San Pedro de Atacama

One final trip into Chile, and to perhaps the most touristy place yet, San Pedro de Atacama

Back to Chile

The fifth and final time we will enter Chile. The 90 minutes or so at 4,000m at 8am was both freezing and unwelcome. The border guards began their shift with gusto, checking every single coach passenger’s belongings thoroughly.

After the border the coach climbed to above 4,900m and into the snow. Volcanic peaks surrounded the coach. The scenery is out of this world, but the altitude is tough. Luckily San Pedro is back down at a much more tolerable 2,600m.

San Pedro is an isolated little town which wasn’t our cup of tea at all. Being the only settlement of size up in the scenic part of the Atacama desert, the town is a honeypot for international tourists. The main thoroughfare (not really a street but a first track) is entirely lined with tour agencies promoting and reselling the same roster of expensive day trips. Opaque pricing practices make for some stressful decision making, and that nagging feeling that you’re overpaying.

We’re on the both the backpacker trail and the holidaymaker trail here, and consequently the town felt rather crowded. Possibly the busiest feeling place we’ve been so far. Stripping away the crowds, tour agencies, and souvenir shops, the place is actually rather pretty. Small colonial style houses line streets with spectacular views of the Licancabur volcano. The town square with its smart and surprisingly large green trees is a nice respite from the bustling Main Street, on one side the small church with its cactus wood gates and roof is a worthwhile detour.

The town was the first place in South America we encountered large numbers of Brits. Most of them the younger gap year types. As we know large groups of Brits abroad don’t exactly ingratiate themselves with the locals. Luckily there were no locals here to annoy, only other tourists and tourists working to fund their travels. If El Chalten was the most expensive place in Argentina, San Pedro must be the most expensive place in the whole of South America. Early morning tours and expensive drinks at least temper the atmosphere in town. Not that we were about to notice, the night bus took its toll and early nights all round were necessary.

Tatio Geysers and astronomy tour. When in Rome

Do as the tourists do and pay a small fortune for a minibus tour.

Tatio geysers are indeed a world famous spot and certainly worth a visit. At 5:30 we were collected from our hostel and driven an hour and a half north to experience sunrise at the geysers.

At 4,300m, just before sunrise is a very cold time, minus 4 degrees to be precise. The boiling geysers give off large amounts of steam, and naturally the plumes are largest in the coldest temperatures. As the sun comes up it’s an extraordinary sight.

In the evening we went on the ‘astronomico’ tour. Its was good fun, if a little overpriced like everything else. Our guide excitedly pointed out different star types, nebulae, galaxies and dust clouds. Once he felt he’s lost the crowd he half-heartedly pointed out some constellations too. An array of telescopes were set up to observe some salient objects: the sombrero galaxy, Orion nebula, globular cluster, and jewel box cluster. Again the guide lost the crowd explaining the mechanics of the telescopes and how the images are created, but I enjoyed it at least.

As a cheesy memento we were photographed in front of the Milky Way. It’s extremely cringeworthy, but for all its faults it’s an accurate representation of what the sky looked like behind us. It’s not at all faked.

Whilst all this was going on the stars remained spectacular. Simply the best I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen stars in Presteigne.