In mid-February, I flew to the north of Chile, near the borders of Argentina and Bolivia, to visit the town of San Pedro de Atacama. The town of 500 people is more or less a stepping stone for the wide variety of nature around it, including the third-largest salt flat in the world, active volcanoes at 15,000+ feet above sea level and a desert in the driest place on earth.
After taking a two-hour bus ride from the airport, I set up camp in Atacama and planned my excursions. The first was to Tatio Geysers. These are the third largest geysers in the world as well, just behind Yellowstone Park in the US and a reserve in Russia. Even though there are markers discouraging you from entering the geysers, several people die every year from burns from the extremely hot water.
The next excursion was a hike to Moon Valley (Valle de la Luna), where the territory literally resembles what you'd imagine the moon to look like. The day ended here with a spectacular sunset.
The following day, I headed to Salar de Tara, a series of salt flats. To get there, you have to take a long and windy road, reaching altitudes of nearly 16,000 feet. Trust me, even after several days of acclimation, you feel it when you leave the van and start walking. In the Salar were hundreds of flamingos as well as llamas and vicunas. I got to try grilled llama during a stopover.
The final day was a trek along the altiplano, a series of plateaus in the middle of the desert with a backdrop of volcanoes, along with two spectacular lakes smack in the middle. This desert was actually declared the driest place on earth by National Geographic.
Click here to see more photos from my latest adventure.
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