San Pedro de Atacama Travel Guide
Travel to San Pedro de Atacama - Oasis Village at the heart of the highland Atacama Desert
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The little oasis village of San Pedro de Atacama, a village of narrow streets and adobe houses, sits at an altitude of 2438 metres above sea level. Full of charm, laid back and friendly, it is from here that you can venture into the strange otherworldly scenery of the Valle de la Luna and the Salar de Atacama.
High in the Andes, not far from Chile’s border with Bolivia, this small Andean town has seen a huge growth in visitor numbers in the past decades. Although now reliant on the income it brings, it has retained much of its peacefulness and charm.
A settlement has existed here near the huge Salar de Atacama salt flats since Pre-Hispanic times, originally being a trading post. Little happened here until after Chilean independence, during the nitrate boom, when the town was an important rest stop on the way to the Atacama’s nitrate towns. In the past decades it has become a centre for tourism – the otherworldly scenery offered by the town’s surroundings, the pretty town itself, and other oasis towns nearby being popular attractions.
Attractions in San Pedro de Atacama
Town – A peaceful adobe village with population of a mere 500.
Valle de la Luna – A dramatic lunar landscape awaits just outside San Pedro
Tatio Geysers – The highest geyser field in the world
Salar de Atacama – 3000 square kilometres of salt flats deep in the desert
Quitor and Catarpe – Restored ruins of an Inca fortress and an administrative centre
Oasis towns – Tocanao, Comar, Sacaire and Peine, four more pretty oasis towns in the desert
Relaxing
The town has lots of cosy bars and restaurants.
Getting Around
Tours run from San Pedro with guides to all the sights
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