San Pedro de Atacama Sports & Outdoors

Another thing to do here is to see the scenery on horseback. Like in western movies, horses and desert go well together. There are various agencies who will set you up with some horses and a guide. I will never forget my very first full-throttle fast gallop in the middle of Valle de la Muerte, or going down a huge sand-dune with the horse.

Equipment: Appropriate pants and footwear, water.

Whether you have tried it or not you should go to Valle de la Muerte for some sandboarding. The scenery is amazing, and the experience is so much fun! You can either rent a sandboard & bike from San Pedro and cycle there, or else you can go with an instructor (which is a good idea for beginners). Whether you get the hang of it or not, you are guaranteed an entertaining couple of hours. One word of warning though - be prepared to clean up sand from every orifice, wrinkle and crease in your body for days afterward!

Equipment: You can rent sandboads from agencies in town. You will also need something to wax the sandboards, usually a candle will do.

Sandboard is a great experience not just because of the place but because of feelings when you are going down in dunes of 120 mt, is really exciting.
this experience is lived in the death valley and the price of the tour includes expert guide, transportation and equipment.
The cost is around 17 dollars.
Is important to take sunblock and water.

Horse riding in the most arid desert of the world can be one of the most unforgettable activities that you could realize; the agencies offer different tours, which go of 2 hrs up to tours of 7 days with camps. The agencies
" southamerican adventure " and "rancho-cactus" are the best in that tours.

This tour is offered by one of the several tourist agencies in San pedro , "southamerican adventure" invites you to live an unforgettable experience enjoying the pleasures of mountainbiking in the beautiful landscapes of the Andes Mountain Range. Adapted for everybody, this tour can be from two hours to many days. The quiet rhythm of mountain biking, allows us to enjoy the landscapes, the fauna, the flora.
You can cross Dunes, rivers, archaeological sites or realize decreases in ways of mountain.

This 5920 mt./19,418 ft. volcano overlooks the entire San Pedro oasis and is an ever-present sight for every visitor. It's perfect conical shape is an alluring temptation for high-altitude mountaineers, and it's good to fall for it.
It has also plenty of pre-Columbian ruins, both in their hillsides and inside the volcano as well, used by pilgrims coming to ceremonies held there, although those on the summit rim are sacred kunza shrines; there's also an emerald-blue lagoon inside the crater, which is most likely reached through the Bolivian side, as the route is better and there are inexpensive guide and transport services (compulsory in Bolivia).
It takes 4 days -5 if going relaxedly- to get to the top and back to San Pedro.
No technical mountaineering skills are needed.
The NW side of the cone is said to have antitank/antipersonal landmines.

Equipment: High-altitude clothing and gloves, ski/walking poles, hiking boots (not necessarily plastic), expedition-grade tent and sleeping bag, MSR-type stove, glacier sunglasses, water for the 3 first days, GPS, compass.
A VHF/GPRS radio is useful if going in a group.
Passport is required for everybody.

Altitude sickness hits hard up there (see my San Pedro's "Warnings and dangers" section on this issue.

Some tour agencies, both in San Pedro and Santiago, provide all the equipment and guidance to get there, but for a price...