The severity of the driest desert on Earth makes it an inspiring place to explore under your own steam. This adventure makes the most of what this unique landscape has to offer, featuring action-packed days of hiking, cycling and horse riding
Arrival to San Pedro
Today you will arrive at Calama Airport and are driven straight to San Pedro de Atacama, past the impressive rock formations of the Cordillera De la Sal (Salt Mountains). Once in San Pedro you will receive a briefing over lunch about the upcoming days of adventure. The rest of the day will be spent at leisure.
Death Valley, Kai Gorge and Moon Valley (Horseback Riding and Hiking)
Death Valley, Kari Gorge and Moon Valley (Horseback Riding and Hiking)
Depart from San Pedro early in the morning by foot, until we reach and mount our horses! We wind our way along the trails towards Death Valley, part of Cordillera de la Sal (Salt Mountain Range) with astounding views of the ancient rock formations. We dismount the horses, and after lunch we begin to hike through the range and into the Kari Gorge - which offers more strange and beautiful rock formations. Continuing on to the Moon Valley, we experience the reflective and surreal experience of being so small in such a vast space. To finish off the day, we will watch the sunset from “Duna Grande”, the Big Dune, before returning by car to our hotel in San Pedro.
Breakfast included.
Hiking and Mountain Biking Gatchi Gorge - Puritama River
Hiking and Mountain Biking Gatchi Gorge - Puritama River
This is another day full of geographical and sensory contrasts. We start by hiking through the relative silence of the Gatchi Gorge until we reach the rough and roaring Puritama river. We are also lucky enough to observe some more Atacamenian cultural artefacts before ascending to the 3,500 m.a.s.l. source of the Puritama. Here nature once again provides us with tranquility and a chance to dip in the soothing and calmer waters of the river. We ascend again by car to 4,000 m.a.s.l. and the Cuesta del Diablo (Devil's Hill), before hitching an easy ride back down to San Pedro de Atacama on mountain bikes! 30kms downhill is a good rush with which to finish the day!
Breakfast and Lunch included.
Cejas-Chaxa Mountain Biking
Cejas - Chaxa Mountain Biking
This day involves approx. 45km of cycling. We will leave the village in the early morning and pedal our way to the Atacama Salt Flats. 18km into the ride we will stop to have a dip in the salt water at the pristine Cejas Lagoon. From here we will be drive to Tambillo and the National Flamingo reserve, which also happens to be full of Tamarugo trees, whose seeds are a good source for the Atacameño people. After lunch in Toconao we will ride to a village in the Talabre Gorge, located at 3,500m.a.s.l. and from here everything starts going downhill (in the best sense) to the edge of the Salar de Atacama. Here we will witness a spectacular sunset amongst pink flamingoes before heading back to San Pedro. Rest!
Breakfast and Lunch included.
Tatio-Zoquete Hiking
Tatio - Zoquete Hiking
Today is well worth the early start - and to leave the hotel at 4am really means an early start! We drive to the world's highest geothermal field, the El Tatio Geysers - at 4,300 m.a.s.l. The sunrise here is awe inspiring, hence the anti-social hour. The combination of the spouting geysers and morning sun is very special indeed. We eat breakfast before hiking up to the summit of Zoquete Mountain, from which we have another outrageous view of the geysers from above. The day includes approximately 4-5 hours of hiking before we head back to the comfort of the hotel for a farewell meal.
Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner included.
Adios Atacama
We take the final day of the trip to relax and wander around the village, visiting its handicraft shops, church and museum.In the afternoon we go to Calama's Airport to take our flight back to Santiago - Adios Atacama!
Breakfast included.
Atacama, Chile - Hotel Kimal
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