ADVENTURE AND NATURE A universe of adventure and nature in the Atacama Desert, the Andes highlands and the Pacific coast
Adventure and nature are present throughout the Antofagasta Region. If, being in a new place, you want to know each space closely, trekking, cycling and many other sports such as sandboarding, paragliding are the activities available.
On the coast you can discover the seabed, its flora and fauna, climb hills and contemplate the Pacific Ocean from their heights. While in the interior there are all kinds of tours and routes to experience the flora of the valleys, its rivers, lagoons such as Cejar, whose powerful salts make you a floating being hundreds of meters above sea level. Get to know the indigenous communities, their customs, eat their peculiar gastronomy, climb pukarás and appreciate ancient engravings of the ancestors.
Geysers of Tatio are an icon of those who visit San Pedro de Atacama, in the early morning there is a whole show of steam fumaroles that reach 10 meters in height and later enjoy a thermal bath with sightings of flora and fauna.
What to do
River Loa
River located between the Tarapacá Region and the Antofagasta Region, known as the longest river in Chile, with a length of 440 kilometers, which crosses part of the Atacama Desert until it reaches the Pacific Ocean, being also a river with low flow, that prevents its navigation.
Location: Calama, Antofagasta
Distance kms from Calama airport: 6.6 kilometers by Balmaceda avenue. Granaderos and Libertador Bernardo O’Higgins avenues.
Time distance from Calama Airport: 15 minutes
Inca Coya Lagoon
Lagoon also known as Laguna Chiu Chiu, located in the Antofagasta Region, in the town of Chiu Chiu, center of the Atacameña culture, through its asymmetric oval shape, through an area of 1.30 hectares, a tourist attraction that stands out for its beauty and mystery.
Location: 6 kilometers east of Chiu Chiu
Distance kms from Calama airport: 39.7 kilometers by Route 21
Time distance from Calama Airport: 36 minutes
Cordillera de la Sal
Rocky mountain range that presents natural sculptures with stratifications and colorations product of the diversity of minerals, from which its name comes from the saline appearance of the rocks, that presents a large amount of calcium sulfate, originating from its ancient mountain range that was formed by lake emerged millions of years ago.
Location: 70 kilometers from Calama.
Distance kms from Calama airport: 82,6 kilometers in a straight line
Time distance from Calama Airport: 1 hour, 11 minutes to the Valley of the Moon, entering from San Pedro de Atacama
Cejar lagoon
Located within the Salar de Atacama, a salty lagoon with a characteristic calypso or turquoise color, where it is possible to see flocks of flamingos that are surviving in the environment despite having concentrations of salt even higher than in the Dead Sea.
Location: 26 kilometers south of San Pedro de Atacama
Distance kms from Calama airport: 129 kilometers along Route 23
Time distance from Calama Airport: 1 hours, 39 minutes
MARS VALLEY
Valley with rocky formations located in San Pedro de Atacama, where among its many sports activities include sandboarding tours, mountaineering and extreme cycling, where sandboarding is usually practiced within the Valle de Marte- Mars Valley, which has fine sand dunes of about 100 meters.
Location: Valle de Marte is located 7.1 kilometers from San Pedro de Atacama through Route 23.
Distance in kms from Calama airport: 93.5 kilometers along Route 23.
Time distance from Calama Airport: 1 hour, 2 minutes.
Lascar and Licancabur volcanoes
The Láscar volcano is located 273 kilometers east of Antofagasta and is considered one of the most active volcanoes in northern Chile, which corresponds to a stratovolcano that rises up to 5,592 meters above sea level. The Licancabur volcano has a height of 5920 meters above sea level and has a lagoon in its crater, called “the mountain of the people”.
Location: Licancabur Volcano 30 kilometers from San Pedro de Atacama, between the border between Chile and Bolivia. Lascar volcano 70 kilometers southeast of San Pedro de Atacama.
Distance kms from Calama airport: 105 kilometers to San Pedro de Atacama. From San Pedro de Atacama the Licancabur volcano is 33.5 kilometers away.
Lascar volcano is 70 kilometers from San Pedro de Atacama
Time distance from Calama Airport: 1 hour, 18 minutes to San Pedro de Atacama
Escondida Baltinache Lagoon
Lagoon made up of seven small salty lagoons, where bathing is allowed in the first and last lagoon. The lagoons have varied surfaces, ranging from 3 to 30 meters in diameter.
Location: On Route 23 from Calama in the direction of San Pedro de Atacama, you must take the crossing through Llano de la Paciencia on route B-241
Distance kms from Calama airport: 130 kilometers along Route 23, taking route B-241
Time distance from Calama Airport: 1 hour, 34 minutes
Sports and Adventure
Among the sports offers of San Pedro de Atacama are sandboarding tours, mountaineering and extreme cycling, where the latter includes world events such as the Atacama Challenger, a mountain bike competition that is included in the qualifying competitions of the UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale), while sandboarding is usually practiced within the Valley of Mars, which has fine sand dunes of about 100 meters.
Location: Valle de Marte is located 7.1 kilometers from San Pedro de Atacama through Route 23
Distance kms from Calama airport: 93.5 kilometers along Route 23
Time distance from Calama Airport: 1 hour, 2 minutes
Chaxa Lagoon
Lagoon located in the Salar de Atacama, commune of San Pedro de Atacama, Province of El Loa, considered a tourist destination, as well as an ornithological observation station, mainly flamingos, which is within the Wild Area Protection System CONAF and is part of the Los Flamencos National Reserve.
Location: 50 km from San Pedro de Atacama
Distance kms from Calama airport: 228.9 kilometers by Route 23
Time distance from Calama Airport: 2 hours, 58 minutes
