Chile trip
Atacama Desert
A lunar landscape squashed between the Pacific and the Andes and home to ultimate desert adventures
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Atacama Desert Trips & Tours

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About Atacama Desert

We’d hazard a guess that the arid Atacama is pretty high-up on most Chilean bucket-lists – and we wouldn’t argue with that. The Martian-like terrain of one of the driest places on the planet is not only spectacularly scenic but also surprising, exciting and an excellent playground for adventurers, wildlife enthusiasts and anyone with a camera. First up, the landscape. It’s everything you would expect a desert to be – rusty vastness, glinting salt pans, craggy rocks and weird, layer-cake formations – and a little bit more. We’re talking spurting, hissing geysers, flocks of candy-pink flamingo, oases and cacti-studded ravines, and a cast of wildlife that includes llamas, alpacas, vizcacha and, if you’re lucky, vicuñas. So, how to see and do it all? Handily a crop of dreamy, desert-chic hotels has recently cropped up in the outpost of San Pedro, the jumping-off point for most travellers, offering 4WD drives, fat-biking and geyser-hiking, sunset picnics, sand-boarding experiences, wildlife walks, and even horse-back rides. All are designed for minimum environmental impact – yet maximum visuals! – keeping this ethereal landscape just the way it should be.

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What to do

Why you'll love it

Because it's utterly, completely, ends-of-the-earth remote. This is the place that NASA uses to test its instruments going to Mars, and the scene of many a James Bond movie, after all. How cool?


Off the beaten track

It’s no secret but the thin, dry, desert air makes for skies that are as a clear-as-a-bell and out-of-this-world stargazing. If you can, visit the Ahlarkapin Observatory; you’ll be joined by a guide who will bring the celestial wonderland before you to life.


Something to think about

From Patagonia or even Santiago, the altitude difference is quite noticeable. Give yourself time to acclimatise to the effects of the height and the intense sunlight – and take a good moisturiser for skin, lips and noses!

Where to stay

When to go

January - December

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What our guests are saying

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Feb 2025 • 9 nights in Kenya
Annie Irankunda went to all lenghts and further to make my trip to Kenya lovely. She helped with all the things I... Read more
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Feb 2025 • 14 nights in Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda
Kevin was so patient in getting my trip setup. It took months before I finally had a plan put together and he was... Read more
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Feb 2025 • 12 nights in Kenya and Uganda
A huge thank you to Timbuktu for helping us plan our dream honeymoon! From start to finish, we felt incredibly... Read more
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Jan 2025 • 15 nights in South Africa and Mauritius
Amazing way to plan a trip! They made everything so seamless and easy prior to our trip. Took the stress out of... Read more
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Jan 2025 • 13 nights in South Africa and Zimbabwe
Jenna was very helpful in developing a trip that met our wants while remaining within our budget. Highly recommend... Read more
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Jan 2025 • 5 nights in South Africa and Zimbabwe
Joanna was so quick to respond to any and all questions I had. She communicated clearly and often. She also gave me... Read more
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