Places of Interest, San Pedro de Atacama

Introduction

Most of the places of interest are in various, spread-out locations around San Pedro de Atacama. Many are at high altitude, and some are tens of kms from the village. We will briefly cover most known places below, however, there are many other interesting locations too. Should you ask us to include one of the top-end hotels in your itinerary you will have a great opportunity to know many of the other interesting places that most people do not get to see.

Within the excursion options available from the top-end hotels are trekking, visiting remnants of ancient Atacama culture, floating in a Salt Lake, horse riding, seeing local fauna and flora, visiting the natural geysers at El Tatio and other amazing natural, geographic sites as well as cycling, bird watching, sighting local flora and fauna, and star gazing through telescopes.

Important Advice

San Pedro de Atacama is located at altitude (2,438m). Most excursions out from San Pedro de Atacama are at higher altitudes, some reaching over 4,000m. You should NOT participate in any high-altitude excursions if you are not fit, are in bad health (ie have a less-than-healthy heart condition) and without first adjusting to the altitude in San Pedro de Atacama, which may require at least a full day, or even two, prior to going to higher altitudes. You should also drink plenty of non-alcoholic fluids and get a good amount of sleep.

In order to acclimatise and enjoy fully your stay in San Pedro de Atacama, consider a minimum stay of 4 nights, and use your first day to relax and acclimatise.

Altitudes

Calama: 2,460m approx (8,000ft)
San Pedro de Atacama: 2,438m approx. (8,000ft)

Some places of interest near to the village you can walk to or cycle, however, those further outside you will need 4-wheel transport, usually provided by the local tour provider or the hotel we have arranged for you.

There are also numerous trekking places, but to get to the start points requires transport by car or van although we can arrange for you to have your own rental car, we do not advise this.

The hotels that we work with that provide all-inclusive programs will offer trekking excursions and take you to where these trails are located.

San Pedro de Atacama Better-Known Places of Interest

Below this list of places are brief descriptions.

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