Trip to San Pedro de Atacama

San Pedro de Atacama is worth a visit. If it were located in a less interesting geographical area, perhaps somewhere near Curacavi on the road to Viña, the charming colonial remnant alone would merit a half a day drive to see its architecture and impressive museum. As it is, situated in the middle of a unique area in one of the most unusual geographic regions on the planet, it makes a good focal point for a journey through Chile’s north.

San Pedro is a historic functioning city that is the heart of a group of farming communities known as Ayollas. These were originally formed, in Atacameña times, as family farming groups that were spread along the San Pedro River. Most of the people of the area still farm. They grow enough grains to support themselves, along with a small amount of vegetables that are sold in the Calama markets.

The communities remained intact through the Inca conquest in the late 15th century and later the Spanish. In the 19th century, the town became commercially significant as a part of the trade route between Chile and the Argentinean coast until Calama (and its mines) usurped it at the beginning of this century. The area, though, has not suffered significant change as the town does much to reinforce its historic ties.

The roads are all narrow and lined with high adobe walls that surround small plots of farmland. The plaza is paved with stone and faces a small, stark white church that dates from 1745. The facing buildings are fronted with archways and even the potentially imposing Entel phone office fits nicely into the scheme of San Pedro. The history of the area is well detailed in the excellent archaeological museum. The features include several well preserved Atacamanian mummies with hair and clothing intact.

What draws most visitors to the area, however, is the geography. San Pedro is an oasis in the middle of the driest desert on earth. The extent of the dryness becomes clear on the approach to the pueblo as the rock and dirt support absolutely no life. Barren is simply too colorful to describe what you will find there. In geographically ancient times, the whole area was submerged in the ocean. With the formation of the Andes, it slowly began to rise out. A western branch of the Andes, known as the Cordillera de Domeyko, also rose and trapped a large body of ocean between the two ranges. The water evaporated (the salt did not) leaving behind the Salar de Atacama. The Salar is a huge salt plane that is continually increasing as ground water from the high cordillera filters through the soil, dissolves salt, and deposits it on the surface as it evaporates in the high desert air.

Surprisingly, in the middle of this inhospitable environment, there is the Laguna Chaxa. It is a long shallow system of ponds that is the heart of a flamingo breeding ground. The sight of a flock of flamingoes crossing in front of a bone dry volcanic range colored by the setting sun is, to say the least, impressive.

The consistent geologic activity of the area has folded up the western edge of the Salar forming the aptly named Cordillera de Sal. The western edge rises gently only to fall abruptly into a dismaying maze of erosion. Within this geographic kaleidoscope lies the Valle de la Luna. It is an exotic mix of caves, dunes, and raw mountains of all mineral colors. Nearly every night there is a small pilgrimage to the tops of the modest peaks to watch the sun set.

There are other attractions as well including geysers, high alpine lakes, and the remains of a 12th century fortress. Visiting these areas is remarkably easy as a system of tours has been developed that supply transportation in comfortable mini-vans, an informative guide, and meals (depending on the tour) for a reasonable price. There are several reputable agencies though Desert Adventure (phone: 851067) offered excellent service. It is also possible to rent bikes in San Pedro as a worthwhile option to the Valle de la Luna tour. It is an easy 16 km ride from San Pedro into the Valle.

The Accommodations are basic but charming. The Residencial Juanita (tel 851039) is situated on the plaza. The rooms are clean and surround an inner courtyard where one can enjoy a delicious home cooked lunch. It is perhaps one of the best residenciales that I have experienced in Chile. There are other options including the interesting Hostal/Camping Puri.

Getting to San Pedro can be difficult, depending on your budget or schedule. The long bus ride (22 hours) from Santiago to Calama can be nicely split up with nights in La Serena or Copiapo. If time is short, there is air service from Santiago to Calama several times a week. There are three bus companies (Tramaca, Morales Moralitas, and Yusman) that leave regularly to San Pedro from Calama. Even though it is not extremely convenient to get to, the sunny days and clear air make it an excellent option for a winter vacation.

San Pedro de Atacama

When I first stepped off the bus in San Pedro de Atacama, the authenticity of this enchanting desert town was immediately evident.

Given its location in Chile's far north, the settlement of some 1,000 is perhaps an unlikely stop on the tourist trail, as to the west the first view is only of dunes and vast rock fields in one of the driest deserts in the world, the Atacama.

But when I looked to the sky and then East, I was awestruck by a volcano 6,000 meters (almost 20,000 feet) high, towering over a rustic adobe church tower, and it immediately became obvious why San Pedro has become the destination it is.

According to the National Tourism Service (Sernatur), San Pedro de Atacama's Region III is the third most popular tourist destination in Chile, even topping Santiago. Dirt streets divide adobe buildings in the small town, but all along there are tour agencies, restaurants, shops and hotels - ample evidence of the area's popularity. The high seasons are December to February and July to August.

The wondrous outdoors surrounding San Pedro is what draws people from far and wide - the Valley of the Moon, the Tatio Geysers and Lake Chaxa are among the most popular, and tours (US$8 to 20 per person) - which you must take unless you have a car- take just one to two days. And a little further north, across the border into Bolivia, the huge Uyuni salt flat is another top attraction.

Beginning in the late afternoon, the nearby Valley of the Moon tour passes through numerous geological wonders that will make you feel like you're on another planet. After stops at a cylindrical depression, 200 meters deep, and Mars Valley, the tour finally arrives at Valley of the Moon. The landscape bears such a striking resemblance to the moon that NASA conducted studies there in the 1970s. Before heading back at around 9 p.m., an excursion through caverns completes the surreal experience.

The Tatio Geyser tour leaves at 4 a.m. When the sun finally rises, the sight of steam spewing from the high desert Altiplano is well worth the sacrifice, not to mention the Andes mountains, illuminated from behind, and, hopefully, a herd of galloping vicuñas.

At over 4,000 meters, the landscape is unique, the air is very cold, and the visitor is awarded with a dip in hot springs in a verdant canyon at tour's end.

Lake Chaxa and its magical flamingos are yet another must- see. Also nearby are Inca ruins accessible on foot or bike. A grocery store on Caracoles Street rents bikes and has maps, as do some tour agencies, and the ruins can be reached within an hour. Past the ruins, the road leads to a dry riverbed that canyons through a sandstone ridge, making for a full day of adventure on your mountain bike.

Our band of travelers found sanctuary from the toils of adventure tourism at Casa Piedra, a restaurant also located on Caracoles Street. A three-course meal with wine is just US$5 - the vegetarian crepes were great. The service and smile of our waitress, Rosanna, kept us loyal, as did the 2-for-1 pisco sour promotion, 7 to 9 p.m. The outdoor patio complete with fire makes for an excellent atmosphere to get to know other travelers from around the world, who come to enjoy an area that remains authentic despite its recent boom.

For lodging in San Pedro, Casa Corvatch is recommended (Calle Antofagasta, 851 101) and the cozy Residencial La Florida is a basic budget choice at US$7 (Calle Tocopilla, 851021). For more upscale accommodations including a pool and 24-hour electricity, the best choice is La Casa de Don Tomas (rooms start at US$50, 851055, www.rdc.cl/dontomas). One notable tour company is Atacama Desert Expeditions (851140, www.adex.cl). The tourist office in the bus station on Calle Licanbur (55-851084) has lots of information on tours and sites.

North of Chile - Atacama Desert

The best way to travel in Chile is with no plans. Just drive off into the vast expanse of the Atacama desert in your rental car, or with your thumb in the air. That's how we ended up in the Atacama Desert, and even crazier, it was on a holiday. If there's one thing more abandoned and lonely than the vast desert expanse, it's Chile on a holiday. We combined the two.

The day we got off of the plane in Antofagasta was Battle of Iquique Day. We had absolutely no plans. Well, actually, we were vaguely attempting to make it to San Pedro by late afternoon - and we knew it had to be via Calama. So there we were, a couple clueless travelers hanging out by the baggage claim, obviously without a cab and without reservations. Eduardo, of course, was eager to provide the cab.

We were in a part of Chile that many pass through, but few really see. It's an eery stretch of abandoned desert highway between Calama and Antofagasta. We were so lucky not to take the bus. Don't take the bus. If you take the bus to Calama you will miss everything.

It was a gorgeous sunny day. Well, it always is in Antofagasta. In fact, if you pay attention, you will notice that you cross the Tropic of Capricorn on the ride between the airport and town.

As we drove along, Eduardo asked us if we would like to take a "special" tour to Calama. It turns out that Eduardo was born in a local nitrate mine not too far away and has lived in the area all of his life. He loves it, would never think of moving and he knows nearly everything about the local history and geography. The drive is technically only 2.5 hours, but there is a lot to see, and Eduardo was willing to take as long as we wanted. As the price was right, 15,000 pesos plus gas, we decided to take a chance.

We needed to pick up a few things for the trip in Antofagasta. Eduardo was happy to oblige, driving us from grocery store to cash machine to hardware store, commenting on the colorful urban scenery on all sides.

(About the hardware store, if you are going to San Pedro, you are going to need a flashlight, as the town generator peters out at about midnight every night, leaving you there in the pitch black.)

The first stop out of town was the ruins of an old silver foundry dating back to the days before the War of the Pacific, when Antofagasta was a part of Bolivian territory. Situated on the coast, the old adobe ruins are beautiful and fascinating, one of many exceptional photo opportunities.

From here, it's into the desert, and what a desert it is. A mere few hundred kilometers south of the only true desert on earth, where the humidity actually reaches an astonishing zero percent, the Atacama desert is a fascinating study of reds, browns and breathtaking blues.

Thanks to Eduardo's running commentary from the front of the cab, however, what on the surface looks like an impressive but useless and lifeless outland becomes an incredibly complex landscape, full of mines, landmarks, ghost towns, graveyards and history. Look out for the several-thousand-year-old pictoglyph, several hundred yards across and in the shape of a lizard. Most impressive of all is Estacion Baquedano. There are actually two Baquedano train stations, one of them abandoned, the other all but.

Around old Baquedano, see the collection of zinc English style bungalows, dating from the early 1900s, where a few poor families still live. The English ran a nitrate mine at Baquedano, selling the nitrate to the Germans to make bombs that were carried across the channel to drop onto London during WWII. Go figure.

This is truly one of the marvels of Chile. In the abandoned yard behind the tracks, several ancient steam engines sit petrifying in the desert sun, along with a couple of cabooses and a small clock tower. Feel free to poke around the barn and crawl on the engines. There doesn't seem to be anyone around who really cares.

Back a little bit off of the road is a graveyard typical of northern Chile, very colorful and with all the plots fenced off with what look exactly like large baby cribs with the beds removed, a truly surreal place. On the other side of this is a plain full of nearly century-old rubbish - shards of china, English beer bottles twisted in the sun, shells and most bizarre, any number of old mining boots, now hardened and shrunk to about the size of a baby's shoe. Hunt around for a few souvenirs before hitting the road again.

We arrived in Calama late in the afternoon, thoroughly happy with ourselves and our new friend. After a frantic last minute search for a straw hat and a quick late lunch of fried fish and salad we said our good-byes and made out for San Pedro, much richer for the experience. By the way, If you go under a full moon, make sure you do the bus ride from Calama to San Pedro in the dark, as this part of the desert is even more stunning under the moon than during the day.

If your Spanish is decent and you would like to make the trip, give Eduardo Iriarte a call at (56-55) 275-170, Tenglo 5690, Villa los Copihues, Antofagasta. He is an excellent and patient guide and is also available for trips north to Tocopilla and Iquique as well as to the south towards National Park Pan de Azucar.