Day 5: Santiago de Chile - Calama - San Pedro de Atacama: Valley of the Moon and Death Valley Tour in the Atacama Desert
Today it is time to get up early as it is the day we change zones on this trip to Chile and Easter Island, heading north, where today we have already scheduled a Moon Valley and Death Valley Tour in the Atacama Desert.
Our flight leaves at 6:40 in the morning and as we did the day we arrived to go from the airport to Santiago de Chile, we have hired the transfer service with TransVip that will come to look for us at the Sommelier Express Hotel when they are more or minus 4:00 in the morning.
Considering this time and with Roger practically recovered completely, after Santiago de Chile in two days yesterday that we could not complete at all, at three and a few minutes we are already awake fixing everything and going down to reception to check out , where punctual is already TransVip waiting to take us to the airport.
It's about 4:45 in the morning when we arrive at the Santiago de Chile Airport to the National Departures Terminal. This area of the airport is quite small so the procedures, both billing and security are quite fast, being ready in 15 minutes in which we are already in front of the boarding gate of our LAN flight from Santiago de Chile to Calama , taking the opportunity to make a stop in a cafeteria to have a good breakfast that is directly appreciated at this time and more after the day we had yesterday in which we can say that we did not eat as we had imagined after the setback with Roger.
Punctual when it's about 6:15 in the morning they announce our flight through gate 30 so we go straight there to start what will be the second part of our trip to Chile in 31 days.
Something to keep in mind on this flight is that you put yourself on the right side, since in a good part of the trip you can see the mountain range and then, as the flight progresses, the desert landscape. The flight is about two hours and 10 minutes, which we have to say that they really fly by and more taking into account the landscapes that you can see, under a sky as clear as those in this area of Chile.
Approaching Calama
We arrive on time to Calama when it is almost 9 in the morning and after picking up the bags, which take a little longer than expected we find a person in charge of collecting TransVip passengers who is waiting for us with our name on a sign on behalf of the Desert Adventure company, which is the company with which we have hired all tours in the Atacama Desert, including the Moon Valley and Death Valley Tour of this afternoon and the transfer from Calama to San Pedro de Atacama.
Calama airport
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How to get from Calama airport to San Pedro de Atacama:
There are several ways to go from Calama airport to San Pedro de Atacama which is the place to stay in the Atacama Desert to be able to do all the recommended tours:
- Bus: This is the cheapest option. In the city of Calama you have three bus companies that go directly to San Pedro de Atacama: Tur bus Calama, Frontera del Norte and Buses Atacama.
The duration of the trip is about 90 minutes and the distance of 100 kilometers. To get from Calama airport to Calama you can take a taxi or a transfer.
- Transfer: For us it is the most recommended option, both for price and comfort. In our experience, the best option is TransVip. Among the options you have the private transfer for 65000CLP and the shared transfer for 24000CLP per trip for two people.
- Agency that includes in a pack of Tours in the Atacama Desert the transfer: As is our case, when choosing a pack that included several tours in the area, the transfer was also included. This is something to keep in mind since you can always get cheaper by hiring a complete pack to negotiate the final price.
- Contract with the hotel directly: In this case there are several hotels that include the transfer, although these are the most expensive in San Pedro de Atacama. Another option is to hire it directly with the accommodation, normally everyone offers this service.
- The journey from Calama to San Pedro de Atacama is approximately 1h10 minutes, which usually lengthens a bit more, since being a shared transfer you have to wait for everyone to be ready and then wait for them to leave each one of passengers in their accommodation.
We don't need more than two minutes by car to start seeing really spectacular landscapes that are the ones you can find in the route from Calama to San Pedro de Atacama, although it is true that as the landscape progresses they are even more spectacular, finding once you enter San Pedro de Atacama the typical adobe buildings, no matter how much they are modern They must continue to maintain aesthetics by an ordinance.
Also comment that when we arrive in Calama we are at 2250 meters of altitude and now in San Pedro de Atacama at 2400 meters, something that can start to cause certain discomforts associated with altitude sickness, something we will talk about shortly, since it is something to keep in mind in this area of Chile.
Road to San Pedro de Atacama
It's almost 12 in the morning when we arrive at Hostal Pablito the place where we will stay the next four days and where after checking in as quickly as possible, we leave our bags and rest for a while and decide to go to the center of San Pedro from Atacama to start enjoying this small town, which just arrive and spend a few minutes, we already intuit that we will love it.
On the way to downtown San Pedro Atacama we stopped at the Artisan Center where we have been told that we can buy coca leaves and also coca candies, which we already tried on the trip to Peru for free and that helped us a lot with altitude sickness in the Colca Valley, together with mate, both coca and muña.
After walking around the different stores, we bought a couple of bags of coca leaves for 1000CLP plus candy, a small bag for 1500CLP, which we really have to say we found something expensive buying it with Peru, but counting that they have to bring it from there or Bolivia, we also understand that prices are somewhat more expensive.
Altitude sickness in the Atacama Desert
First of all we have to say that we must bear in mind that this issue is important and serious enough not to take any recommendation that does not come from a doctor to the letter and that our advice or opinions are only based on our experience, so we urge you to consult a doctor with any questions before putting anything into practice, since depending on the medical history of each person, some things or others can be carried out.
That said, we leave you the advice and remedies we take against the Altitude sickness in the Atacama Desert:
- At the medication level, we carry the same as on the trip to Peru: Edemox, a medicine that helps the body avoid the symptoms of altitude sickness. We started taking them one day before reaching maximum height (we started taking them yesterday in Santiago, Chile) and we will continue them for 2 more days after reaching maximum height.
Above all, this is a personal experience, as we have said, we must ALWAYS discuss it with a doctor.
- One of the tips or warnings they gave us was that altitude sickness is caused, in part, by psychological factors on many occasions. Going with fear, thinking at every moment how high you are or controlling the symptoms of your body every minute does not help at all to avoid altitude sickness and will surely make us not enjoy the experience, but quite the opposite.
- Do not eat too much or drink alcohol, since digestion, when done at a higher height, is slower. If we eat too much it is easier to have a stomachache and discomfort, with consequent altitude sickness.
- It is also advisable to sleep the necessary hours and not make unnecessary efforts, taking things easy and avoiding running.
- Apart from these recommendations, during the days that we have been in the Atacama Desert, we have chewed coca leaves (you put about 5 leaves and chews for about 3-4 minutes, then you get about 4 or 5 more and you do the same, to finish with another 4-5 more leaves. You have to chew about 12-15 leaves for about 10 minutes, so that you start to notice that the lips go numb a little and make its effect. In Chile the coca leaves they are much smaller than in Peru and we do not find catalysts, so the sensation of numbness of the mouth is practically nil).
We have also had coca candies, very good by the way and drank coca tea during the days we were in San Pedro de Atacama.
- Another recommendation is to stock up on coca tea during excursions. In your accommodation you can ask or do it yourself if there is a kitchen, that you heat enough water in a jar, you put enough coca leaves and let it cool. Once tempered you pass it to a large bottle of water and you drink during the whole tour. We did it and the truth is that it is going well.
- And last but not least, but quite the opposite, something essential is to travel with good travel insurance, such as Mondo, to travel calm and covered in case of any unforeseen event.
- Despite all these recommendations and remedies that we carry out, in our case and on this occasion, we suffer some effects of altitude sickness such as headache, tiredness and fatigue. After discussing it with several knowledgeable people, they told us that this is partly due to several factors:
1º- A body does not always react the same to altitude sickness: you may have been in height and not have suffered and on another occasion you may suffer.
2º- Both Roger and I were not at 100% body level since Roger was still dragging yesterday's fever day and just the day we arrived in San Pedro de Atacama I began to notice that my body began to "incubate something" .
3º- In the Atacama Desert there is a very dry climate, something that sharpens the symptoms of altitude sickness and that together with the wind, which sometimes drags a lot of sand makes you always have a dry mouth, something that also causes breathing to be less suitable
That said, something highly recommended is not to become obsessed with the subject. It is best to be prepared, knowing what can happen and what the recommendations are, but at all times try to enjoy the place and be relaxed.
After stocking up to try to avoid altitude sickness, the first thing we do is approach the Desert Adventure agency, which is where we have hired all the tours for these coming days and where we talk with Fernanda to finish specifying all the hours and departures.
San Pedro de Atacama Tours - Atacama Desert
We have many options of tours in the Atacama Desert, in our case, taking 5 days, between which are the day of arrival and the 24th that we will leave at noon, therefore staying 3 full days plus 2 half days.
Being this way and after many evaluations, in the end we have decided on the most famous tours: Moon Valley and Death Valley Tour, Tour to the Altiplanic Lagoons, Tour to the Salt Flat of Tara and Tour to the Geysers of Tatio.
Initially when we talk to Desert Adventure, the company with which we will do all the tours in the Atacama Desert, we propose to leave today free, staying the Moon Valley and Death Valley Tour for the same day as the Tatio Geysers Tour, which takes place in the early morning.
After talking with them we recommend making a change, making this afternoon the Moon Valley and Death Valley Tour So the day of the Geysers of Tatio go quieter, as this tour starts at 4 in the morning.
As they are the experts, we pay attention to them and close for this same afternoon which will be the first of tours in the Atacama Desert.
Desert Adventure Agency
With this already done we approach to Space which is the agency with which we will do the Astronomical Tour to confirm the tour that we have planned for tomorrow but they tell us that the confirmation must be done tomorrow, since they do not know the time until the same day what will you do and according to what weather conditions can be canceled and prefer to make confirmations the same day.
This confirmation can be done until 3:00 in the afternoon but as we tomorrow have the Altiplanic Lagoons Tour and we will arrive around 5:00 in the afternoon they have told us that there is no problem in confirming at that time when we arrive .
San Pedro de Atacama
With all this already solved and practically without having seen anything of San Pedro de Atacama, we look for a place to eat, ending at the Pizzeria El Charrua since we have read that for altitude sickness it is recommended to eat carbohydrates such as pasta , which are slowly digested, to prevent or relieve it.
For a while we are having a slight headache, so getting closer to this pizzeria is partly a way to alleviate altitude sickness by eating a plate of pasta and pizza plus a couple of waters and two mattes of coca by 20100CLP, with those who eat this first day in San Pedro de Atacama.
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:We just ate when it's 3 in the afternoon and seeing that we still have an hour to start the Moon Valley and Death Valley tour We decided to walk around the town despite the heat and that we have to say that we are not 100% imagine that because of the height and not being fully recovered from yesterday's fever Roger and I who seem to start to fall ...
San Pedro de Atacama we can say that there are practically four streets: Caracoles Street, which is the main street where we can find most of the agencies, restaurants and shops and Calama, Tocopilla, Vilama and Toconao streets that are the four streets that cross the main Street.
Caracoles Street in San Pedro de Atacama
Calama Street in San Pedro de Atacama
As we get lost in the streets of San Pedro de Atacama, a small town full of charm, although we have read that many consider it a amusement park for tourists, since everything is focused on this, we fall more in love with its adobe houses, its environment and, above all, its landscapes.
Toconao Street
After getting lost in the little streets we approached the San Pedro Church, a church today colored sand, previously white as salt, which was built with adobe and twine instead of nails, and which looks lovely surrounded by traditional houses from San Pedro de Atacama.
San Pedro Church
Interior San Pedro Church
It's 4:00 in the afternoon, when after having bought a couple of bottles of water, we approach the door of the Desert Adventure agency, where we have stayed to do the Tour to the Moon Valley and the Death Valley and where we find 10 more people with whom, along with Simón, who will be our guide, we will enter one of the most incredible landscapes in this area of Chile.
Another recommended option is to book this excursion to the Valley of the Moon to also see the sunset or this tour that includes the Valley of the Moon and that of Death.
We start the tour entering the Valley of the moon, where we pay 3000CLP per person, the tickets are always paid separately from the tour, at which time we take the opportunity to go to the bathroom, since this is the only place in this area and from where after making the payment, we follow the path while Simon tells us more things and curiosities about the area until we are in the middle of an impressive landscape, where we park and from where we see what will be the first stop of this Tour to the Moon Valley and the Death Valley: the Great Dune.
Great Dune First stop of the Moon Valley and Death Valley Tour
The idea and purpose is to ascend it, something that we initially had no idea and that when we see the dimensions, also counting to the height that we are already, we are a little surprised. Although despite what initially may seem, it is much easier, especially if you take it with ease and without hurry, since the dune does not ascend by the edge, but is surrounded, so the heaviest section is the final stretch
The ascent to the Great Dune begins
The total ascent is made in about 20-30 minutes, finding the first stop when we have more or less 15 minutes of walking, finding a viewpoint from which we have spectacular views of the surroundings, which undoubtedly compensate more than any effort we have made.
First views of the Moon Valley from the Great Dune
Panoramic Great Dune
After more than 20 minutes at this first stop, we continue the ascent for another 10 minutes to reach a second viewpoint from where we have privileged views of the volcanoes that surround the area, the Salt Mountain Range and incredible lunar landscapes that reach Seem even unreal.
Moon Valley from the top of the Great Dune
Valley of the moon
After just over an hour in the Great Dune, we return to the mini bus to follow the path, making a brief stop at The Three Marys, another of the best known places and we visited in the Moon Valley and Death Valley Tour that they are capricious rock formations eroded with the passage of time and that today are known by that curious name.
The Three Marys
From here and after a few minutes we continue our route heading to the third point of the Moon Valley and Death Valley Tour which has been "a little extra"Since we are doing very well in time, according to Simón, he has taken us to a small salt extraction mine where we have been able to learn a little more about this process, including a small salt tasting, directly from the ground!
Salt Mine in the Moon Valley
And after this visit we make another extra stop that allows us to take a short walk of about 20 minutes through the Valley of the moon, approaching the crater and the Amphitheater, another impressive formation, which we saw before from afar, when we ascended the Great Dune.
Walking through the Valley of the Moon
Amphitheater in the Moon Valley
We return to the mini bus saying goodbye to the Valley of the Moon and on the way to Death Valley, where we pay 1000CLP per person and where we arrive in just 10 minutes from the Valley of the Moon and where we hope to be lucky to enjoy an incredible sunset make it the icing on the cake in this awesome Moon Valley and Death Valley Tour in the Atacama Desert.
death Valley
As the minutes progress, the congestion of people coming here, to the Coyote Stone, to enjoy the sunset, one of the most beautiful hours of the day in which, we can assure you, the landscape is It transforms into the most beautiful painting you could imagine.
Sunset in the Death Valley
Sunset in the Death Valley
We must bear in mind that today, the Coyote Stone itself is fenced since a while ago there was a small tremor and a geologist from the area said it was no longer "safe"to keep hundreds of tourists who come here every day to watch the sunset and get on it to take the picture of rigor, so from that moment we have the great luck to enjoy the famous Coyote Stone in front of the sunset of sun on anyone who hinders the vision.
Coyote Stone death Valley
When it is approximately 8:15 in the afternoon we return to San Pedro de Atacama, where we arrive in 15 minutes, staying on Caracoles Street, where we will look for a place to have dinner. We have to recognize that the height together with the small cold that we drag just since we arrived, we interpret for the change of time and the heat that we spent the first days in Santiago de Chile, do not have us 100%, so we decided not to lengthen the day and go to dinner at the Sol Inti Restaurant, a restaurant that Simón recommends, where we order a couple of full salads plus two soft drinks, which we cannot finish how huge they are.
Dinner at the Sol Inti Restaurant
It's after 10 pm when we return to Hostal Pablito surrounded by an incredible starry sky, which although we had read a lot, we could not imagine it was so impressive. And we could spend hours and hours looking directly at the sky without getting tired, as we make our way back to our hotel, thinking about resting to load ourselves with energy and tomorrow continue to know this area of Chile with the tour to the Altiplanic Lagoons that we will start at 6 am.
Day 6: San Pedro de Atacama: Altiplanic Lagoons, Piedras Rojas and Salar de Atacama Tour - Astronomical Tour
