Spanning over 1,000 kilometers along the Pacific coast, the Atacama Desert is a land of superlatives. It boasts the title of the driest desert on Earth, with some areas receiving less than a millimeter of rainfall per year. Its hyper-arid conditions have led NASA to conduct research here, simulating conditions akin to Mars due to the desert’s resemblance to the Red Planet’s surface. is a place of profound beauty, ancient history, and scientific significance. Its surreal landscapes, rich cultural heritage, and astronomical wonders make it a destination unlike any other on Earth.
The main gateway to this fantastic scenery is a town of San Pedro de Atacama located close to. The Bolivian border. If you arrive to San Pedro de Atacama by bus from Bolivia (like us), be prepared to see more road signs in the first 500 meters than during your whole stay in Bolivia. Yes, Chile is by far the most organised country in South America.
San Pedro is a charming little, dusty town. Well, it’s in the middle of a desert. With its dusty, sandy roads and little adobe houses it could be a perfect set for a western movie. It is a tourist hub but you could hardly tell. The streets aren’t crowded and the restaurants maintained their local character. You tell you are in Chile; the tourist infrastructure is good and access to tourist information is very well organized. The locals are constantly smiling and they are very keen to give you all sort of information, chat with you and help you with everything you need. The place is in the middle of the driest desert in the world; always sunny and warm. We loved being here, finally at only 2000 meters instead of 4000 above the sea level. We took advantage of being at “a lower altitude” and we rented bicycles. We cycled for 50 km in the driest desert in the world, at midday. At the end it appeared to be (and it was) the best, the cheapest and the most stunning way to see the surroundings. We rode 25 kilometers to Laguna Cejar and back to Sam Pedro. Laguna Cejar is a salty lagoon. Very salty in fact; 8 times more than the ocean. It is like the Dead Sea. We spent time floating in the water and when we got out we were completely covered in salt. Luckily the place is equipped with showers (so nice to see that the entrance fee to the Laguna is used properly). We stayed a bit on the nearby beach and walked around to admire the spectacular views of the Lagunas, mountains and the desert. The sun is so strong that you cannot stay here too long, you need to search for a shadow…and it is not easy as you are in the desert. Although biking here was not easy, we really appreciated our choice. On our way back to the town we saw tens of vans with tourist coming towards the Laguna. This means that all the organized tours come here at the same time, give you half an hour or so for a bath and then they departure. We were here with maybe 10 other people, mostly locals and enjoyed our time in almost total peace and quiet. I definitely would recommend you hire a bike but leave early in the morning instead of riding in the midday sun! I also reccomand to bike to Valle de La Luna for a spectacular sunset. It’s only 15 km away from San Pedro and it’s a very pleasant trip done in the evening. Remember to check if your bike lights work properly. Hiring the bikes n San Pedro is not an issue at all. Ciclo Aventura Atacama has a good variety of bikes and a super friendly staff. Also many hostels have a service of bike rentals. As said, you will not have a problem finding a bike here.
From San Pedro we headed towards the second part of Atacama desert: a National Park called Pan de Azucar. It is a 7 hours bus ride to Copiapò and then a connection to one of neighboring towns: Caldera, Bahia Inglesa or Chañaral. You have different options of accommodation near the Park:
- Bahia Inglesa: a very pretty tough touristy seaside town. I would say almost a summer resort for those who are looking for all sorts of comfort. Book in advance if you plan to stay here during the high season (February). From here you can reach the Park entrance either by bus or simply hitch hike. The second option is much quicker.
- Chañaral: located 30 km from the Park entrance, a ghost town due to a polluted beach. Years ago the nearby mining company polluted the ocean and the beach. It has never been taken care of and therefore the town became a ghost town. Sad story. Not even the Netflix movie “The 33” trailer here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOoIBOYqHyw helped the town to raise attention on this huge environmental issue and solve it. However, if you are looking for a budget accommodation and kind people, that might be the right place for you. Also from here it’s ok to hitch hike to the park.
- The old fisherman houses inside the park: the best choice. Remember to book far in advance. You can use the below website to check more about it and book https://www.pandeazucarlodge.cl/
- Camping sites: Great option as well. Camping in Chile is safe and very popular, the infrastructure is very basic but for a couple of nights is just fine. You can find the list of the nearest sites directly on the Park’s website: https://parquenacionalpandeazucar.org/campismo/
At the park entrance you you can find a map with several hiking trails. All of them stunning and relatively easy. The only difficulty might be the hot sun, at the end it’s always a desert. Remember to bring water and you should be fine. We hiked around for 8 kilometers and for 99% of the time we were alone! No other human beings around, just a couple of guanacos (a camelid, relative of the llama, alpaca and vicuña), wind, cacti and the sound of the ocean. The whole hiking trail is surrounded by beautiful, colorful mountains and almost constantly we had an ocean view. Just spectacular. The few pictures below do not do it justice, when you see it in person it is a lot more impressive. We concluded the hike at the beach in the fisherman’s town. The beach has barbecue facilities. It’s worth to stay here at least couple of nights and enjoy fully the beauty of the desert.
More details about the park on the official website: https://parquenacionalpandeazucar.org/
Before leaving you I just wanted to share a curiosity: in Chile, on a sunny Sunday early morning you could be woken up by a siren. A LOUD siren such as the ones you hear in war movies. However, don’t worry, nobody is bombing the country and it is not a tsunami alert. It is just a signal for the fireman (siren goes off once) or the sign that there was a road accident (siren goes off twice). If it is a tsunami alert then it is a continuous siren and the church bells ring nonstop.
Practical info:
How to get here: not an easy journey but totally worth it with wonderful landscapes.
- The main town and gateway to the desert is San Pedro de Atacama From Bolivian Salar de Uyuni only tour buses arrive here. Chilean buses operate regularly from various cities, including Santiago, Antofagasta, and Arica. The journey from Santiago takes around 20 to 24 hours. The most common way to reach the Atacama Desert is by flying into Calama Airport, also known as El Loa Airport (CJC). Several airlines operate flights from Santiago with flight durations typically around 2 to 2.5 hours. From Calama Airport, travelers can then take a shuttle, taxi, pre-arranged transfer or just hitch hike to San Pedro de Atacama, which is approximately 100 kilometers away. The journey from Calama to San Pedro de Atacama by road usually takes around 1.5 to 2 hours.
- The Pan do Azucar Park: the closest city is Antofagasta, 200km away from the park. You can drive by a rental car or hop on a bus. Bus from San Pedro to Copiapò take 7 hours and additional couple of hours from here to one of the nearby small towns (Bahia Ingress, Chanaral).
Best time to visit: anytime of the year as it’s always dry and warm. High season is between December and March due to Chilean summer vacation meaning you will find higher prices for not many accommodation available.
Remote work possible: Yes if you don’t need a strong and reliable Internet connection. No problem if you have offline tasks and e-mails to send but not much than that.
Nomadlytics 
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