Best Things To Do In San Pedro de Atacama, Chile & Atacama Desert Tours

Visiting Chile and looking for what to do in the Atacama desert?

Chile’s desert is one of the main travel destinations in Chile. For good reason, there are a ton of sights and things to do in San Pedro de Atacama and around.

You can visit those “attractions” comfortably via guided Atacama Desert tours or venture out yourself with your own car.

Here’s our guide to the best things to do in the Atacama desert and recommendations on Atacama tours to visit those must-see places.

Atacama Desert Guide

---

Atacama Desert Things To Do & Atacama Desert Tours

Disclaimer: This article contains affiliate links. Full disclosure here. As an Amazon Associate, we may earn a small commission when you use the links and make a purchase at no additional cost to you. We also run ads to keep this blog running. All opinions are always our own. Many thanks for supporting our website.

What To Do In The Atacama Desert?

There are plenty of amazing things to do in the Atacama desert in Chile as well as in the adobe desert town of San Pedro de Atacama.

From volcanoes, hot springs, geyser fields, otherworldly landscapes to the best stargazing you will be able to explore many different sights and things to do.

Therefore, we split up the things to do in activities in San Pedro de Atacama and in Atacama desert activities outside of town.

(The things to do are listed in no particular order.)

Best Things To Do In The Atacama Desert

With the exception of Valle de la Muerte, the things to do listed below are all located far outside of San Pedro de Atacama town and require either a car to reach those sights or a guided tour.

Whichever option you chose, either one is doable and a matter of personal preference and available time in the Atacama desert in Chile.

1 | Valle de la Luna / Moon Valley

Most Popular Thing To Do In The Atacama Desert

The most popular thing to do in the Atacama desert is to visit Valle de la Luna, the Moon Valley. The valley is located just outside of San Pedro de Atacama and is a must-see.

As the name already gives away, the otherworldly rocky and sandy landscape makes you feel as if you were on the moon. Especially the famous rock wall in Valle de La Luna looks out of this world and is a popular photo spot in the Atacama desert.

Atacama Desert Must-See: The Sunset

The best time to visit the Moon Valley is in the evening hours before sunset. During this time the sun is low and creates a nice contrast over the rock formations.

For the actual sunset, walk up the famous sand dune and you will be rewarded with a majestic colorful sky as the sun disappears over the moonlike landscape.

If you only have a short period of time in San Pedro de Atacama, because you are only stopping by to go to the Uyuni Salt Flats in Bolivia for instance, try to squeeze in the Moon Valley if time allows.

Valle de la Luna is the best thing to see in the Atacama desert if you are short on time.

Bolivia Salt Flats Salar de Uyuni Guide

---

2 | Las Tres Marias (The Three Marias)

The Three Marias are located within the Valle de la Luna and are a sight to visit when you are visiting the Moon Valley.

3 | Lagunas Escondidas de Baltinache

The Most Unique Activity In San Pedro de Atacama

Floating in the Lagunas Escondidas de Baltinache is one of the most unique activities in San Pedro de Atacama.

The Escondidas de Baltinache lagoons are 7 turquoise lagoons so rich in salt that you will actually float. Just like in the Death Sea.

Out of the 7 lagoons, only two lagoons are open for swimming, however.

Take An Atacama Desert Tour To The Lagoons

To get to the Escondidas de Baltinache lagoons it is easiest to take a tour to the lagoons. It is about an hour’s drive (one way) to get there and 50 out of 60 kilometers are on a gravel road.

If you have a good SUV and are used to driving on dirt roads it is totally doable though. Just be prepared to drive 100 km on a dirt road.

You can book a tour to Lagunas Escondidas de Baltinache here.

Lagunas Escondidas de Baltinache Tours

4 | El Tatio Geysers

El Tatio is a geothermal field in the Atacama desert that boasts lots of geysers. The El Tatio geysers are located at 4,320 meters high. Together with Sol de Mañana, just across the border in Bolivia, El Tatio is the highest-altitude geyser field in the world.

The geysers are also the largest geyser field in the Southern Hemisphere and the third-largest in the world.

You will find steam vents, fumaroles, boiling mud pots, steaming soil, boiling water fountains, and hot springs at El Tatio geysers.

Sunrise Over El Tatio Geysers

Tours to the geysers usually start early in the morning to watch the sunrise over the steaming geothermal field, followed by a relaxing dip in the hot springs and breakfast before heading back to San Pedro again. It’s quite an early morning adventure, but visiting the El Tatio geysers should definitely be on your list of things to see in San Pedro de Atacama.

El Tatio Geyser Tours

5 | Puritama Hot Springs

The Most Relaxing Atacama Desert Activity

One of our favorite Atacama Desert things to do was to visit the Puritama Hot Springs outside of San Pedro de Atacama.

With all the dryness of the desert, you are in for a treat at the Termas de Puritama Hot Springs. The hot springs are probably the most relaxing Atacama desert activity you can do.

The natural hot springs are situated down in a canyon surrounded by lush green vegetation.

To learn more about these amazing hot springs in Chile, check out our post on the Puritama hot springs here.

If you don’t have a car you can reserve transportation to the hot springs here.

Puritama Hot Springs Tours

Visiting Termas de Puritama Hot Springs

---

6 | Salar de Atacama / Atacama Salt Flats

An Atacama Desert Must-Do

The Atacama Salt Flats are the biggest salt flats in Chile. The Salar de Atacama is the third largest salt flat in the world, after Salinas Grandes in Argentina and the iconic Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia.

The Salar de Atacama is the world’s largest and purest active source of lithium.

Salar de Atacama Tours

7 | Atacama Desert Stargazing

Due to its high altitude and seclusion from major cities, the Atacama desert is perfect for stargazing. There is most of the time no cloud coverage in the sky and if you just drive out of San Pedro de Atacama you will have no light pollution and can see the Atacama desert sky in all its clarity.

Atacama Desert Stargazing Tours

You can go on your own Atacama desert stargazing adventure or join an Atacama desert stargazing tour which will show you the best spots to see the stars.

8 | Valle del Arcoiris

A lesser-known sight to see in the Atacama Desert is the Valle del Arcoiris aka Rainbow Valley. Similar to the Artist’s Palette in California’s Death Valley, the rock formations boast a variety of colors against the usually red-beige/rocks and the blue sky.

The Atacama Rainbow Valley is located in the Rio Grande basin which is about an hour’s drive from San Pedro de Atacama.

Yerbas Buenas – Petroglyphs

Valle del Arcoiris tours usually include visiting the nearby Yerbas Buenas – Petroglyphs. There you will get to see thousands of petroglyphs carved into stone, some are said to be about 11,000 years old.

Rainbow Valley Atacama Desert Tours

9 | Flamingos At Laguna Chaxa

Most Picturesque Thing To Do In San Pedro de Atacama

One of the most picturesque places to visit in the Atacama desert is Laguna Chaxa. The salt lagoon attracts lots of flamingos looking for food. Shrimp in particular. Yes, you read right, there is shrimp in the desert!

It doesn’t get any prettier than watching flamingos eating shrimp in front of a volcano and that all doubled by an incredible mirror effect.

It’s quite a drive to get to this Atacama desert attraction, but a visit is well worth it. Especially if you are into photography Laguna Chaxa is one of the most incredible things to see in San Pedro de Atacama and take photos of, of course.

Book a day tour to Laguna Chaxa online.

Laguna Chaxa Tours

10 | Death Valley (Valle de la Muerte) Mars Valley

One Of The Most Popular Things To Do Near San Pedro de Atacama

Chile’s Death Valley (Valle de la Muerte) also known as Mars Valley is another top San Pedro de Atacama attraction as it is very easy to visit from the desert town.

The Valley of Death is only a bit more than 3 km from San Pedro de Atacama and can easily be reached by bicycle or car. When coming into San Pedro from Calama you can already see parts of the Valle de la Muerte from the road.

You will find otherworldy red rock formations and gigantic sand dunes at Chile’s Death Valley/Mars Valley.

11 | San Pedro de Atacama Sandboarding

Speaking of enormous dunes in Valle de la Muerte. The tall sand dunes are perfect for sandboarding.

So, if you are up for it, sandboarding in the Atacama desert is definitely one of the more active things to do near San Pedro de Atacama. Active, because what comes down must come up first. Before you can gracefully sandboard down the dunes, you gotta walk up and that’s no joke. 😉

12 | Lagunas Miscanti y Miñiques

High Altitude Atacama Sight

Lagunas Miscanti and Miñiques are two colorful lagoons located high up in the Andean altiplano.

The lagoons are located at an altitude of 4010 meters at the base of the Miscanti volcano. The colorful water and the reflection of the enormous volcano in the background make Laguna Miscanti and Miñiques a popular thing to see in the Atacama desert.

The lagoons are located within the Los Flamencos National Reserve, so you may see one or the other flamingo at the lake as well.

San Pedro de Atacama Lagoon Tours

More Atacama Desert Things To Do

Best Things To Do In San Pedro de Atacama

As you can see there are lots of amazing things to do and places to visit in the Atacama desert. But not only the desert has things to see and activities to offer, there are also a bunch of things that you can do and see in San Pedro de Atacama itself.

The following Atacama things to do are all located within the town of San Pedro de Atacama and are walkable.

13 | Calle Caracoles

Caracoles is the main street in San Pedro de Atacama. Here you will find lots of restaurants, tour agencies, and shops all housed in adobe buildings giving you the ultimate desert feeling. Also, wander off the main street the discover one or the other hidden gem of San Pedro de Atacama.

Strolling the streets of San Pedro de Atacama is a must-do and almost inevitable.

14 | Feria Artesanal San Pedro de Atacama

The handcrafts market is located next to the main plaza. Locals sell all kinds of arts and crafts like wooden crafts, local jewelry, ponchos, handmade blankets, etc. as well as souvenirs.

15 | Iglesia San Pedro

Right across from the arts and crafts market and next to the main plaza, there is the Church of San Pedro de Atacama.

The Iglesia San Pedro de Atacama is a Catholic church that was built during the Spanish colonial period in Chile. The church is reportedly the second oldest church in Chile.

If you are lucky and the church is open, you can have a look inside. The old historic adobe building is pretty interesting to see.

16 | Meteorite Museum

The San Pedro Meteorite Museum is located in geodesic domes in San Pedro and showcases a large collection of meteorites.

The Meteorite Museum has the largest collection of meteorites in the world that have fallen in the Atacama desert. 77 most relevant pieces are on display at the museum.

17 | Stay & Relax In A Cool Desert Hotel

If you can afford it, a must-do for the ultimate Chile desert experience, stay in one of the coolest and most luxurious hotels of the Atacama desert.

Below is a list of the coolest hotels in San Pedro de Atacama

18 | Explore San Pedro’s Restaurant Scene

There are a ton of amazing restaurants in San Pedro de Atacama. You should try out as many as you can. There is something for everyone.

Our favorite restaurant in San Pedro de Atacama is La Casona.

At lots of restaurants, you will have cool live music sets throughout the night.

Atacama Desert Tours

Multi-day Atacama Desert Tours

Aside from individual tours visiting a specific Atacama desert sight, there are also multiple-day tours that combine a bunch of sights over the course of multiple days.

These Atacama desert tours range from 3-day, 4-day, and 6-day tours. Some tours only offer transfers and meals while others also provide accommodation and airport transport in addition.

Most of the tours in Atacama are group tours, but there are a few that offer private trips as well.

In the following, you will find Atacama desert tours by the number of days of the trip.

3-Day Atacama Desert Tour

The 3-day Atacama desert tours are 3 days and 2 nights.

4-Day Atacama Desert Tour

The 4-day Atacama desert tours are 4 days and 3 nights.

6-Day Atacama Desert Tour

The 6-day Atacama desert tours are 6 days and 5 nights.

Atacama Without A Tour

It is absolutely possible to explore the Atacama desert without a tour. We have actually done both options. Atacama desert with and without a tour.

Both ways have their advantages and disadvantages. It all depends on what you are looking for, how independent you want to be and how comfortable you are exploring by yourself in the middle of a lonely desert.

Renting A Car In Calama

If you want to do your Atacama trip without a tour you have to rent a car at the Calama airport.

Make sure you rent an SUV as most of the time you will be driving on dirt roads.

Happy adventuring!

Summary: Things To Do In The Atacama Desert

To summarize this rather long post, here is a list of the best things to do in San Pedro de Atacama, Chile.

FAQ

Is San Pedro de Atacama worth it?

In short, the Atacama desert is absolutely worth visiting! The Atacama desert is Chile’s second most popular place to visit.

There are many cool and diverse things to do in the Atacama desert and in San Pedro. If you like the desert, you will definitely have a great time in Chile’s Desierto de Atacama.

How many days do you need in San Pedro de Atacama?

Since there are a lot of cool things to do in San Pedro de Atacama we recommend staying as many days as you can. We have visited the Atacama desert multiple times on shorter trips and still haven’t done and seen everything.

We recommend staying at least 2 nights as a bare minimum to get a glimpse of Chile’s desert town and exploring some of the things to do in the Atacama desert. If you can stay 4 nights plus, it will give you more time to explore the Atacama desert and its amazing landscape further.

What is San Pedro de Atacama known for?

The Atacama desert is the driest desert in the world. It boasts otherworldly landscapes and has an incredibly clear sky which is great for stargazing. In the Atacama Salt Flat also holds most of the world’s lithium reserves.

Best Things To Do In San Pedro De Atacama

We hope you found our guide to the best things to do in San Pedro de Atacama helpful and got inspired to visit the Atacama desert in Chile.