Day 1: Arrival to San Pedro
San Pedro de Atacama, Chile
We 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, we receive a briefing over lunch about the upcoming days of adventure. The rest of the day will be spent at leisure.
Day 2: Death Valley, Kai Gorge and Moon Valley (Horseback Riding and Hiking)
San Pedro de Atacama, Chile.
We will depart from the hotel very early in the morning on 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.
Day 3: Hiking and Mountain Biking Gatchi Gorge - Puritama River
San Pedro de Atacama, Chile.
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 artifacts 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!
Day 4: Cejar-Chaxa Mountain Biking
San Pedro de Atacama, Chile.
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 enjoy the landscape of pristine Cejar Lagoon. From here we will be driven 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!
Day 5: Tatio-Soquete Hiking
San Pedro de Atacama, Chile
Today is well worth the early start - and to leave the hotel at 4 am 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 Soquete 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.
Day 6: Adios Atacama!
San Pedro de Atacama, Chile.
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... Adiós Atacama!.
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