San Pedro De Atacama is a small unpaved oasis town of single storey mud and clay 'adobe' houses in the middle of the Atacama Desert at 2,436 mtrs above sea level. Needless to say, it’s hideously hot during the day whilst temperatures plummet at night. The town draws travellers from all over the world who come to see the volcanoes, geysers, sand dunes, lagoons and salt flats. The bus ride here was unique. Vast planes of nothingness interspersed with ear popping changes in altitude.
It hadn't rained here for 3 years but it rained heavily a couple hours after we arrived and were told it was the 3rd day of rain. The rain comes between 6 and 7pm but heavy down pours here have catastrophic effects on unpaved access roads meaning the El Tatio Geysers and the Ojos De Salar were not immediately accessible.
For our first day we booked a guide to see the antiplano salt lagoons. Rach was suffering from a stomach bug so we very nearly postponed the trip. Forever the brave, Rach decided to go ahead with the tour. Our man Pedro picked us up from our hostel at 6am in his 4x4 and drove for 2 hours on unpaved roads to Lagunas Miscanti and Miniques at 4,200 metres above sea level. We were quite literally left breathless both by the stunning scenery and the altitude. Unfortunately Rach wasn’t feeling too well and decided to chew on some coca leaves, a well known, and legal, local remedy for altitude sickness. No joy, it just made her feel more sick. We are not sure of it was the bug or the height but it was a stark reminder that altitude needs to be respected and proper acclimatization is vital.
Early moring at Laguna Miscanti where we had breakfast
Rach with our guide Pedro
The huge pools of azure blue were ringed by white ribbons of salt with herds of wild llamas, known as vicunas, grazing along the shore. After visting a couple of other high altitude lagoons we arrived at the salt lake Lago Tuyajto. The salt formations were staggering an unlike anything I have ever seen. Later in the afternoon our mate Pedro drove us to the Salar De Atacama’s Laguna Chaxa, a weird lake of bizarre salt formations doubling up as a national reserve for numerous types of flamingos.
Rach and I at Salt Lake Tuyajto at 4,000 mtrs
Agua Calientes salt lake with volcanoes in the distance
Incredible array of colours. Hot to cold
Flamingos in the desert
Lake Chaxa, Salar De Atacama
Upon our return Pedro stopped on the ancient Inca route to Lima where rocks are formed into cairns to make a wish. Oh, not touristy at all, not one bit. Yes, of course we did! See below...
We had originally planned just 3 days here but a lack of buses meant we had 5 days. In reality this was a bonus allowing the quagmire on the El Tatio access road chance to dry up. With time on our side we decided to hire some bikes and cycle through open desert to the Valle De La Luna, Chile's Moon Valley. Luckily the 20km ride to the valley was beneith a blanket of cloud away of the sun's brutal rays. The valley itself was stunning and more like mars we thought. We took occasional stops through the valley visiting strange otherworldy geographical formations. Our favourite being the Star Wars-esque canyon with pitch black caves where head torches were necessary to complete the loop. An experience made even better given the fact we were completely alone.
Enroute to the Valle De La Luna, the Moon Valley
The start of the canyon loop
The cave. It was actually pitch black in here without the flash, and 'no' there was no booze involved!
The formation on the right is known as the ampitheatre for obvious reasons
With luck on our side we were able to get to the famous El Tatio Geysers on our last day in San Pedro. We were picked up at 4am to get to the worlds highest geothermal field (4,320 mtrs asl) where the geysers are most active from 6 to 8am. The 2 hour journey took 3 hours as our driver worked his magic through landslides and rivers to arrive around 7am. The geyser were sporadically spewing steam and jets of boiling water. They seem to be alive 'erupting' every 3 to 5 minutes. An incredible sight but to be honest I was expecting them to be a little higher and a bit more dramatic. Not that I am asking for much of course...
The geothermal field from a distance
Up close and personal. Well over boiling point
I took this without even knowing the bird was there. Lucky eh?
San Pedro is amazing. A true oasis in the middle of the desert and an absolute must if visiting Chile. Just watch out for the dogs. Like any other town in Chile, they roam the streets in gangs and chase anything with wheels, they even sandboard.
Gang of 5 dogs on their way sandboarding, the 6th wasn't invited...
Sorry, it must be the altitude!
No comments:
Post a Comment