The best things to do near San Pedro de Atacama, Chile
We spent four days in San Pedro de Atacama in April, exploring the many incredible sites that are easy to access from the small town. You can find out more about how we spent four days in San Pedro de Atacama including where to stay and whether you need to hire a car in our blog here.
The best things to do in San Pedro de Atacama
These were our favourite things that we did in the Atacama desert.
Valle del Arcoíris
Piedras Rojas
Laguna Miscanti y Miñiques
Star gazing tours
Self-guided star gazing
Tatio Geysers
Valle de la Luna
Puritama hot springs
Mirador Piedras Rojas and Mirador Aguascalientes
Laguna Tayajto
Tropic of Capricorn
San Pedro de Atacama
Read on to find out more…
Valle del Arcoíris
We stopped at Valle Arcoíris on the way to San Pedro de Atacama after picking up our hire car at Calama airport. It’s a quick and easy stop with amazing views of a dried up waterfall and a valley with rocks of different colours (hence the name Rainbow Valley). It costs 5,000 pesos per person to enter and you can drive around most of the site but the valley itself is a flat, easy walk of about 30 minutes. We stayed here for about an hour before heading into town.
Piedras Rojas (Salar de Talar and Aguascalientes)
Piedras Rojas is one of the most famous sites in the San Pedro area of the Atacama desert. It’s known for its red rocks, clear blue waters, and incredible volcanic backdrops.
To enter Piedras Rojas and Laguna Miscanti y Miñiques you need to buy a pass online which you collect at a checkpoint in the small town of Socaire an hour before your chosen entry time. Socaire is about an hour’s drive away from San Pedro de Atacama and Piedras Rojas is another hour further.
You can collect your pass early and still enter the sites, and if you collect on time (i.e. an hour before your entry time) you should be arriving at your booked time. If you arrive late to collect your pass you risk not being permitted entry as they are strict on how many people enter the area at any time.
You can also buy your ticket online using computers at the site in Socaire but the process is much faster and smoother if you do it yourself beforehand.
When you buy your ticket, you can choose which order to visit the two sites or whether you just want to visit one. We did Piedras Rojas first then Laguna Miscanti y Miñiques as it meant driving as far out as you’ll go and then making your way back.
We arrived at about 11am and spent about an hour here. It was busy at some points with tour groups but overall it was a peaceful and calm place to wander for an hour or so and the scenery is incredible. There are reviews online that say you can just go to the mirador for free but trust me, the view is absolutely not the same and you can’t experience being anywhere close to the lake and salt flats without a paid pass to enter Piedras Rojas.
Star gazing tours
We booked a star gazing tour with Bajo la Noche de Atacama for our second night in San Pedro and it was one of the highlights of our trip.
Note: this particular tour is only in Spanish but there are plenty of companies that run English-speaking tours too.
We were picked up from our hostel at 8pm and arrived at the site just south of town at 8:15pm. We met our host Ricardo, who explained what the evening would entail, and were led to a dark area with comfy seats and blankets where we sat under the clearly-visible Milky Way and listened to Ricardo’s expert talk on the night sky in the Atacama desert.
Ricardo explained so much about space and the sky, the constellations, when and why the stars are where they are, and pointed out loads of important constellations, stars, and planets to us.
Next we looked at six different stars and areas of the Milky Way through some very impressive telescopes x and were able to take our own photos with the help of tripods.
The sky here was amazingly clear and you could very easily see the Milky Way and most of the stars that Ricardo was talking about with the naked eye.
At about 9:45pm there was a bonfire with snacks and drinks including red wine, and at 10:30pm we were driven back to our hotels. For us this was only about a 15 minute drive but how long the transport takes will depend on the location of your hotel.
The tour cost $36 USD per person and lasted two hours – 2.5-3 including transport.
Self-guided star gazing in the Atacama desert
If you prefer you can also take your camera or telescope to a dark area outside of town to see the stars without a guide. Many sites like Valle de la Luna are locked at night but their entrance areas make safe places to pull off of the road in the dark.
The downsides to this are:
You don’t have access to the same sites with better views/more darkness
Cars drive past fairly often causing light pollution
It can be hard to know where to go
You won’t get any information about what you’re seeing
But despite those drawbacks it’s still worth doing if you have a car — especially if you’re in the Atacama during a New Moon when the sky is darkest. Thanks to this we had an amazing view of the stars as early as 8pm. But check the moon’s position during the time of you visit to figure out the best times to get the most darkness.
We found the entrance to Valle de la Muerte, the entrance to Valle de la Luna, and the lay-by near Piedra de Coyotes to be good and safe spots for stargazing near San Pedro de Atacama without a guide.
Tatio Geysers
El Geisers de Tatio is a very impressive site about 1.5 hours drive from San Pedro de Atacama. During the time of our visit the thermal pool was closed for bathing but it’s still worth going to see the geysers that are accessible to visitors.
Entry costs 15,000 pesos per person and it’s best to book online. Advice says to go at sunrise as this is when there is most geothermal activity as the heat of the geysers reacts with the cold groundwater. This means leaving San Pedro de Atacama at about 5am.
We didn’t go at sunrise — we left at 6:45am and arrived at 8:15am — and all of the geysers were still very active. Plus as the sunrise visitors had already started to leave, there was hardly anyone around at 8:30-9:30am.
It was about 1°c outside at this time in mid-April but the sun was strong and there was no wind. You do need layers but it’s not as cold as you might expect after the sun has risen.
I wasn’t that excited about seeing these geysers, to be honest (hence not leaving at 5am to catch the sunrise!) but this was actually so much cooler than I expected.
There are two areas of geysers that you drive between with 5 or more geysers at each area. The desert surrounding is a stark contrast to the thermal activity and it’s a really impressive sight.
My main advice would be to bring long sleeves and possibly trousers as well — although you’ll want to change into lighter clothing as the day gets warmer.
Valle de la Luna
Valle de la Luna, or Moon Valley, is so named because the landscape really does feel like being on another planet. The desert is sparse and dry, with rock formations, huge sand dunes, and salt mines.
It costs 10,800 pesos per person to enter and this also gives you access to the sunset spot nearby later the same day.
How to get to Valle de la Luna, Atacama
There are many guided tours that go to Valle de la Luna, or you can drive yourself. The main path is fully accessible by car with parking spots next to the four main sites.
Another popular way to visit the valley is by bike. You can cycle to Valle de la Luna Atacama from San Pedro, which is about 12 km. Or you can pick up your bikes in town and drive them to the entrance or to the first parking area in the park (Duna Mayor) and cycle from there.
We did the last of these options and it was a great way to explore the area. We hired bikes for 7,000 pesos for 6 hours from Casa de Cambio Emily in San Pedro de Atacama, and drove them to Valle de la Luna. We parked at Duna Mayor and cycled to the furthest point on the route to Las Tres Marias. This took about 25 minutes. Then we headed back to check out the rest of the sites on our return journey.
First is the Victoria Salt Mine, which we only walked a short section of. Then we stopped at the first viewpoint at Mirador Achaches, which took about 20 minutes up and back.
Finally we walked the Duna Mayor route. We were told that the walk to Mirador 1 takes 50 minutes and then it’s 35 minutes back to Mirador 2. In fact, the first part of the walk took us 20 minutes and the second part took us 10 minutes, including stops for photos.
Cycling to Valle de la Luna from San Pedro de Atacama
If you’re planning to cycle the whole way from town to the site you should be aware that 1pm is the entry cut off for bikes, and you have to exit by 3pm. This means that there are some routes that you won’t be allowed to take after 2-2:30pm. We had to explain multiple times to the stewards that we had a car on site with us and were only cycling from point to point so did not need to be out at 3pm, which was why we were allowed to only go to the first viewpoint at Achaches rather than completing all three.
You should also note that helmets are mandatory as the ground is salty and sandy which makes it very slippery in places.
You’ll also need a lot of suncream and water. Although the breeze meant we never felt too hot despite the beating sun, the rays were still very present and it’s very very easy to burn here. Plus the intense dryness and high levels of dust mean that you’ll need to drink a lot more than usual to stay healthy while cycling around Valle de la Luna.
Our bike hire shop closed at 8:30pm which was plenty of time to get back after the valley closes to visitors. But check the conditions of your rental and your return time before you set out.
Puritama hot springs
The thermal springs at Puritama are about 40-45 minutes drive from San Pedro de Atacama along Ruta 23. Tickets are for 9:30 to 1:30 or 2:30pm until 6pm and you can arrive at any time within your ticket slot.
The natural hot springs are nestled in a valley where it’s surprisingly green. There are seven pools to relax in, surrounded by long grasses that make them feel very private and peaceful despite the fact that it can get quite busy. We spent about 2 hours here and went in all the pools, as each one offers something different. Some are larger, some have small waterfalls, and some feel like tiny private baths in the middle of nature.
There are changing rooms, bathrooms, and a cafe on site but no showers. You should bring your own swimwear, towels, and sandals but regular SPF is not allowed in the water. They sell nature-safe SPF on site if you need it — we did catch the sun but didn’t burn as you are mostly submerged in water throughout your visit!
Mirador Piedras Rojas and Mirador Aguascalientes
These two viewpoints give you a different perspective of Salar de Talar and Piedras Rojas and while they’re further away and not quite as impressive as being up close, they’re good (free) places to stop for a photo when you’re in the area.
Laguna Tayajto
Laguna Tayajto is a little further along Ruta 23 from Salar de Talar and Piedras Rojas making it a great place to stop while you’re in the area. You can drive down to the edge of the lake but the best view is from the mirador at the top of the hill which has better, wider views across the water.
Valle de la Muerte
Valle de la Muerte or Death Valley is very similar to Valle de la Luna, but it’s said to look/feel more like Mars than the moon… the vibe is similar in that you walk to drive between the various sites. It’s a true desert landscape that can get very hot but is very impressive to see.
Tropic of Capricorn
A quick stop on your way back to San Pedro along Ruta 23 is the sign that marks the Tropic of Capricorn. Everything between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Tropic of Cancer is where landscapes can be considered ‘tropical’ — it’s just a quick stop but a popular one.
We saw another Tropic of Capricorn sign when we spent two weeks driving around Namibia!
San Pedro de Atacama
The town of San Pedro de Atacama really wasn’t what I was expecting after the small, remote towns of Patagonia. I loved San Pedro. Despite its size it has so much going on and its adobe buildings and gravel streets have a real charm. We spent a couple of afternoons exploring the town and found so many great places to eat and drink as well as lots of great shops and artisanal markets.
Find out more about how we spent four days in San Pedro de Atacama here.