San Pedro de Atacama: Atacama Desert and Salt Flats Day Trip

About This Experience

Pukarumi Travel Agency's day trip heads off the usual tour routes into the high Atacama, reaching about 4,800 m. It has a 4.4 rating from 17 reviews and starts from $101 per person, with guides in Spanish and English.

After hotel pickup between 8:00 and 8:40 am, breakfast is served outdoors at a viewpoint facing Licancabur volcano. The route continues to the Quepiacó River and then away from the main roads to the Monjes de la Pacana (Pacana's Monks), tall volcanic rock pillars standing alone on the plain, shaped by the same geological forces that formed the surrounding landscape.

Lunch is served in the open air by the Aguas Calientes and Quisquiro salt flats, where the white salt contrasts with the brown desert and vicuñas and flamingos live. The last stops are the Crystal and Black lagoons, and the tour ends between 2:30 and 3:00 pm at Plaza Touristour in San Pedro.

Pickup is only for hotels in San Pedro's urban area: lodgings in the ayllus of Quitor, Yaye, Checar, Sequitor, Solor and Coyo, or in Toconao, are not collected, and there is no hotel drop-off. Bring your own water and warm clothes; reviewers mention it can be very cold.

Highlights

• Breakfast at the Licancabur viewpoint
• Quepiacó River and its desert ecosystem
• Monjes de la Pacana rock pillars, reached off the main roads
• Aguas Calientes and Quisquiro salt flats, with vicuñas and flamingos
• Crystal and Black lagoons
• Guides in Spanish and English

What's Included

• ✓ Hotel pickup in San Pedro de Atacama's urban area
• ✓ Outdoor breakfast
• ✓ Open-air lunch
• ✓ Guide
• ✓ Transport for the day

Not Included

• Drop-off at your hotel (the tour ends at Plaza Touristour)
• Personal drinking water
• Warm clothes
• Pickup from the ayllus (Quitor, Yaye, Checar, Sequitor, Solor, Coyo) and Toconao

What to Bring

• Comfortable shoes
• Warm clothing
• Camera
• Water
• Comfortable clothes
• Gloves
• Headscarf

Good to Know & Caveats

• The route reaches about 4,800 m; it is not recommended for people with respiratory problems or heart disease.
• Spend a few nights at San Pedro's altitude (about 2,400 m) before going this high.
• Pickup runs between 8:00 and 8:40 am, with the exact time confirmed before the tour.
• No pickups outside San Pedro's urban area, including the ayllus and Toconao.
• Bring warm clothing, gloves, a headscarf, water, comfortable shoes and a camera.

Meeting Point

Hotel pickup between 8:00 and 8:40 am within San Pedro de Atacama's urban area (no pickups in the ayllus or Toconao); the tour ends between 2:30 and 3:00 pm at Plaza Touristour.