Altiplano & Atacama Desert
8 programs available in Altiplano & Atacama Desert.
Chile + Bolivia + Argentina + Peru
3 Days Around San Pedro de Atacama
Three private days to step straight into the Atacama Desert, without the rush or the crowds. You start by crossing Rainbow Valley on the way to San Pedro de Atacama, then close the first day under some of the clearest skies on Earth on a stargazing tour. Day two takes you through the Cordillera de la Sal and the Moon Valley, and unwinds in the hidden lagoons of Baltinache. On the last day you rise early for the Tatio geysers and their hot springs, returning past the villages of Chiu Chiu and the Lasana fortress. Private guide and 4WD transport throughout; the pace bends to you.
4 Days Around San Pedro de Atacama
Four private days across the Atacama Desert, from salt-carved valleys to high-altitude lagoons in improbable colours. You start with the transfer from Calama and Rainbow Valley, then watch the clearest sky on Earth on a stargazing tour that same night. Day two takes you through the Cordillera de la Sal and Moon Valley, winding down at the salty lagoons of Baltinache. Day three climbs onto the Altiplano: Piedras Rojas and the Miscanti and Meñiques lagoons, with flamingos and wide-open horizons. The last day begins at dawn at the Tatio Geysers, continues at the Blanco Geyser hot springs, and ends in the villages of Chiu Chiu and the Lasana Pukará before the return to Calama.
5 Days Around San Pedro de Atacama
Five private days across the Atacama Desert, the kind of place you don't come back from unchanged. You start with the transfer from Calama through Rainbow Valley —hills streaked with minerals— to San Pedro de Atacama, and a night of stargazing under the clearest skies in the south. Then come the dunes of the Cordillera de la Sal and Moon Valley, the salty lagoons of Baltinache, altiplanic lagoons of impossible blue and the red earth of Piedras Rojas. You cross the remote Pujsa and Tara salt flats, wildlife roaming beneath the volcanoes, and finish at sunrise over the Tatio Geysers before dropping down through Chiu Chiu and the Lasana fortress. Local guide, private 4WD transport and most meals included.
4 Days Uyuni Salt Flat and Eduardo Avaroa Andean Reserve on Wet Season
Cross into Bolivia to reach the Salar de Uyuni, the largest salt flat on Earth. In the rainy months (December to April) a sheet of water turns the salt into a mirror, and sky and ground blur into one. The route then climbs into the Eduardo Avaroa Reserve: coloured lagoons, steaming geysers, the Siloli desert and the Árbol de Piedra. James's flamingos nest at Laguna Colorada. A private 4WD expedition that starts and ends in San Pedro de Atacama, with a local guide, all meals and three nights of the best lodging.
4 Days Uyuni Salt Flat and Eduardo Avaroa Andean Reserve in Dry Season
The Uyuni Salt Flat, the largest on Earth, is a must. On Incahuasi Island, in the middle of the flat, you feel surrounded by a white ocean. In the dry season the classic salt crust emerges with its halite polygons; the rainy-season mirror effect (January–March) belongs to the other variant. Beyond geology, this area was settled thousands of years ago by the Tiwanaku people —from Lake Titicaca— and centuries later by the Incas, and archaeological sites still remain. All-inclusive: a private 4WD expedition starting and ending in San Pedro de Atacama, with a local guide, all meals and three nights of lodging.
5 Days Uyuni Salt Flat
Well, Uyuni Salt Flat, the biggest in the world, is a must to visit it. When you are in the Incahuasi Island, in the middle of the Salt Flat, you feel like you are surrounded by a white ocean or in a mirror surface. If you come here during december or march, you can find water over the salt flat, making a mirror effect, being difficult to find the horizon between the sky and the water. On January and February we stop this tour because the rain and water is too much, then cars can't cross it. The rest of the year, when the water is gone, we can find the most typical salt flat surface, with the new halite rock. Leaving aside the geology, this area was populated thousands years ago by the Tiwanaku people (coming from the titikaka lake), and just some centuries ago by the Incas, then in some places we can still find some archeological sites. If you want to customized this tour, changing the origin or final destination, send me a message the I can prepare something special for you.
7 Days Atacama Desert and Altiplano from Iquique
A 4WD overland journey across northern Chile, from Iquique to Arica. You cross the Atacama Desert and climb onto the Tarapacá altiplano: abandoned nitrate towns, geoglyphs, pre-Andean villages and hot springs with no one else around. One night is spent under the stars beside the Polloquere hot springs, deep inside the Surire Salt Flat Natural Monument. Then Las Vicuñas Reserve, Lauca National Park and the twin Parinacota volcanoes.
16 Days Ojos del Salado Volcano Expedition
The expedition to summit Ojos del Salado (6,893 m), the highest active volcano on Earth. Sixteen days of progressive acclimatization from San Pedro de Atacama —climbs of Cerro Toco and Láscar volcano above 5,500 m— before moving to the Copiapó area and setting camps toward the summit. Mountain guide (one per four travellers, minimum two), 4WD transport, hotel and camp accommodation, meals and technical climbing equipment included. Requires good fitness and prior high-altitude experience.
