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 by patricia28
The tour begins at 6:00 AM from the hotels. Legía's lagoon Is Visited. Then the Salar of Warm Waters, the Salar the "Laco", the Lagoon "Tuyajto", salares of "Capur" and "Talar", the lagoons "Miscanti and Miñiques".
The tour includes breakfast, lunch, drinks, water and fruit.
It is necesary to have sunblock and water. The return to San pedro is at 5 or 6 pm. Leave a Comment Address: contact an agency in the principal street.Directions: The lagoons are located 90 Km from san pedro de Atacama.Website: www.sanpedroatacama.com
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 Sunset in Valle de la Luna by Glospi
The Valle de la Luna (Moon Valley) is perhaps the most famous sight of the area, as San Pedro began to get known after it; this is a huge extension of sand, salt and bizarre terrain shapes that lies about 18 kilometres to the southwest of the village, more or less on the sides of the old road to Calama.
Among the most visited attractions, are the Big Dune, where hundreds go every day to watch the sunset the Tres Marías (a strange salt formation), an underground salt mine, and several other natural places around.
Tours leave for it every day, going first to the Death Valley and then to the Moon Valley; these cost about US$ 10 per person, but a $ 1500 (US$ 2,5) “entrance” fee is levied at a booth on Km.14 on all tour passengers and private car occupants (this grants nothing to you).
The Big Dune is on S 22º56’52,5”/ W 68º17’47,2” alt. 2470 mts./8101 ft. at its top
See my Travelogue on the subject.
BEWARE: On the E sides of the road, but not where tourists are usually taken, there are still an unknown number of antitank mines, so be VERY careful if driving offroad in the less visited areas of the Valley (in 1992, a 4WD truck hit one of such mines very close to where the ticket booth is now installed, when they drove too close to the edge of the road; the 2 occupants were seriously wounded, and the car was a total loss).
Dismembered big animal carcasses usually indicate landmined areas: watch for them.
Nikon F4s, 80-200 Zoom-Nikkor (at 180 mm.), f. 5,6, 1/8 sec., POL filter Leave a Comment Directions: About 18 kilometres SW of San Pedro, on the old Calama road
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 Eroded and folded terrain in
Death Valley by Glospi
It’s a beautiful place to go alone in the afternoon, it is possible to camp on the dunes, and some people go there to do sandboarding.
Nikon F4s, Nikkor 300 mm., f. 8, 1/250 sec., POL filter Leave a Comment Directions: If walking or cycling there, take the paved road to Calama for 2 kilometres, and look for the dirt road detour to the right: that’s all.
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 Laguna Chaxa (Atacama salt
flat) by Glospi
The lanscape is, again, out-of-this-world: an endless white salt extension, which on approaching turns into a strange sea of solid salt waves, stopped in its breaking motion.
Those of us, who were fortunate to see the Salar before venturing into it was banned and restricted, had the chance of seeing the very heart of it, where the salt have hexagonal, “beehive” shapes at ground level: is there where the salt is “born”, but now that’s off-limits and you can usually get only to Laguna Chaxa, where the ranger’s office (this is the Los Flamencos Natural Reserve) and the guides are.
But there’s still a lot allowed to be seen: pink flamingos nest and look for the microorganisms they eat (namely Artemia salina) in the salt ponds, filtering the salt water with a membrane they have inside their beaks, while giant Andean ducks loiter around.
At sunset, flamingos flock to the center of the salar, sometimes flying overhead the people, making it a wonderful sight; the active Lascar volcano lies close to the east, adding to the striking panorama.
It usually gets windy and pretty cold in the afternoon, and one gets thirsty quite easily. Hygrometers at the center of the salar usually read “0”, but spring to life when a human approaches, marking 4 or 5 percent.
An interpretative trail is built along a short span of the early salt ponds, dotted with explanatory totems, and a guide usually accompanies tour groups, giving a lecture on the salar and their inhabitants...it may be educative, but sincerely, I preferred it the wild way.
There’s a shelter at the end of the road, where tickets are sold (US$ 2,50). There are toilets and parking, as well as information on the local wildlife. Leave a Comment Directions: The shelter at Laguna Chaxa is on S 23º17’13,0”/ W 68º10’27,9” alt. 2341 mts./7678 ft. The road is signposted. Nikon F4s, Nikkor 20 mm., f.16, 1/60 sec., POL filter
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 by patricia28
It is a small depression of 500 m of diameter of saline soil and presents schemers sculptural forms proved from the successive transformations of the terrestrial bark, happened by the foldings of the lacustrine bottom of the salar. Life exists neither in this corner, nor dampness, which turns it into the most inhospitable place of the planet.
You can also walk to the top of a little mountain to watch the amazing sunset and the colours of the Atacama desert. It's amazing!
Book a tour with an agency, it will costs 8-9 dollars, and the tour will take 2-3 hours. Leave a Comment
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 El Tatio hot spring and
bathers by Glospi
Water is very hot in some areas of the pool, while in others it get colder, so one should keep moving to avoid get a burned pair o'buttocks (the warmer part is quite shallow).
Take an oversized beach blanket, as it feels very cold when you just get out of the water, and the only thing you want is to be protected of the chilly breeze while drying up.
There are no changing rooms. Bring an old bathing suit -if you're going to use one- because hot sulphurous, mineral water damages the synthetic fabric and elastic bands.
Personally, I prefer to bathe in the afternoon, so I can do it naked relaxedly, which is good as I have not to deal with a fast-freezing swimming short after getting out of the water. Note that, usually, people does not bathe in the nude in the mornings, unless groups are small and agree on that, since most older South Americans don't feel comfortable with nudity, although younger Chileans don?t mind.
Taken with Noblex135S panoramic, 29 mm. rotating-drum lens camera, 1/60 sec., f.16
(See Travelogues for more photographs) Leave a Comment Directions: This pool is located 1150 metres south of the main geyser area, on S 22º20'30,8"/ W 68º00'44,0" alt. 4307 mts./14,127 ft.
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 by patricia28
It is one interesting place to visit, it is possible to arrived to the place in bicycle or walking because Quitor is located to 3 km from San pedro de Atacama. The approach road is easy but it is necessary to go with comfortable clothes to be able to rise up to Quitor's ruins. The view from the ruins is fantastic. Leave a Comment Directions: It is located 3 Km to the northwest of San pedro. Is easy to arrived, just follow the river.Website: www.sanpedroatacama.com
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 by patricia28
Then the trip continue to the Big Chaxa lake which is the biggest saline deposit of Chile which surface, white and rugose, secret to simple sight a great salt lake. The size is of 300.000 has and can be estimated in its entirety due to the fact that the air is completely dry. The view of the Salar is very amazing specially when the sunset come, the variety of colours is fantastic and there is a beautiful view of the Volcanos Licancabur and Lascar.
The tour takes 3-4 hours and is better during the afternoon ( to watch the sunset).
The cost is 17 dollars. Leave a Comment Directions: Contact some travel agency in the principal street of San Pedro de AtacamaWebsite: www.sanpedroatacama.com
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 Only boring if you've been to
the moon already by joernmeLeave a Comment
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