Our first full day in Chile was on my birthday… And what a memorable birthday it was! We visited a few of the mysteries of the Atacama Desert.
Located in the north of Chile, it is the driest desert in the world — some areas have never seen rain in human history! Its inhospitable wild-lands and vast lifeless landscapes are perfect test grounds for NASA before launching instruments to outer space. The Atacama is particularly rich in mineral resources: copper, lithium, and sodium nitrate to name a few. And it holds many surprises including Valle de la Luna, Pukará de Quitor, and Laguna Tebinquinche.
Menu
Pukará de Quitor
Valle de la Luna
Laguna Tebinquinche
Winding Down
Learning Points
Pukará de Quitor
We started the adventure with a hike around Pukará de Quitor. The ruins of a pre-Incan fortress, the ancient Atacameño people had built this as a defense against its neighbours. Its strategic location overlooks the valley of the San Pedro River.
The hike does not go through the ruins but instead weaves around a neighbouring hill. There is a small museum with artefacts along the way. Learning about this civilization is fascinating. One of the last bastions against the invading Spanish, these people were advanced in cultural and political aspects of life.
While the uphill hike isn’t particularly difficult, it was my first time being so high above sea level — over 3000m! I can say that the altitude made me breathe a little bit heavier than usual. The effort is very rewarding: the views are spectacular.
Today, the underlying valley is lush and green. A farm neighbours the ruins, complete with crowing roosters and nonchalent cats enjoying free visits. I spotted a Chañar Tree, a fruit tree that has been popular with Chilean people throughout history.
Valle de la Luna
We then drove over to the Valle de la Luna, a spectacular valley known for its moonlike landscapes. Dunes, rugged mountains, and distinctive rock formations are devoid of life, just like the moon. Not even a blade of grass can be found.
A few of the highlights included hiking to the Gran Duna (a great dune more than 2500m above sea level), panoramic miradors (Spanish for lookout points), the Amphitheater, and las Tres Marías (three lonesome figures of granite and quartz sculpted by the elements for over a million years).
One of my favourite sites is an abandoned salt mine. Although ceasing operations in the 80s, the salt eroded the remaining structures and equipment so much that it seemed much older.
This corner of the desert is completely white, as if freshly covered in a blanket of snow. Some of the salt deposits are so large and crystalline that they look like sheets of ice. The heat of the ground burning through our shoes reminded us that it was not winter.
It is best to explore silently. The best part of the mine is a deep pit where the salt creaks and groans like ice as it expands and contracts in the harsh climate. It is enthralling.
Laguna Tebinquinche
But the day wasn’t over. Driving over bumpy roads, Ojos del Salar greeted us before arriving at Laguna Tebinquinche. Strangely, these are two deep freshwater lagoons seemingly sprouting out of nowhere.
A big body of water surprisingly in the middle of endless sand, Laguna Tebinquinche is not your average lake. It is in fact full of salt, which colours the water into a milky, glasslike substance. The surrounding rocks, snow-white, are home to extremist microbial ecosystems. The colours and stillness of the water were magnificent to behold, especially with the reflection of the surrounding mountains.
Winding Down
After winding down with empanadas at our adobe-cabin and nursing our poor sun-kissed skin (SPF 50+ proved useless lol), we headed out again to enjoy the sunset. As golden light poured over the mysterious shapes of Valle de la Luna, I thought it was when the Atacama Desert was at its best.
We finished the evening back in San Pedro. Cheersing our adventure with Pisco Sours (the national drink) in hand, we chowed down on seafood risotto and steak stuffed with local goat cheese (and pesto mash) at Ckunna Restaurant. Bliss before bedtime.
Learning Points
- We quickly learned that visiting attractions in the Atacama Desert is not always efficient. Some places accept card, while some only accept cash. Some places allow you to buy tickets when you arrive (Pukará de Quitor, Laguna Tebinquinche), while others cannot be purchased on site… it is a little random. The latter includes Valle de la Luna. They have a machine to buy tickets but their WiFi is not reliable so the machine and their computers are useless. Luckily, I was able to capture just enough service on my phone to get our tickets online. Otherwise, the only way to get tickets is back in San Pedro de Atacama. This was a relatively new issue: you could previously buy at the entrance.
- Valle de La Muerte is closed and has been for several years (it does state that it is temporarily closed on Google, at least). In fact, there were a few places that we wanted to visit in the Atacama Desert but when we arrived, they were closed even though they were listed as open on Google or their website. No explanations why.
- Knowing a little bit of Spanish goes a long way… or at least have Deepl handy. Most people here don’t speak any English. A lot do not understand it either. Almost everyone seemed friendly regardless!
- Portions in restaurants are suuuuuuper generous. And every meal starts with complimentary homemade bread and tomato salsa! Delicious.
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