High in the Atacama Desert, standing on Toco
In the light of the recent global attention on the Atacama desert following the just magnificent rescue of the miners from the San José mine, I though we deserved a picture of the Atacama.
This photo of our client, David Jones, sums it up for me.
This is him standing up on top of Toco Volcano. This forms part of our Atacama Patagonia walking holiday. It’s really a fairly short walk since we drive you up and out of San Pedro to the trailhead near the top.
However, you are still gaining about 600m altitude and that’s starting at 5,000m. That’s right, this photo is taken at just over 5,600m which is very much equivalent to the altitude of Kilamanjaro. Of course South America, and Chile/Argentina in particular have rather a lot of very high mountains.
Toco is somewhat overshadowed by the next door Licancabur Volcano. But to climb Licancabur is a real expedition. To climb Toco is a walk, a lung-straining walk, but nothing more than a slow walk.
At the top, the reward is the view. The landscape all around is over 3,000m below your feet. That’s almost 2 miles of space underneath you. The views are incredible, particularly given the purity of the air in these parts.
You can see into Bolivia and Argentina. It is the sort of place you feel quite elated, partly because of the views and the sense of achievement, and partly because you know you will be out of the cold and back in San Pedro in time for a late lunch.
I just thought this photo sums up the beauty and joy of the Atacama Desert and mirrors the elation we saw when the miners came out into the fresh air after 69 days. Makes you appreciate the joy of being outdoors, which is really the whole point of our holidays.
Find out more about our walking holidays to Chile.
Peaceful lagoon in the Atacama salt flats
At Pura Aventura we try to do things a bit differently, that’s why we have our Pura Handmade range of holidays.
Chile’s Atacama Desert is a prime example.
The Atacama is a popular destination with a well-worn checklist of excursions. Whilst these are beautiful, we prefer to stay off the beaten track. We think that it’s better to be outside in the fresh air with a few people than travelling in a crowd.
Sunset in the desert
The usual way is to drive out of town to the rim of the Valley of the Moon, then walk just to the edge from where you watch the sun setting over the desert. On a busy day there can be over a hundred people sitting in a long line.
Our way is to drive out of town to the rim of a valley; walk down across a sand dune; over a short stretch of salt flat and into a narrow gorge in the salt mountains. As you follow the gorge, the air cools and the rocks crackle, with bats and owls flying overhead. Emerge into a natural amphitheatre hidden away in the middle of the hills, from where you watch the sunset.
The salt flats and lagoons
The usual way is to drive a dirt road to the large lagoons in the heart of the salt flats; have time to wander, take in the scenery and watch the large colony of flamingoes before returning by vehicle.
Our way is to ride bikes straight from your hotel to a series of small lagoons towards the northern edge of the salt flats, close to San Pedro where you have time to wander, swim and watch a smaller colony of flamingoes.
Special places
We also take you to places with nothing comparable on the usual tours. Walk down through the mountains from high oases to low villages following ancient Inca pathways. Most spectacular of all is the walk up to the heady heights of Toco volcano.
Tatio geysers
The one ‘checklist’ place we do take you to are the Tatio geysers. Whilst spectacular, you can expect really quite significant visitor numbers you can expect. This photo was taken in November which is not the busiest time of year.
Early morning crowds at the Tatio Geysers in Chile's Atacama Desert
We really think that our exploration of the Atacama desert is different and better than that offered by anyone else.
“The Atacama surpassed all our expectations, summiting Toco in glorious sunshine with snow on the ground was brilliant.”
Read more about our Atacama Patagonia walking holiday in Chile.
The moon as seen from Chile's Atacama Salt Flats
I’m cheating a bit here as this photo was taken by my mother so I can’t claim it as my own. This photo was taken with a ‘point and shoot’ camera held up to the viewfinder of the telescope – no trickery or crazy lenses.
Last October/November my parents travelled around South America for a well deserved treat after a lifetime of working and raising three of us boys. By early November they had made it to Chile’s Atacama Desert having joined our Atacama Patagonia walking holiday group.
The combination of walking in the Atacama and Patagonia is a fairly common offering amongst tour operators to South America which is precisely why we try to do things differently. Go places other people do not, get away from the obvious to find hidden gems. This photos is a perfect example.
A few years back we discovered a French astronomer living on the edge of the salt flats near the town of San Pedro. He offered to take our clients out into the salt flats, away from any light pollution, set up some telescopes and introduce everyone to the night skies of the southern hemisphere. People enjoyed it so much that we have included it as part of the holiday ever since.
For me, this photo does two things. Firstly it reminds me how wonderful it is to be away from atmospheric and light pollution, it really is rejuvenating. Secondly, this photo makes me want to stop and stare. This is either going to be horribly corny or a statement of the bleedin’ obvious but I suspect that the romance of the moon landings has never really faded, even for those of us born after the event.
The moon is a constant presence which most of us just take for granted and yet it is completely unknown to most of us. This photo lets me stop and stare, to explore and imagine the physical features of the moon really quite vividly. I hope you enjoy it too.
Read more about our holidays to Chile or read our guide to Chile.
If you would like to go on a walking holiday to Chile and see the moon close up, as well as the rings of Saturn, the red glow of Mars…then take a look at our Atacama Patagonia holiday.