glisten like crystals, and set out on short hikes that immerse you right in the heart of this alien-like terrain.

Valle de la Luna is so otherworldly that NASA has even used it to test instruments for Mars missions, thanks to its extreme dryness and rugged landscape.

Finish off your visit by heading over to Mirador de Kari to watch one of the most spectacular fiery-orange sunsets over the desert landscape. Mirador de Kari is part of the Valle de la Luna park so is included within the ticket.

Valley at Valle de la luna at sunset with rock formations

Make sure to get there a bit early and check the closing times beforehand as they are very strict. We have heard of people being turned away just because they arrived 2 minutes after the ‘cut-off’ time. 

Amphitheatre at valle de la luna
Standing at sand dunes of valle de la luna, woman standing there, one of our favourite things to do in San Pedro de Atacama

Valle de la Luna: Visiting Information

  • Starting point: Valle de la Luna Information Centre, around 10 minutes drive from San Pedro de Atacama. Make sure to enter from here (eastern entrance) since you’ll need to buy/validate your ticket here before entering. The park rangers will also explain to you here how to visit the park and all the important times. 
  • Time needed to visit: Minimum of 2 hours, recommended 3 hours. We entered the park at 4pm and had around 2.5 hours to visit the park before needing to arrive at Mirador Kari before 7:30pm. Even with 2.5 hours, we had to cut short one of the hikes. The park rangers also tend to close the hiking trail a bit earlier than listed.
  • Park Tickets: You can buy the tickets at the Valle de la Luna information centre or buy them ahead of time online. At the information centre, they have touchscreen computers where you can pay for your ticket. They accept credit cards. 
  • Opening Hours: 
    From September to March: you must enter the park between 9:00am to 5:00pm.
    From April to August: you must enter the park between 8:00am to 4:00pm. 
  • Our Recommendation: If you are doing self-drive, instead of following the regular order of visit, we recommend starting from the end at Tres Marias and then visiting the sites in reverse order. This will not only help avoid the tourist bus crowds since they all go in order, but you’ll also have a bit more time to explore since you’ll be close to the entrance by closing time.

Review of Valle de la Luna

Review: 7/10. Overall we enjoyed Valle de la Luna but mainly the section of the Duna Mayor hike where you are fully immersed in the moon-like landscape. The other sites, Tres Marias, Mina de sal, and Achaches were not as impressive. If you’ve been to Sandwich Harbour or Sossusvlei in Namibia, Valle de la Luna has a similar otherworldly desert dunes feel, but not as grandiose.

Finally, the Mirador Kari for sunset was very pretty but also completely crowded since all the tour buses go there at the same time. We actually enjoyed the other ‘free’ sunset viewpoint more, Mirador Likan-Antay.

Valle de la luna with views of the amphitheatre

Tour to visit Valle de La Luna

This 5 hour Valle de la Luna Sunset Tour will bring you through the main highlights of Valle de la Luna including Tres Marias, the hiking trails, and end with the sunset viewpoint at Mirador de Kari. This is perfect for those who are not renting a car to explore the Atacama Desert.


2) Sunset at Mirador Likan-Antay

With the intense sun and extreme desert conditions, sunset is hands down one of the best times to take in the stunning landscapes of the Atacama Desert.

After already visiting Mirador Kari as part of the Valle de la Luna tour, we went in search of another sunset spot — and stumbled upon a hidden gem: Mirador Likan-Antay.

Just a few minutes’ drive from Mirador de Kari, this viewpoint quickly became our favourite.

Not only is it completely free, but the wide-open space gives you the freedom to wander and find your own perfect view. We loved it so much, we actually came back another night to capture some star photos under the desert sky.

Even though a lot of people also come here for sunset, it never felt crowded since there there are so many different areas to explore. Another huge advantage here is that unlike Mirador Kari, there is no official closing time. This means you can stay as long as you want after sunset, whereas we were abruptly kicked out at Mirador Kari. 

Watching the sunset, woman wearing orange dress
Watching sunset from the free viewpoint of Mirador Likan Antay

Mirador Likan-Antay: Visiting Information

  • Site: Mirador Likan-Antay
  • Location: 7 minutes drive from San Pedro de Atacama, located here
  • Parking: There are two small parking areas. Each area can fit around 5-7 cars only so try to arrive early.
  • Entrance: No ticket needed. Entrance is completely free
  • Time needed to visit: 30-60 minutes to watch the sunset
  • Opening Hours: Anytime, since it is not an official site. We came for sunset, and came back another day around 11pm. 

Review of Mirador Likan-Antay

Review: 9/10. We absolutely loved this site. It is completely free to visit and has so many different beautiful vantage points. We also loved coming here at night to do star photography. Finally, given it is only an 8 minutes drive from San Pedro de Atacama, it is very easily accessible. 



3) Laguna Baltinache

Before visiting the Atacama Desert, we’d seen tons of jaw-dropping photos of Laguna Baltinache — glowing turquoise pools, someone effortlessly floating in the salty water, surrounded by endless white salt flats. The contrast was so surreal, it almost looked too good to be true. There was also a similar floating salt pool in Siwa Oasis during our trip to Egypt!

Now after seeing it with our own eyes, we can confidently say: it’s real, and is one of the best things to do in San Pedro de Atacama!

Sitting in front of laguna baltinache, one of the best things to do in san pedro de atacama

To get here, you’ll need to drive 45 minutes from San Pedro de Atacama, through some rugged un-paved terrain, but once you arrive, you’ll be treated to one of the most breathtaking and isolated landscapes of your Atacama trip.

The site features 7 striking turquoise salt pools, but due to conservation efforts, only one is open for swimming. Visitors are limited to 20 minutes in the water, both to preserve the fragile environment and to protect your skin from the pool’s extreme salinity (yep, it’s that salty!).

Floating in the water in Laguna Baltinache

Visiting Itinerary at Laguna Baltinache

After arriving here, you’ll need to first buy your ticket and they will explain the site plan. You’ll then drive up to the first salt pool and embark on part of the hike to see pools 2-4.

Then you’ll get back in your car and drive to the second parking lot where you’ll find the remaining 3 pools, including the one that you can swim in. The experience of floating effortless in the turquoise salt pool, surrounded by endless stretch of blinding-white salt flats is an experience we’ll never forget!  

After swimming, you can then return to the entrance where they have showers for you to rinse off. 

Man standing in the salt pool in laguna baltinache
Sitting at laguna Baltinache salt pool

Laguna Baltinache: Visiting Information

  • Site: Laguna Baltinache
  • Location: 45 minutes drive from San Pedro de Atacama, located here. Many reviews online said that the road conditions leading there are terrible and that an SUV is required. Overall, the road is loose gravel and a bit bumpy but definitely manageable in a sedan. Also, the worse part of the road is just the final 10 minutes. 
  • Time needed to visit: We recommended spending around 2 hours here. Although you can only swim for 20 minutes, the site itself is absolutely stunning. We really enjoyed just sitting by some of the salt pools and just soaking in the whole ambiance. 
  • Entrance: Buy your tickets at the entrance. They accept credit cards. The cost is 12,000 CLP. 
  • Opening Hours: 9:00am to 5:00pm. Online it shows that they are closed from 1:30pm to 2:30pm but we arrived around noon and left at around 3pm and they had no issue with it. I asked the ranger and she said they close at 5:00pm.  

Review of Laguna Baltinache

Review: 10/10. Floating in Laguna Baltinache was an experience we’ll never forget. It was our first time in a salt pool, and doing it in such a remote, otherworldly setting — with nothing but salt flats and volcanoes all around — made it feel completely surreal. The combination of silence, scenery, and that strange floating sensation? Absolutely unforgettable.

Tour of Laguna Baltinache

This 5 Hour Baltinache Lagoons from San Pedro de Atacama tour is perfect for those who do not have a rental car, or are hesitant to drive along the bumpy roads, but want to experience the incredible hidden lagoons! You’ll be picked up at your hotel in a comfortable shared transport, see the Lagunas Baltinache, and also get to visit that secret abandoned school bus!

Woman and man standing in front of laguna baltinache, one of our favourite things to do in San pedro de atacama

4) Road Tripping Through the Atacama Desert

We absolutely love doing road trips. From cruising through the incredible national parks of Utah in the United States, visiting the charming coastal towns in Turkey, to the most epic safari through Namibia, road trips are not just a means of transportation, but an unforgettable experience in itself.

Road trips give you the freedom to stop when something catches your eye, take detours, soak in the landscapes, and really experience a place — not just visit it. Sometimes, the magic isn’t just where you’re going, but everything you see along the way.

While it’s totally doable to explore the Atacama Desert through organized day trips, we highly recommend renting a car and doing a self-drive road trip if you can. 

Take El Tatio Geysers, for example — one of the most popular attractions in the region. It’s about 1.5 hours from San Pedro de Atacama, and we were initially hesitant to make that long trek on bumpy roads just for one site. But honestly? The drive ended up being one of the highlights of our entire trip

We stopped whenever we wanted, saw jaw-dropping landscapes, herds of vicuñas, and so many flocks of flamingos, far more than Laguna Chaxa — all of which are not known/famous sites and we would’ve missed on a tour bus that just zooms from point A to B. 

Sometimes, the journey really is the destination.

Vicuñas looking from below the valley in Atacama Desert


5) Stargazing in the Atacama Desert

The Atacama Desert is considered one of the best dark sky zones in the world, thanks to its high altitude, dry climate, and incredibly low light pollution. These perfect stargazing conditions have attracted astronomers from around the globe — so much so that world-leading observatories, like the ALMA Observatory, have been built right here to study the universe in astonishing detail.

So if you’re heading to San Pedro de Atacama, don’t miss the chance to do an astro tour — it’s one of the best ways to experience the Milky Way and a sky overflowing with stars like you’ve never seen before. Luckily, there’s no shortage of tours to choose from!

Recommended Star Gazing Tour

From all the tours available, we ended up going with this particular Astro Tour.

What really made this experience stand out was having our own cozy, semi-private lounge setupcushioned seating, a table overflowing with charcuterie, cheese, wine, and even hot chocolate. On chilly nights, they even provide heated blankets.

Finally, they take truly professional-looking photos of you with the backdrop of the milky way. It felt like stargazing in luxury.

Related Stargazing Tour Review Guide ➡️ Full Review of Stargazing Tour in the Atacama Desert, Essential Tips, Recommendations for which Tour to choose, and our favourite spot for DIY Stargazing in the Atacama Desert!

Starphotography portrait of woman and man, with backdrop of the milky way, in the atacama desert

Honestly, it was one of the most incredible experiences during our Atacama trip — and it gave us a whole new appreciation for the universe above.

Review of Star Gazing Tour

Review: 10/10. The experience on this tour was flawless! From the comfort, the food and wine, the personalized touches, the photo, and the entire explanation of the universe, we absolutely loved the experience. 


6) Laguna Chaxa

If you’ve seen photos of the Atacama Desert, you’ve probably come across those dreamy shots of flamingos wading through turquoise lagoons with volcanoes rising in the background. Laguna Chaxa is one of the most well-known places to spot them — and while it looks stunning in photos, we have to admit it was one of the few places in Atacama that left us a little underwhelmed.

Laguna Chaxa flamingos

When we visited, there were only a few flamingos around, and they were pretty far from the observation areas. Of course, wildlife is unpredictable, but even on a good day, the birds are usually quite distant. On top of that, the surrounding scenery just didn’t wow us — the landscape had a muted, greyish tone and lacked the dramatic pops of colour we found in other parts of Atacama, like Piedras Rojas or near El Tatio Geysers.

The site itself is small, with a short walking trail and just two viewpoints. Considering the entrance fee is nearly 14,000 CLP for a visit that might last 30 minutes, it felt a bit pricey — especially when compared to places like Piedras Rojas and Laguna Miscanti, which offer a full day’s worth of jaw-dropping landscapes for only 15,000 CLP.

Sleeping flamingo in front of volcano

Laguna Chaxa: Visiting Information

  • Site: Laguna Chaxa
  • Location: 50 minutes drive from San Pedro de Atacama, located here
  • Ticket: You need to buy the tickets online. Even if you show up in person, they will ask you to buy it online here
  • Time needed to visit: around 30-45 minutes.
  • Opening Hours: 7:00am to 6:00pm

Review of Laguna chaxa

Review: 6/10. This was the only site that we were underwhelmed by in the Atacama Desert. For the price of close to 14,000 CLP, we felt like the site was quite small and the flamingos were very far off. We ended up seeing far more flamingos and in close proximity for free while driving north towards El Tatio Geyser. 

Our Recommendation

If you are short on time, I would skip this. Instead, if you have a rental car, we recommend driving up north towards El Tatio geyser and along the way, you’ll see far more flamingos, in closer proximity, and with a far more colourful landscape. We’ll detail exactly where to find them in the ‘Northern Route road trip’ Section.


This post is part of our series about the Atacama Desert. If you want to learn more about the Atacama Desert and other amazing Chilean attractions, check out the guides below:


7) El Tatio Geyser

El Tatio Geyser is one of the highest geothermal fields in the world, sitting at a breathtaking (literally!) altitude of 4,300m above sea level! It is home to over 80 active geysers, steaming fumaroles, and bubbling hot springs – making it the third-largest geyser field on Earth

Before heading to El Tatio, we did our usual pre-trip snooping and looked up a bunch of photos online — but honestly, most of them were taken in the dark, with clouds of steam hiding everything. So we really had no idea what to expect. We were actually on the fence about whether it’d be worth it… but wow, are we glad we went!

El Tatio completely blew us away. The geyser field felt like something straight out of another planet — rainbow-colored pools, steaming vents, and a landscape so surreal and remote it left us speechless. And as we mentioned earlier, the drive itself was unforgettable. The countless scenic stops, spotting wildlife, and watching the scenery change with every turn made this road trip one of the absolute highlights of our entire time in Atacama.

The Geyser field is actually quite huge, which makes sense given it is the third largest in the world. We loved the layout and how you can actually get quite close to observe the geysers.

Geyser field in el tatio

We easily spent 3 hours there, taking our time just watching the bubbling of the geothermal fields and waiting for those big explosions!

Standing in front of yellow colour geyser in El Tatio

El Tatio Geysers: Visiting Information

  • Site: El Tatio Geyser
  • Location: 1.5 hours drive from San Pedro de Atacama
  • Ticket: You can buy the tickets once you arrive on site. Tickets cost 15,000 CLP
  • Opening Hours: 6:00am to 4:00pm
  • Time needed to visit: We easily spent around 2-3 hour there exploring the whole Geyser field. Also, at the time we went in the early afternoon, there was absolutely nobody there so we spent time just basking in the tranquility. 

Review of El Tatio Geysers

Review: Overall, I would give the site alone an 8.5/10, but if combined with the road trip and all the amazing free sites you’ll see along the way, I give it a 10/10! Of our entire Atacama trip, this Northern route day trip to El Tatio Geyser was our favourite!  

Standing in front of yellow pool in el tatio geyser

Our recommendation for El Tatio Geyser

Most tours will start heading over at 4:30am so you can see the sunrise at El Tatio Geyser. The reason for this is that you’ll see more fumes at that early hour. 

We decided to go instead at around 1pm and would highly recommend it! Not only do you not have to wake up super early, but you’ll get to also take your time enjoying the views along the way (which is the best part!).

woman standing in front of geyser in el tatio

We were initially concerned about not seeing any fumes given it was in the afternoon but we still saw a lot. The final advantage was that we had the site all to ourselves, avoiding all the tour buses! 

Tour to El Tatio Geyser

If you do not have a rental car, we highly recommend taking this El Tatio Geyser tour from San Pedro de Atacama.


8) Northern Route Road Trip

As mentioned before, one of our absolutely favourite experiences was actually not one of the popular known sites, but instead the incredible views and animals we saw along the way north to El Tatio Geysers. We loved it so much that we feel it deserves its own mention and section.

Northern route of Atacama Desert, amazing landscape, volcano, green grass

Three Lagunas with Flamingos

About 45 minutes into the 1.5-hour drive to El Tatio Geysers, you’ll pass by a trio of stunning lagunas right off the side of the road — and trust us, you’ll want to pull over.

Here, we saw more flamingos than we could count, all up close and personal, framed by jaw-dropping volcanoes in the background. At one point, a group of vicuñas even trotted by for a drink, just to complete the scene.

Flamingos in the laguna
vicunas and flamingos in atacama desert

We ended up hopping out of the car and sitting there for nearly an hour, soaking in the surreal wildlife and dramatic landscape. After our underwhelming visit to Laguna Chaxa, this moment completely redeemed the flamingo experience for us.

Mirador Putana – Our favourite viewpoint

About 10 minutes further down the road, we hit what ended up being our favorite pit stop of the entire drive — Mirador Putana. This spot seriously took our breath away. From the viewpoint, you get an epic panoramic view of the valley and lake below, painted in patches of yellow and green grass, dotted with herds of vicuñas and birds, all perfectly framed by three majestic snow-capped volcanoes.

We couldn’t help but sit there for a solid 30 minutes, just taking it all in — one of those “wow, is this real life?” kind of moments.

After exploring El Tatio Geysers, we couldn’t resist pulling over at those same two spots on the way back. Yep — they were that good that it deserved a second time around!


9) Horseback Riding in Catarpe Valley

One experience we didn’t see mentioned often in other blogs — and honestly, such an underrated gem — is horseback riding in the Atacama Desert.

After falling in love with exploring on horseback in places like Kyrgyzstan, Colombia, and Patagonia, we couldn’t pass up the chance to saddle up again in San Pedro de Atacama.

Horseback riding in the Atacama Desert, one of the best things to do in San Pedro de Atacama

We joined a ride through Valle de Catarpe and the dramatic Devil’s Throat (Garganta del Diablo), winding through a maze of red rock canyons carved by time itself. Riding through this landscape felt like stepping into another world and took us to places that would’ve been way harder to reach on foot.

It was truly an unforgettable way to experience the desert’s raw beauty and learn about it at the same time.

Horseback riding in the Catarpe Valley in Atacama Desert

We went with La Marca Cabalgata and took their 3-hour excursion. You need to pay by cash and you can reserve by getting into contact with them through Whatsapp.

If you prefer booking a horseback riding experience by credit card, you can also check out this other Horseback Adventure Tour.

Horseback riding in the Atacama Desert

10) Piedras Rojas, Laguna Miscanti, and Laguna Miniques 

If the Northern Route with El Tatio geyser was our favourite thing to do in San Pedro de Atacama, then this Southern route with Piedras Rojas is for sure a close second place!

Salar de Aguas Calientes Piedras Rojas

Your first stop is Salar de Aguas Calientes Piedras Rojas. Here, a surreal blend of crimson volcanic rock meets vibrant turquoise waters, creating one of the most mind-blowing landscapes we’ve ever seen.

Despite having already visited a handful of lagunas in the Atacama desert, this one totally took our breath away. The textures of the red rocks almost looked like fluffy cotton candy which reminded us of our hike through Yant Flat in Utah.

We spent nearly two hours wandering along the walking trails, soaking in every angle of this Mars-like landscape.

Laguna Miscanti & Laguna Miniques

Then after leaving from Piedras Rojas, we drove 40 minutes back in the direction of San Pedro de Atacama to reach the hidden Laguna Miscanti and Laguna Miñiques.

While they didn’t quite marvel us as much as Piedras Rojas, they were still absolutely stunning. Nestled at the base of towering volcanoes and framed by golden grasslands, these lagunas offer a mesmerizing contrast — and if you’re lucky, you might spot a few flamingos casually strutting along the shoreline. 

Flamingos around laguna miniques

And don’t forget, the two-hour drive to get there is an experience in itself.

You’ll pass countless jaw-dropping viewpoints, fields filled with roaming wild vicuñas, and more volcanoes than you can keep track of. What made this drive so special for us was how the road winds right alongside these towering volcanoes, giving you front-row views of their dramatic slopes.

The black ash streaking down the mountains, the deep crimson volcanic rock, and the golden-yellow grasslands created this surreal palette that honestly reminded us of road-trip through Iceland. It’s that epic.

Walking in Piedras Rojas in Atacama Desert
Amazing landscape in the atacama desert

Piedras Rojas and Laguna Miscanti: Visiting Information

  • Site: Salar de Aguas Calientes Piedras Rojas, Laguna MIscanti, Laguna Miniques
  • Location: Piedras Rojas is around 2 hours drive South of San Pedro de Atacama, then you’ll drive 40 minutes back towards San Pedro de Atacama to reach Laguna Miscanti. To return to San Pedro de Atacama from there, it’ll take 1.5 hours.  
  • Ticket: This part requires some planning so make sure to pay attention to each step. You need to buy your tickets online from here ahead of time, and then go to the town of Socaire 1 hour before your scheduled time to do your check-in. Socaire is located around an hour from San Pedro de Atacama but on-route to Laguna Miscanti and Piedras Rojas. After doing the check-in, you can then head to Laguna Miscanti and Piedras Rojas.
  • Opening hours: The first appointment time for Piedras Rojas is 9:00am, meaning your check in at Socaire will be at 8am. The latest appointment is at 1:00pm. 
  • Time needed to visit: We recommend spending at least 1.5 hours in Piedras Rojas and around an hour at Laguna Miscanti and Miniques. However, if you are like us and love taking photos and really taking in the scenery, we actually ended up staying a good 2-2.5 hours at Piedras Rojas. 

Review of Piedras Rojas + Laguna Miscanti/Miniques

Review: 10/10. As previously mentioned, this was our second favourite road trip of our Atacama Desert Trip. Piedras Rojas was absolutely jaw-dropping and the road trip there equally breathtaking. This is one day trip I definitely would not miss out on.

Man walking on the red landscape of Piedras Rojas

Our recommendation for southern Route

If you have your rental car, we highly recommend starting off with Piedras Rojas first with the 9:00am appointment. We arrived at that time and had the site almost all to ourselves for 30-40 minutes.

Also, if you have the flexibility of time, I’d recommend staying there and waiting for the wave of tour groups to pass. They tend to stay there only for around 20-30 minutes so after we waited for the groups to leave, we had the place all to ourselves again.

Tour to visit Piedras Rojas + Laguna Miscanti

We recommend checking out this Piedras Rojas and Laguna Chaxa Tour from San Pedro. This is perfect for those who are not planning on renting a car and would like to join a group tour! They’ll bring you to Piedras Rojas, Laguna Miscanti, and also the flamingo lagoon of Laguna Chaxa all in one day!

Standing aligned with the volcano at Piedras Rojas

11) Sitio de memoria Ex Oficina Salitrera Chacabuco

The Sitio de Memoria Ex Oficina Salitrera Chacabuco is an amazing site that showcases the fascinating story of Atacama’s past, from industrial boom to political prisoner’s camp.

In the early 1920s, as nitrate mining drew global interest, foreign companies rushed into the region and built entire towns in the desert to support their operations. Chacabuco was one of the most ambitious, housing up to 5,000 workers and featuring homes, schools, recreational areas, and even a full-size theater.

Black and white view of the town of Chacabuco

However, the town’s prosperity was short-lived. By the late 1920s, the rise of synthetic nitrates led to the industry’s collapse, and Chacabuco was abandoned. Decades later, during Chile’s military dictatorship in the 1970s, the site took on a darker chapter when it was repurposed as a political prison camp.

Today, you can visit Chacabuco and see how the entire city was frozen in time in the middle of the desert. It feels like stepping into a time capsule. Many of the buildings remain remarkably well preserved, giving you a vivid look at both the industrial and political history of the region. It’s like an open-air museum in the middle of the desert.

Abandoned houses in Chacabuco

With that said, since the site is located about 2.5 hours from San Pedro de Atacama, we recommend visiting only if you’re arriving from the coastal city of Antofagasta rather than Calama.

In our case, we flew into Antofagasta because it had a direct flight from Cali, Colombia.


12) Hot Springs of Puritama or Puri Libre 

The final spot we recommend checking out in San Pedro de Atacama is the Termas de Puritama—a series of natural thermal pools tucked away in a scenic canyon. Surrounded by red rock cliffs and fox tail grass, these hot springs maintain a comfortable temperature of around 28–31°C, making them a perfect place to relax and soak in nature.

We ended up not visiting here since we ran out of time and also because we felt like the entrance price of 35,000 CLP to be pretty expensive. However, if you want to visit, we highly recommend booking This Puritama Tour rather than the Viator one since it is significantly cheaper.

If you’re looking for a more budget-friendly alternative, there’s a lesser-known spot called Puri Libre not far from Puritama. Here, you can hike down into the canyon and enjoy natural hot springs for free. We had planned to stop by on our way back from El Tatio Geysers, but ended up spending more time than expected exploring the northern route—totally worth it, but it meant missing out on this one!

Puritama Hot Spring

Puritama Hot Springs: Visiting Information

  • Site: Termales Puritama or Puri Libre
  • Location: around 30-40 minutes drive North of San Pedro de Atacama
  • Tickets: You can purchase the tickets for Puritama hot Springs here 
  • Tour: If you don’t have your own car and want to visit Puri Libre, there is this tour that will bring you there and also bring you through the canyon hike. 

How many days to visit Atacama Desert

We recommend spending at least 4 nights in San Pedro de Atacama. We stayed for 5 nights ourselves and found it to be the perfect amount of time to explore the main highlights without feeling rushed. If we had one extra day, we would’ve ventured out east toward Reserva Nacional Los Flamencos, but even without that, we left feeling really fulfilled with everything we saw.

Keep in mind that San Pedro sits at an altitude of 2,400 meters above sea level, and the desert environment can be pretty intense. The air is super dry, the sun quite harsh, and you have a good chance of feeling the effects of the altitude.

That’s why we think 4–5 days strikes a great balance: enough time to adjust, soak in the scenery, and experience the magic of the Atacama without overdoing it.


Atacama Desert Itinerary

Planning a trip to the Atacama Desert can feel a little overwhelming—with so many jaw-dropping landscapes and unique sites to see, it’s tough to know where to start and how to fit it all in.

That’s exactly why we’ve put together a comprehensive Atacama Desert itinerary guide to help you make the most of your time here. Whether you’re planning to explore independently on a self-drive adventure or join organized day tours, this guide has got you covered.

🏜️ Also, if you’re searching for the best Atacama Desert tours, we have hand-picked our top 10 Atacama Desert Tours based on our personal experiences and extensive research!

vicunas feeding in the field of Atacama Desert

Best Time to Visit San Pedro de Atacama

San Pedro de Atacama Weather Graph


The best time to visit the Atacama Desert is between March and May or September to November. During these shoulder seasons, you’ll enjoy milder temperatures, fewer crowds, and minimal rainfall.

Although the desert is known for its dry climate year-round, the summer months (January and February) can occasionally bring rainfall due to the Bolivian Winter. Also keep in mind that the months of June to August is considered winter in the Atacama Desert so the temperatures will be quite frigid!

We ended up visiting at the end of March and had perfect weather! No rain, quite hot during the day, and not too cold at night!


Using WISE card in Chile

When taking cash out of an ATM while abroad, you will most likely be charged both a foreign exchange fee and a foreign transaction fee by that country’s ATM. With my Canadian card, this can easily be 3-4$ + 2.75% + a markup on the exchange rate charged by my bank, and then another 3-5$ charged by the foreign ATM.

Wise card

This can be really costly. For this reason, we recommend using WISE card which has only minimal fees and just about no foreign currency exchange markup. This helps me save at least 5-7$ every time I take out money from an ATM. If you want to see our full review of the card showing exactly how WISE can help you save, check out our WISE Travel card Review post.


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Summary: Best Things to do in San Pedro de Atacama, Chile

Our experience in San Pedro de Atacama and the surrounding desert is one that we will never forget. From road-tripping through Martian landscapes, spotting wild vicuñas and flamingos against a backdrop of towering volcanoes, floating in vibrant turquoise salt pools, to gazing up at a sky bursting with stars, the Atacama Desert is truly a gem you need to experience.

We hope this list of things to do in San Pedro de Atacama has sparked some serious wanderlust, and if you’re wondering how to piece it all together, we’ve got you covered with a detailed Atacama itinerary guide to help you plan the ultimate Atacama adventure!


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