The Atacama Desert is officially the driest place on earth. It occupies the northern region of Chile and it’s limits to the west and east are the Pacific Ocean and Andes Mountain range. The climate does vary slight through the region, although the common trait is dry and clear sunny skies. The southern extremes of the region down around the Copiapo Valley do get more rain, but in certain areas around Calama it is said to never have rained at all. The area is sparsely inhabited and as you travel away from the coast, up in to the higher altitude regions of Atacama, the landscape becomes very dry, rugged and inhospitable.
Day 1 - Crossing from Peru to Chile
We were in Tacna, Peru and heading south, destination Atacama.
Day 1 - Crossing from Peru to Chile
We were in Tacna, Peru and heading south, destination Atacama.
The Atacama Desert | The Driest Place on Earth
Tacna is a pleasant enough city, and we had a good night out there the last night, but there isn’t too much there to warrant a long stay. The weather was warm, sunny and without a cloud in the sky. We decided to take a ‘colectivo’ across the border as it was the quickest way and only worked out a little more expensive than the bus. A colectivo is essentially a taxi; the cars wait until they are full and then head off to Arica, leaving from outside the bus station in Tacna. In our experience and from what other travellers have said, they are a safe and reliable way of crossing the border, and the drivers help at the passport control. Seeing as there was four of us we left straight a way, although the drivers normally like to get 5 passengers in the car, we paid a little extra to subsidise this. Just over an hour after leaving Tacna, we arrived in Arica with new stamps in the passport and thousands of kilometres of Chile and Pan American highway ahead of us. Despite travelling almost due south, we had still changed time zones. Chile is one hour ahead of Peru.
We weren’t staying over in Arica, and instead heading on to San Pedro de Atacama. This meant a night bus to Calama, before a short bus journey to San Pedro de Atacama from there.
Day 2 - Calama and San Pedro de Atacama
We arrived in Calama after 12 hours on a very comfortable bus. We had gotten use to the variable quality of Peru buses and were very pleasantly surprised to have a seat with lots of legroom and a smooth road beneath us. We’d been told it has never rained in Calama, and at mid morning the sun was bright, the air was fresh, and unsurprisingly the outlook was dry! With several buses running daily between Calama and San Pedro de Atacama, we decided to stay in Calama for lunch and head to San Pedro in the afternoon. We were also high in altitude again; Calama stands at 2700m above sea level.
We weren’t staying over in Arica, and instead heading on to San Pedro de Atacama. This meant a night bus to Calama, before a short bus journey to San Pedro de Atacama from there.
Day 2 - Calama and San Pedro de Atacama
We arrived in Calama after 12 hours on a very comfortable bus. We had gotten use to the variable quality of Peru buses and were very pleasantly surprised to have a seat with lots of legroom and a smooth road beneath us. We’d been told it has never rained in Calama, and at mid morning the sun was bright, the air was fresh, and unsurprisingly the outlook was dry! With several buses running daily between Calama and San Pedro de Atacama, we decided to stay in Calama for lunch and head to San Pedro in the afternoon. We were also high in altitude again; Calama stands at 2700m above sea level.
After a good value meal at Mercado Central in Calama, we were back on a bus to San Pedro de Atacama, just an hour and a half away.
San Pedro is very different to Calama; although it’s smaller, it has noticeably more travellers staying there. Most of which had just taken the Salinas tour over in neighbouring Bolivia, and San Pedro was a popular finishing point. We tried a few of the hostals listed in our Lonely Planet guide, but they were all full. Luckily there was a room for the four of us available in the Incahuasi Bed and Breakfast. It can get very busy with a lot of travellers here to make the trips into the Atacama, so you might want to try to book in advance if you are travelling in the busy summer period. We booked a tour that included the Tatio Geyser field for the following day, but we still had time to make the trip out to ‘Valle de la Luna’ that afternoon. The landscape was amazing, and somewhat ‘other worldly’, hence the name, and it’s a great spot to watch the sun go down.
San Pedro is very different to Calama; although it’s smaller, it has noticeably more travellers staying there. Most of which had just taken the Salinas tour over in neighbouring Bolivia, and San Pedro was a popular finishing point. We tried a few of the hostals listed in our Lonely Planet guide, but they were all full. Luckily there was a room for the four of us available in the Incahuasi Bed and Breakfast. It can get very busy with a lot of travellers here to make the trips into the Atacama, so you might want to try to book in advance if you are travelling in the busy summer period. We booked a tour that included the Tatio Geyser field for the following day, but we still had time to make the trip out to ‘Valle de la Luna’ that afternoon. The landscape was amazing, and somewhat ‘other worldly’, hence the name, and it’s a great spot to watch the sun go down.
When we booked the trip for the following day, our guide explained it was important to be at the Geyser fields before the sun came up. This meant a very early start, and still in need of a good nights sleep after the night bus, we took an early night.
Day 3 - El Tatio Geysers
The Tatio Geyser field is over 4000m in altitude, so you might want to spend longer in San Pedro to help acclimatise a little more. We had spent a lot of time at altitude in Peru without any problems and felt confident we’d be ok, and other than getting out of breath very quickly we were fine.
The early start was definitely worth it, and the Geysers were right on cue with a spectacular display. The rest of the day took in a very pretty village called Caspana, and Chiu Chiu, which is said to be Chile’s oldest church. The scenery along the route of the tour was always stunning, with the only slight downside being the amount of other tours we encountered. I think we were on a fairly well beaten path, and with the area having a very low permanent population, it seemed as though the tourists out numbered the locals.
It was a long day, and we decided to get the last bus back to Calama to make the following days travelling a little easier as we were heading to the south of the Atacama region, to Copiapo, which meant another fairly long bus trip.
Day 4 - Calama to Copiapo
The bus from Calama to Copiapo was again very comfortable, but the 10 hour journey meant we had little time to do anything on arrival.
Copiapo is actually a very nice town, and a reasonable size. As we were well rested after being on the bus all day we explored the town, found a nice restaurant and went out for a few drinks.
Day 5 - Copiapo Valley
The town of Copiapo was originally a mining town, and is located in the Copiapo Valley is an Oasis at the southern extreme of the Atacama Desert. The town gets an average annual rainfall of 12mm, which is obviously almost nothing, although it’s more than other parts of the Atacama. We spent a fairly relaxing day looking round the town, and also took a short trip out to the surrounding countryside. The valley is also home to some of Chile’s less famous vineyards.
The landscape in this southern part of the Atacama is noticeable different to that of the area around San Perdo de Atacama and Calama. The Calama area is far more barren and extreme, with virtually no moisture of any sort, and with lunar landscapes. The valley of Copiapo is still very dry, but it starts to introduce you to some of the greener landscapes on show if you continue south.
It seems as you head south in Chile if gradually fades from the dusty reds and browns to the lush green landscapes in the more central areas. Then the colour at Chile’s southern extreme then blends to icey whites and blues, in a country of extremes. To fully appreciate Chile, it is best to explore all the regions, and we really enjoyed the adventure in the Atacama.
Jorge Baraja - 2nd February 2007
Day 3 - El Tatio Geysers
The Tatio Geyser field is over 4000m in altitude, so you might want to spend longer in San Pedro to help acclimatise a little more. We had spent a lot of time at altitude in Peru without any problems and felt confident we’d be ok, and other than getting out of breath very quickly we were fine.
The early start was definitely worth it, and the Geysers were right on cue with a spectacular display. The rest of the day took in a very pretty village called Caspana, and Chiu Chiu, which is said to be Chile’s oldest church. The scenery along the route of the tour was always stunning, with the only slight downside being the amount of other tours we encountered. I think we were on a fairly well beaten path, and with the area having a very low permanent population, it seemed as though the tourists out numbered the locals.
It was a long day, and we decided to get the last bus back to Calama to make the following days travelling a little easier as we were heading to the south of the Atacama region, to Copiapo, which meant another fairly long bus trip.
Day 4 - Calama to Copiapo
The bus from Calama to Copiapo was again very comfortable, but the 10 hour journey meant we had little time to do anything on arrival.
Copiapo is actually a very nice town, and a reasonable size. As we were well rested after being on the bus all day we explored the town, found a nice restaurant and went out for a few drinks.
Day 5 - Copiapo Valley
The town of Copiapo was originally a mining town, and is located in the Copiapo Valley is an Oasis at the southern extreme of the Atacama Desert. The town gets an average annual rainfall of 12mm, which is obviously almost nothing, although it’s more than other parts of the Atacama. We spent a fairly relaxing day looking round the town, and also took a short trip out to the surrounding countryside. The valley is also home to some of Chile’s less famous vineyards.
The landscape in this southern part of the Atacama is noticeable different to that of the area around San Perdo de Atacama and Calama. The Calama area is far more barren and extreme, with virtually no moisture of any sort, and with lunar landscapes. The valley of Copiapo is still very dry, but it starts to introduce you to some of the greener landscapes on show if you continue south.
It seems as you head south in Chile if gradually fades from the dusty reds and browns to the lush green landscapes in the more central areas. Then the colour at Chile’s southern extreme then blends to icey whites and blues, in a country of extremes. To fully appreciate Chile, it is best to explore all the regions, and we really enjoyed the adventure in the Atacama.
Jorge Baraja - 2nd February 2007
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