Day 6: San Pedro de Atacama: Altiplanic Lagoons, Piedras Rojas and Salar de Atacama Tour - Astronomical Tour
It's 5:00 in the morning when our alarm rings, to start the Altiplanic Lagoons, Red Stones and Salar de Atacama Tour, after a most complete day yesterday in which we did the Tour Valle de la Luna and Valle de la Muerte and we have to say that although we have slept very well and enough hours, we are quite tired, we even have a slight feeling dizzy when we get up, together with a runny nose constant that reminds us of that cold that seems to not just want to leave us since we started Santiago de Chile in one day.
The Altiplanic Lagoons, Red Stones and Salar de Atacama Tour It has a pick-up time at 6: 30-7: 00 in the morning. This time interval is due to not taking a private tour and having to pick up several clients, they have to go through different accommodations, without knowing exactly what time they will pick you up, so they give you this margin for you to be prepared.
* Update 2019: Since the end of 2018 you can not approach Piedras Rojas since tourism was damaging the area. From what we have read, now the tours take you to a viewpoint from which you can see the landscape, but not reach the stones.
The first thing we do is take a shower, put on comfortable clothes and allow us to take off layers if the temperature rises and go to the kitchen of the Pablito Hostel, very complete where breakfast is served every morning from 6: 30, but that you can use 24 hours a day to cook, something super useful if you want to cook for yourself or want to have breakfast ahead of time.
In addition, one of the things that we highlight is that every day the staff asks you about the tour or the plan you have for the next day, in order to schedule breakfast and even, if you have a very early tour, leave you some breakfast ready for you Don't go on an empty stomach.
Taking into account that we have begun to notice some effect of altitude sickness, we take advantage now in the morning to drink a mate of coca and take another prepared a bottle, to try to alleviate the symptoms in the best possible way, in addition to eating a couple of pieces of fruit with which we also hope to tone the stomach a little to enjoy the maximum Altiplanic Lagoons, Red Stones and Salar de Atacama Tour, one of the tours in the Atacama Desert what more we wanted to do.
Punctual when it is 6:30 in the morning they come to find us from Desert Adventure, with Simon back to the head to start this day that is presented as complete.
Another good option if there are no places in this agency is to book this tour of Piedras Rojas, Salar de Atacama and high plateau lakes in advance.
The first stop that we will make will be in the Miscanti and Miñiques Lagoons, two of the lakes that we can find in the high plateau, which are located at an altitude of 4300 meters above sea level and 110 kilometers from San Pedro de Atacama, so that You can imagine that the first part of the trip, almost 2 hours, we spent pending the many explanations that Simon gives us about the area, in addition to some provoked headers we do not know if due to sleep or altitude sickness.
Upon arrival we pay 2500CLP per person entering a landscape that leaves us immediately with our mouths open and it is no less considering that we have in front of us the Miscanti Lagoon, a freshwater lagoon, surrounded by volcanoes that gives us one of the images more beautiful than we could have imagined.
Miscanti Lagoon
Panoramic Miscanti Lagoon
Miscanti Lagoon
CONAF has a small cabin here, in which it is possible to stay (we do not even want to imagine how the experience of being able to dawn in a place as impressive as this should be) and that we take advantage of to make the first gastronomic stop of the day, finding a breakfast prepared by Simon and Luis, the driver, worthy of the best restaurant.
After 20-30 minutes in which we adapt our stomach to the height with another mate and some sweets and some bread with cheese, we return to the van to continue with the Altiplanic Lagoons, Red Stones and Salar de Atacama Tour approaching the Miñiques Lagoon, very close to the previous one and also smaller, known for being connected underground with the Miscanti Lagoon and also being the largest breeding ground for a horned cocha, a bird in the western Andes.
Miñiques Lagoon
Miñiques Lagoon. Altiplanic Lagoons, Red Stones and Salar de Atacama Tour
After more than 2 hours between Miscanti Lagoon and Miñiques, we go back to the van, this time to visit one of the places we most wanted to know in the Atacama Desert: Piedras Rojas, a place we have read, is simply spectacular.
It took us an hour to reach Piedras Rojas, going through landscapes that do not allow us to take our eyes off the window and where we would stop every few meters to enjoy them with the feet on the ground.
As soon as we arrive and leave the van in a place enabled to park, we begin to walk, with Simon's premise that we do it with our eyes down, looking at our feet, for when we are already in the right place, at your signal, lift the view and find a truly spectacular landscape that reminds us, once again, of the reason we consider ourselves so fortunate and how wonderful it is to travel in the broadest sense of the word.
Red stones
From this moment and after the explanations that we receive already in the place, we have 45 minutes to enjoy this incredible wonder of nature, which as it could not be otherwise, we fly away. And here, as in the rest of this stops Altiplanic Lagoons, Red Stones and Salar de Atacama Tour we would have days and days.
Red stones
Red stones
Contrary to what it may seem, in none of the stops we have made throughout the day, including those we made yesterday, except for the sunset in Death Valley, we have practically not crossed paths with more tourists. This is, in addition to the fact that there is not a large volume of tourism in the area, the offer of tours is quite wide, so most of the tourists are divided between different places and something very important, Desert Adventure, makes an itinerary different to the rest of the companies, so when you arrive at the places of interest, the rest of the tours or have not yet arrived or have already left, something that allows you to be and enjoy the places practically alone.
Red stones
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Landscapes Red Stones
Red Stones Altiplanic Lagoons, Red Stones and Salar de Atacama Tour
With the time on our heels, and it is very difficult to say goodbye to places like this, we return to the van where little by little we all meet to start the trip back to San Pedro de Atacama, stopping before in Socaire, where he waits for us a spectacular meal that has just warmed us up and offers us the energy to continue with the Altiplanic Lagoons, Red Stones and Salar de Atacama Tour and go to the next stop: the Laguna Chaxá, in the Salar de Atacama.
It takes about 45 minutes to reach this new point, another of the most important of the tour and after paying 5000CLP per person, we leave the van and enter another of the most wonderful landscapes in the world.
Salar de Atacama
Laguna Chaxá in the Salar de Atacama
As we move along the path, surrounded by what looks like a huge salt crust, amazed by everything that surrounds us, without waiting, after a few meters, Chaxá Lagoon appears, a place where you can find the famous flamingos that breed in this area of the Salar de Atacama.
Flamingos in Laguna Chaxá
Chaxá Lagoon
Flamenco in the Chaxá Lagoon
Here we can find three of the five species of flamingos, the Chilean, the Andean and James, which are perfectly distinguished despite the distance they usually are located, since they do not like humans too much, something that we must take into account in all tours, not only with animals, but with nature in general and always try that the only thing left of us to our march are the footprints we leave in the sand.
Chaxá Lagoon
It's already 3 in the afternoon and trying to scratch the last minutes before we leave, we take a final tour of the area to say goodbye and above all, take this memory in the retina and of course in a few hundred photographs.
Laguna Chaxá in the Salar de Atacama
And from here, we can walk back to San Pedro de Atacama, making a brief stop in Toconao, to stretch our legs, visit the church and eat an ice cream that refreshes us from the heat that is now beginning to be felt.
Toconao
Toconao
We arrive at San Pedro de Atacama when it is 4:30 in the afternoon, leaving Desert Adventure directly on Caracoles Street, since we have to go to the Space office to confirm tonight's reservation at 10:30 for the Astronomical tour. Another option is to book the tour here in advance.
Book the best rated Spanish tours and excursions in San Pedro de Atacama by travelers:
- Excursion to the Moon Valley
- Piedras Rojas, Salar de Atacama and high plateau lakes
- Excursion to the geysers of El Tatio and Machuca
- Archaeological tour of Atacama
- Excursion to the Salar de Atacama and Toconao
- More excursions and tours here
Book the best rated Spanish tours and excursions in San Pedro de Atacama by travelers:With everything already confirmed we return to Hostal Pablito, where after a shower and a mate of coca, we enjoy a well-deserved rest and more considering that today is not over, we still have a pending Astronomical Tour in San Pedro de Atacama, one of the most demanded and most incredible tours you can do.
Pablito Hostel
It's 8 in the afternoon when we go back to the streets of San Pedro de Atacama, where after a walk along Caracoles Street we go straight to Las Delicias de Carmen restaurant, which was recommended to us this morning at the Altiplanic Lagoons, Red Stones and Salar de Atacama Tour where we ordered some garlic prawns plus a plate of salmon and two waters, plus two mattes of coca for 41000CLP, which we have to say, we just don't like them at all. Although being honest, we believe more for not being 100% our bodies than for saying it was not to the point.
After dinner and make a short table, when it is 10:15 at night we go to the next corner to the Space office, where we have met that they will come to pick us up to do the Astronomical Tour in San Pedro de Atacama.
Punctual we ride a mini bus that takes us to the outskirts of San Pedro de Atacama, about 20 minutes, to the Observatory where this incredible tour will take place below.
Astronomical Tour San Pedro de Atacama
There are several companies that carry out this tour. In our case we have chosen Space, which they say is the best option to do this tour, something that after the experience we have to say we have found super professionals and above all, they have given us unforgettable hours in which we have felt and We have lived the unique opportunity to see and understand the sky from another perspective.
Space offers tours in English, Spanish and French, on different days, so if you want to do this tour in a specific language, it is best to book with time, as places are limited and people usually book with time.
Keep in mind that you speak with technical words at many times, so if you do not master one of the languages, you probably miss part of the explanations. It is worth reserving with time and in the language you master.
During the first part of the tour, once you reach the destination, you place yourself in a circle, with an expert in the middle, at which time the sky is observed with the naked eye.
They begin to give you some general explanations, which will make you understand what you are seeing, such as a galaxy, a constellation, or a star. In addition to, through a laser pointer, recognize the main stars.
In this part of the tour, we can assure you that the feeling is that of feeling inside a salad bowl, placed upside down, in which it is full of stars. The impressions are unique, since as the view gets accustomed, more stars are able to see and recognize.
You can see many photographs on the internet, but we assure you that there is none that is comparable to reality. We, on this occasion we decided not to take the camera and the truth is that we do not regret it, since the simple fact of being shooting, would have caused us to miss part of the tour, something that we would not have forgiven.
The second part of the tour is totally practical, at which time the largest public-use telescope park in South America is used.
Among them, a 70 cm diameter telescope stands out, the largest public telescope in South America, followed by some smaller ones, through which we can observe close up the examples that the expert considers best seen at that time, either by dates or by sky conditions.
After about 40-45 minutes observing the universe we move on to the third and final phase of the Astronomical tour in which you enter a closed room where they serve hot chocolate or coca tea and with the astronomer there is a last talk in which a round of questions and answers is made that are the icing on the tour.
The total time of the tour is approximately 2 and a half hours, so we return to the mini bus when it is 12:30 at night, arriving again at Pablito Hostel, they leave us to a street of the accommodation, when they are practically 1 at dawn, at which time we can practically say that we fall without undressing in bed.
If we had always said that the most beautiful skies we had ever seen were never in Africa, today we can say that they compete closely with the skies of the Atacama Desert, the most starry and clean skies we have ever seen, including some shooting stars that They have put the icing on this spectacular night.
Day 7: Tara Salar Tour from San Pedro de Atacama
