San Pedro de Atacama is surrounded by surreal, other-worldy landscapes. In one direction, you can head towards Bolivia’s salt flats and a land of coloured lagoons and striped volcanoes. Travel to Argentina and you’ll pass a mountain of seven colours – or step just outside the town and you’ll find yourself in the Valle de la Luna, named as such because it’s said to look like the moon.
It was a French priest who named the valley. He also named the neighbouring Death Valley, although that was a mistake. He was trying to explain that it looked like mars (marte) but the Spanish understood muerte (death). I’m unsure how he made this assumption, but NASA test their equipment there so it seems he was right.
We went trekking in the Valle de la Luna after a fun, if slightly terrifying, few hours sandboarding in San Pedro de Atacama.
Our first stop was a Chulacao Cave, which is covered in edible salt. You could walk through the salty walls to the entrance and then scramble through a very tight spot to the other side.
Despite my success facing fears in Capilla del Monte, my claustrophobia overcame me and I couldn’t do it.
Steve did though and he got to see our tour guide playing the salt formations like a musical instrument.
After this venture, we headed to a secluded spot to watch the sunset. Most tour groups gather in the same place so we were lucky to be alone. It required quite a steep climb but the privacy and view was worth it.
We were surrounded by incredible rock formations…
…and stunning mountains. The pointed one is a volcano.
We were even given a pisco sour to enjoy as we watched the colours of the landscape change with the movement of the sun.
It was a beautiful way to end a splendid day, and we’d definitely recommend the combination it if you get the chance.
Useful information on Valle de la Luna
Tons of tour operators in San Pedro offer tours of the Valle de la Luna. We were happy with ours as we’re not big hikers and we loved that we could combine it with sandboarding beforehand. Our tour operator was Sandboard San Pedro, a branch of Atacama Inca Tour. It cost 12,000 chilean pesos (about £15) and included transportation, two hours sandboarding with tuition, a tour of Chulacao Caves, a trek to the viewpoint, a pisco sour and a DVD of the day. The only extra cost was 2,000 pesos (about £2.50) to enter the Valle de la Luna.
Beautiful photos (and you can’t complain about the pisco!)
Kim recently posted..Touring Rio de Janeiro’s National Park (’cause, yeah, they have one)
It was definitely a welcome ending to the trip!
Well I’ve never been to the moon before, but this post of yours certainly gives me an idea of what I could expect. Sounds like a great destination.
Paul recently posted..The Real Downton Abbey: Highclere Castle
It is! I definitely recommend it!
WOW what gorgeous photos!!!!! This is definitely on the dream destination list.
Yep! It’s really is gorgeous there.
Hi Victoria and Steve, wow those Bolivian Salt flats create an amazing landscape and the colours on the photos as the sun sets are amazing.
Couple of questions:
1. What is in a ‘pisco sour’?
2. Are the salt flats at sea-level or higher?
Hi Neil. The photos in this post are from the Atacama Desert, but perhaps you saw our posts on the salt flats too (http://www.bridgesandballoons.com/salt-flats-uyuni-bolivia-photos/)? The salt flats are actually way above sea level at 3,656 meters!
And a pisco sour is a cocktail made up of the liqueur, Pisco, along with lime (or lemon) juice, sugar, ice, and egg white. Both Chile and Peru claim it as their national drink, and the Peru uses syrup in place of sugar, and adds Angostura bitters too. Both are delicious!
I can always rely on you guys for beautiful words and pictures, and these are some of your best. Truly stunning!
Hannah recently posted..A day to listen to
Aw, thank you Hannah!
To be honest, I have not heard of San Pedro de Atacama, but its very fascinating. Lots of rugged landscape. Love the photo where you are having the drink.
Shalu Sharma recently posted..Facts about the Taj Mahal and and how to get there
Thanks Shalu. I didn’t know much about it before we went either, but I’m certainly pleased to have been!
So hard to make great photos of landscapes like this. Great job!
Jonathan Look, Jr. recently posted..Mount Rushmore and a Milestone
Omg! All your pictures look so awesome. All the places you have been to are so natural.
Have you really taken these pictures of yourself?
If yes then you are really a good vision of taking photos.
Travelling with Photography !! Just Awesome!! Keep posting I just love your blog.
Beautiful images! It really does look like another planet.
We had a sunset view to ourselves in the Gobi desert. It was truly magical, we felt so connected to the Earth. I will put my inner hippy away now!
Take care.
ahhh looks amazing! You guys captured it beautifully. So excited to head to the area next month!
Britany recently posted..Snapshot Sunday! Cartagena Smiles
I love your pictures! I especially love watching sunsets, even if I have to work for it a bit. I also could relate to your post on facing your fears. I too have an issue with claustrophobia (and heights) so I really enjoy wide, open, flat spaces!
Robyn recently posted..My Homes Away From Home
It’s my boyfriend’s dream to drive through the Atacama, and now I see why… Thank you, beautiful photos
Sarah Somewhere recently posted..Take a Walk Around Playa del Carmen
Wow, what an amazing place! The photos are absolutely gorgeous. Those salty caves are fascinating. I haven’t seen anything like most of it, but the first shot looks a lot like the deserts in southern California.
Jessica of HolaYessica recently posted..Where in Spain Wednesday – Madrid’s Crystal Palace
I had never heard of salt caves either. They were pretty spectacular!
You really do take amazing pictures! Actually being there must be surreal..you really could be on another planet ( or the moon!)
Suzie recently posted..Home
Thanks Suzie! It did indeed feel like we were somewhere other worldly. I hope you get there someday.
Wow, what a place! And beautiful pictures as usual! Another destination to add on my have to go list. I’ll probably end up spending way more time in Chile than I originally anticipated, not that it’s anything wrong with that though
!
Beautiful Photos! Thanks for sharing.
Robert recently posted..Lost in the Tunnels of Vietnam
No problem. Glad you liked them!