In the north of Chile on the border of Bolivia is the hot, dusty town of San Pedro de Atacama.
Nestled in the Andes mountains, San Pedro de Atacama is the world’s highest desert. With stunning views of the surrounding mountains, scorching summer temperatures and adobe buildings lining the dusty streets, it’s a tourist town worth a visit.
The main streets of San Pedro are lined with restaurants and travel agencies. In the middle of the day, it’s a relatively quiet and sleepy place. Most locals and many tourists are out of the sun and the streets are almost deserted. At night the popular Caracoles street is busy with people moving between bars and restaurants.
The local agencies will organise tours out to the various valleys and desert areas with a couple of hours notice, you just need to pick one you like. I booked the Valle de la Luna (Moon Valley) tour on the day that I arrived. Departing at 4pm everyday most agencies offer a sunset tour of the valley including a stop at the rock caverns where you can take the winding and sometimes claustrophobic path through the salt rocks, as well as a desert and dune walk before finally stopping to watch the sunset over Valle de la Luna.
Valle de la Luna really does look like the surface of the moon, or at least how I believe it looks.
Thousands of people gather each evening to watch the sun go down so whilst your certainly not going to be enjoying the view alone, it’s a nice way to end the day.
With many hostels to chose from and the gateway out of the Bolivian Salt Flats, I suggest stopping for a day or two in San Pedro de Atacama before heading further south into Chile.
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