The Atacama Desert in Chile is the driest place on earth. A fantastic land with a harsh climate and cosmic mountain scenery. I tell you about the coolest locations, get your four-wheel drive vehicles ready and hit the road!
👋Hand of desert: 8/10. Huge hand sculpture in the middle of nowhere, an elusive hello to Burnin’ Man. I drove to Atacama along the coast from Santiago and the hand was on the way, but I wouldn’t stop by on purpose.
All other points are conveniently accessible from San Pedro de Atacama, a small atmospheric oasis town with great vacation hotels.
🧂Laguna Cejar: 3/10. A popular salt lake for tourists to swim above the surface of the water alone, arrive at 9am for the very opening. If you’ve been swimming in the dead sea, there’s nothing to see.
🌖 Valley of the Moon: 7/10. Sunset near the town in case you’re too lazy to drive somewhere far away. Beautiful trekking trail for three hours: flew a drone to check it out, recommended 😎
🌈 Valle del Arcoiris (rainbow mountains): 9/10. My favorite genre – beautiful mountain scenery to admire from a car window.
🦩 Laguna Chaxa: 10/10. Huge salt lake. Arrive at sunset – incredibly beautiful and quiet, amazing light, flocks of flamingos and mountains.
Next points above 4000 meters, be careful of yourself.
💦 Geysers el Tatio: 1/10. The most hyped place in the Atacama, but it’s not worth it. First of all, the geysers are larks and spit spectacularly only at dawn. Secondly, there are no hotels nearby (and in vain!) and you will have to drive along the dark serpentine at 4 am. Third, you’ll be joined by a crowd of tourists from San Pedro. Fourth, you’ll get sick along with the geysers.
🗿 Monjes de La Pacana: 10/10. Have you seen Salvador Dali’s cartoon Destino? This surreal desert really exists! It’s unknown how the huge vertical stones ended up in the middle of nowhere, but it’s simply the best place to picnic and ponder the meaning of life: just you, the desert, and the cobblestone overhanging from above.
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