Atacama desert expeditions, tours and trips

details of our traditional style lodge in San Pedro

Atacama desert - tours in and around San Pedro

Expeditions into the Atacama desert, which is the driest desert in the world and perhaps also the most beautiful, are best taken with a guide. From Terrantai lodge, our native style hotel in San Pedro de Atacama, we provide excursions every day with bilingual guides specialising in Spanish and English. The programs have been designes with experience accumulated during 16 years of operations in the Atacama desert.

Three main expeditions are offered, but trips can also be tailored to your individual requirements if necessary.

The first tour goes from San Pedro to the great Atacama salt flat, known as the Salaar. This is a tectonic river basin of more than 100km with 30% of the world's lithium reserves. Near the centre of the Salaar are the Chaxas and Barros Negros lagoons where Andean flamingoes nest and feed. Coming back we visit the village of Toconao and the Jeri valley, an oasis which stands out against the barren surroundings. In the afternoon an expedition to the cordillera de la Sal shows the impressive geological formations and multi-coloured sediments which constitute the Valley of the Moon. You can take a hike through the interior valleys and visit caves and abandoned salt mines, and later you will have the opportunity to see sunset in the Valley of the Moon.

Another tour leaves very early in the morning in order to get into the cordillera of the Andes to El Tatio geysers where the planet's geothermal energy is visible to man. The geysers burst forth at sunrise, in a plain surrounded by volcanoes.

An exciting expedition goes to see the petroglyphs in the Hiervas Buena Gorge in the direction of Calama. Here an impressive collection of rock designs tells the ancient history of life in the Atacama.

Walks in and around San pedro take you to the little villages and ancient fortresses that remain. San pedro itself is full of history and charm, with a church dating from the 1540s, one of the earliest Spanish buildings in Chile.

Trips are arranged from our hotel, Terrantai Lodge, a traditional native style building in the heart of San Pedro.

Homepage Hotel Terrantai, San Pedro Atacama Chile

website: http://www.terrantai.com

email: http://www.terrantai.com/contacto/

At Terrantai hotel we can give you comfortable lodging in a traditional top class hotel - no concrete. We can arrange expeditions, trips and tours, touren und reisen into the surrounding countryside or the famous salt lake, feed you well in our excellent restaurant and introduce to the culture, people and crafts of the Atacama desert. Your holiday in the Atacama desert will be a special experience