From The Purest Place On Earth To The Driest

From The Purest Place On Earth To The Driest Place On Earth

Having lived in New Zealand, one of the most beautiful and purest places on the planet, I never had much of a desire to travel. Only a few hours away from me were mountains, I was surrounded by volcanoes and I had the beach on my doorstep, what more did I need?

Then I heard about San Pedro De Atacama, the driest place on earth. Well that is one thing New Zealand does not have, I thought to myself... desert. As well as being the driest place on earth, it was also the best place in the world to see stars.

I left from North Argentina, crossing the Andes to Chile.... It was very strange as I have been in the desert before and I had always thought the desert is primarily sand but in San Pedro De Atacama it is primarily rock. The rocks have beautiful colours because of all of the minerals and I ended up staying in the desert for 3 weeks because of the diversity and how much was on offer to experience. It is a very tough place to be because it is so dry and the extreme climate means it goes from intense heat to extreme cold, my health suffered a lot but I learned a lot too and it amazed me how people can adapt to living in such an environment without problems.

I did not like the town of San Pedro itself, it is very touristy and loses the heart that the south of Chile has but the scenery around the town is incredible. It is the best place in the world to see stars because the sky is so clear and I saw Pluto and Mars for the first time. There are also many interesting lakes and rocks which have different and unique identities; like a lake that is so full of salt that it is impossible to drowned in it even if you can’t swim and a rock in the desert that is naturally shaped by the wind into the form of a face. This is something, which has made the Easter Islands so popular to visit, but for me here it was more special because unlike in the Easter islands, in San Pedro de Atacama it was natural. The animals are also really curious, from different forms of camels, llamas, alpacas, flamingoes to rats that have the body and characteristics of a rabbit.... It is a really special place with so much diversity that never failed to amaze me.

What I was most fascinated by was that I was able to experience so many different environments and cultural identities from such a little town. I visited the tourist sites with a popular company called CosmoAndino (website: cosmoandino.cl). I initially only planed to visit one or two spots not feeling the need to go and visit the Tatio geysers having lived in a country that had its very own geysers in Rotorua in the north. However, the charming owner, Martin Beeris, persuaded me that the geysers in San Pedro de Atacama were quite different and the Tatio geysers here would without a shadow of a doubt be completely different to what I had experienced in New Zealand.

I am glad I took his advice, because out of everywhere I visited in San Pedro de Atacama the tour to the Tatio geysers is by far the most interesting and I had an exceptional guide who pointed out things that I do not think even the locals knew about. What impressed me most about the Tatio Tour was not so much the geysers, although it can not disputed that they are impressive, spanning over 10kms2 and varying in form and presentation making each one unique and special in its own way.

I was more impressed by the diversity of the surrounding area, the unique animals and plants, the smells, the feeling of isolation, the little indigenous villages that we passed along the way where eggs are thrown at the church bell at New Year as a celebration. The only way I can describe it is that I felt like I was in a sci-fi movie, nothing felt or looked real yet, I was standing right in the middle of it, it was truly surreal and special.

Most people dash through Sand Pedro with only a few days to spare but to really know the culture, the spirit the land you need a few weeks. However, if you are in a hurry here are my top recommendations:

Top Tourist Tours Offered by CosmoAndino (contact:

reservas@coosmoandino.cl):

1. Tatios

2. Salar De Tara

3. Laguna Cejar

4. Lagunas Altiplanicio

Other recommendations:

1. Star gazing – this can be done individually or as part of a diner. I recommend it as part of a dinner with On Safari Atacama who also offer quad bike tours of moon valley, another popular tourist site.

2. Taking a bike ride through the canyon along the river

3. If you’re interested in indigenous culture, contact Jorge Munoz who is part of the indigenous community that founded San Pedro De Atacama. His family have a small hostel and campsite where you can stay and he can take you on independent indigenous tours to explore the rock art and nearby ancient and indigenous villages through the eyes of a local: https://www.facebook.com/jorge.munoz.3348390?fref=ts

Companies to avoid:

Many Bolivian Tour operators have set up in San Pedro de Atacama and operate in a cowboy fashion. They mainly take tourists across the border to the popular tourist destination, Salar De Uyuni (the largest salt flat in the world) but despite offering cheap backpacker prices there are many complaints of tours only being available in Spanish with the guide having only a small grasp of English and I have even heard of some using very old vehicles that break down on route. The worst of the bunch is a company called World White Travel who seems to tell its customers anything to make a sale even though on many occasions it is unable to deliver.

You will also find many street hustlers in San Pedro, trying to sell anything for a bit of commission, both quality and safety are much more guaranteed at the better established companies like CosmoAndino.

If you are on a budget and want to see the salt flats in Bolivia cross the border yourself by bus and get a tour for a cheaper price from the small town of Uyuni on the Bolivian side. For the more adventurous, it is also quite easy to get to the salt flats independently from the Bolivian town of Uyuni, they are about 15 kms away so you will most likely have to hitch a ride but there is a fairly constant stream of traffic going that way and mostly tourists.

ends

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