Last weekend I travelled about 305km north of Antofagasta to a small rural village named San Pedro de Atacama located in Chile’s II region. Numerous colleagues and friends had spoken highly of San Pedro’s rustic charm and stunning landscapes, so I was eager to explore this tourist hot spot myself.
Arriving at San Pedro at night, it was immediately apparent that it was a very different settlement to Antofagasta; the small town is much more Spanish- Indian looking as it was the former centre of the Atacama (Pre-Columbian) culture. The town’s architecture is very attractive, with its low set buildings made of stone, mud and wood, as you walk along San Pedro’s dusty and shady streets you can appreciate the town’s distinct history and heritage. It is a very special town as it is described as the archeological capital of Chile, filled with immense geographical variety and beauty. As I walked along the streets hearing English, French and German being spoken, it soon became evident that San Pedro is a very popular tourist destination.
Despite spending only the weekend in San Pedro we still managed to fill a lot in, on the first day we took a tour to “Laguna Cejar”, with a 40% salt content, the lagoon produces a floating effect similar to the Dead Sea. With an amazing backdrop including the Andes and numerous volcanoes (such as Licancabur, Lascar and Corona) swimming in the lagoon was a unique and breathtaking experience. To get rid of all the salt stuck to our bodies, out next stop was a fresh water lagoon, where you had to either dive or jump a significant distance into the water. Although some group members (including myself!) were a little reluctant to take the plunge so to speak, we soon all plucked up the courage and really enjoyed ourselves! Our next stop was Laguna Tebinquinche, one of my favourite spots, a beautiful salt plain which you can walk across. Being the final stop of the day, the group enjoyed a Pisco sour (Chilean cocktail) together while watching el atardecer (sunset).
The next day was an extremely early start, 4am to be exact! This was because our first stop was “Los Geisers del Tatio”, the largest geysers(hot springs) in the world. The best water manifestations are seen before sunrise and at an altitude of 4200 meters, the temperature was below freezing, minus five degrees centigrade. To warm up, we enjoyed a cup of hot coffee and breakfast while watching the geysers generate steam, they also produced a strong odor of sulphur. Set against the barren hills of the dessert, the outpouring of steam by the geysers was particularly striking.
Feeling very cold, we were delighted to find out our next step was a 38 degree thermal pool! This was a very luxurious and invigorating experience, and was particular popular among the tourists.
We then travelled to a little indigenous village with a beautiful blue and white church at the top of a hill. A community of perhaps only 20 houses surrounded by the hills of the dessert, this town relies heavily on tourists coming to buy handicrafts. With its very few houses and nearby fields filled with grazing lamas and alpacas, there is a great sense of serenity there.
We were then fortunate enough to witness a group of flamingos on one of the many salt lakes. This region is popular with this type of bird as they come to the salt lakes to find food.
Our final adventure was a desert walk where we saw giant cacti and waterfalls; this was a wonderful experience as it highlighted the immense geographical diversity of this region.
Walking along, we realized that in just one morning we had experienced such a range of temperatures and scenery. With its volcanoes, San Pedro is an area of great mineral wealth and it is for this reason that it boasts such breathtaking and contrasting views.
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