The Atacama desert is another world. Stark valleys and high-altitude geological wonders that are nothing short of mesmerizing. Night skies clear enough to see other galaxies with the naked eye. The popular town of San Pedro is isolated and overgrown with tourism, yet it remains the optimal base for excursions, especially when connecting to Bolivia by booking a tour of the Uyuni salt flats.

 

 

However, I felt stranded and didn’t do all that much. The sites are heavily based on booking tours, and I hate the feeling of having my hand held. I picked a single organized excursion  that gave me a feel for several aspects I was searching for.

SP town was crowded and full of pizzerias so I didn’t hang out there, despite the pretty church. I did love the backpackers and staff at Hostal Laskar and the nature I encountered, but by the end of my three-day visit I was pushing my tolerance.

 

San Pedro is not budget friendly, but is completely doable on a budget.

For me, this meant skipping out on $25-sandboarding (not sliding on belly but by using a snowboard)*, and renting more bikes and less vans** (they ranged from scooby doo-style decked in hippie patterns to monstrous beasts that should probably belong instead to the military).

Oh, and definitely do your laundry anywhere outside of SP. Unless you like paying $5/kilo, then go ahead and be the guest of the washing machines of the driest place on earth.

*Sandboarding alternatives: A group from my hostel rented bikes and boards which together was about $8 per person, and went to “the dune” in Valle del Muerte on their own. My roommate biked to the valley, and saw other backpackers sliding on their stomachs on a wooden plank so he joined them. Further south in Chile, the Concon dune by Valparaiso offers sandboarding for $1.50/hour.

**Ironically I arrived for the second time to SP via my friend’s camper van in May 2018, and spent three days loving everything SP while spending close to nothing. Post on The Great Chilean Road Trip coming soon eventually!

 

 

Getting There

Coming from the north, I took an overnight bus with Turbus from Arica, 11 hours, $16.

From the south, daily busses run from both Santiago and Valparaiso, 23 hours, $40. However, one-way plane tickets from SCL International Airport may be found last-minute for $30 to Calama, a town one hour away with plentiful busses to San Pedro.
 

Accommodation

Laskar seemed to be one of the cheapest at around $15 with hot water, kitchen, and an awesome location. However, prices have been rising across all boards and I recommend looking at updated options by filtering for lowest price first at Agoda.com. For a party hostel try Cimas del Sol, though I would’ve hated to be so far from town.

 

 
Eating

There was plenty of good dining, I just didn’t want to pay. So far the consensus seems to be that Chilean food is mediocre, but the focus here was on Western food and empanadas anyway.

I went to the mini-markets for eggs or bread and some produce (low key avocado-toasting my way around the world). The rest of my fruit and vegetables came from the fruit trucks located between the bus terminal and town center, including the crunchiest grapes of my life. I ate for under $3 a day .  A block away were a line of food stalls selling meals for around $3.
 

September 2018 Update

Two years ago I was far more frugal. This time I was traveling with Fritz and his van named Bob; we were not paying for accommodation.

So if you need a treat like we certainly did, try the fresh loaves at Franchuteria. It’s not cheap, but it’s the nicest bakery in town—think outdoor seating strung with lights and working Wifi.

Fruit trucks are still fresh and affordable. I continue to recommend Chilean grapes. Cool down with a refreshing mote con huesillo, a very Chilean cup of sweetness, located in the same parking lot.

 

 

See and Do

Some popular excursions that I passed on include Laguna Miscanti. Lagunas Altiplanicas, and of course Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia.
 

September 2018 Update

I’m obsessed with stargazing. For two years I regretted not trying harder to enjoy the astronomic wonders of the best place in the world to do just that.

Really—the Atacama desert is the top hit on any quick “Best Places in the World to Stargaze” Google search.

I had a wonderful time with the muy amable Eduardo and his telescope from Orion Astronomía. Eduardo was super accommodating of the whole group and went out of his way to make ensure we had a engaging, yet relaxing, experience.

The night starts with shuttle pick-up from any hostel. Normally around $30 for two hours of starry fun with some wine and cheese on the side, I was treated for free. Fritz had recently learned how to take star photos with his Olympus E-M10, Eduardo needed a photographer, and I was the designated model.

If you truly appreciate astronomy, do double check all facts stated during the tour (or any tour you ever take, for that matter…last month we were told by a Machu Picchu security guard that the ruins were discovered in the 1980s).

Shoutout to Fritz for unintentionally making €100 in three weeks with his photography.

 

Valle de la Muerte

Day 9 (am)

In the morning I rented a bike for the full day, $9 from any tour agency in the center of town. Following directions on the map provided, I followed the clearly marked signs on the main highway to Valle de la Muerte, which translates to Death Valley. The French priest who discovered it tried to name “Mars Valley,” but the locals heard “muerte.”

Entry is $4.50, or $3 for students.

It took about two hours of riding and dragging my bike uphill through dirt paths and sometimes straight sand, before reaching the mirador, marked by a small house at the top of a hill (which turned out to be a restroom with a killer view).

This valley is also where the designated sandboarding dune resides, the Duna Mayor, and a tour was ongoing during my visit. The day before a Swiss couple at my hostel was laughing at the sandboarding tour van blaring music in the middle of the desert. Sure enough, it was parked at the base of the dune, a group of a dozen were attempting the sport, I heard American accents.

Lastly, a personal warning: beware of the cracked surface of the floor near the entrance to the valley. A seemingly harmless layer of white, dried out minerals, should’ve served as the perfect base for a cool-looking handstand. I ended up getting majorly stuck and my new shoes were suddenly the thickest mud blobs known to man.

 

 

Valle de la Luna

Day 9 (pm)

After a short break at the hostel I went biking again, this time with my roommate Leandro. We didn’t reach the ticket office until 5:00pm, putting us on a tight schedule to catch the must-see sunset. There are many viewpoints and stops in the valley and ideally I would’ve had more time; it’ better to arrive around 2 or 3pm.

The Valle de La Luna ticket office is quite nice, with clean bathrooms, reminding me of American national parks. For students, entry is $3.75. Depending on weather conditions, different sites may be closed off in the valley. Leandro and I only had time to beeline for this valley’s Duna Mayor, where all the tour groups and other bikers congregate between 6:15 and 7:00pm for the last bits of daylight.

The formations and white layers of minerals took my imagination away from planet earth for the second time in one day. The scenery was that dreamy, perfect sunset I think of when I close my eyes. The earth was a warm yellow, while the mountains and skies were pinks and purples.

At exactly 7:00 the park staff shooed all of us off the big hill. Happy, we flew down the hills back to town. At one point my bike caved to all the sand and I leaped off to save myself. By the end of the journey, I was in a state of pure exhaustion, pissed that biking in the dark wasn’t ending sooner.

 

Geysers del Tatio

I picked the geysers since I felt the scenery would be most new for me.

Day 10

The first time I got up at 4:30am, I waited outside my hostel from 5:00-6:00 freezing my butt off, getting left behind with two other girls from Germany. Don’t do that.

Day 11

Make sure the agency absolutely has your hostel clearly marked. Many partner up, so I ended up on the same tour shuttle as a Dutch couple from my hostel. I booked with Hostelling International, which is where the confusion was because I didn’t actually stay at that hostel, and the overall agency is a around the corner with a name I can’t remember but starts with a K. Bilingual guide, breakfast, $27. Standard.

I brought all the layers I had. Everyone snoozed for the 90-minute drive, during which I could feel my legs getting colder. By the ticket entrance, $3 for students, we had already sacrificed having sensation in our extremities.

Numb, I walked with my group through the largest field of geothermal bubbles and steam south of the equator. Things improved at sunrise as we returned to the shuttle to help ourselves to a table of bread, deli, cookies, cereal, coffee, tea. The hot water quickly went.

The ride back became somewhat of a Chilean safari. We spotted vicuñas, “Pikachus,” and at least two of the three flamingo species found here. That made my day, since it was low season for the birds, and I had been eyeing Los Flamencos National Reserve but didn’t want to break my wallet.

We got back to San Pedro before noon, toasty once again from the sunshine and cloudless desert skies.

I had a night bus for La Serena, 16 hours, $30. I realized at the rate I was bussing, I was giving my spine a rapidly approaching expiration date.

The rest of my day was spent dealing with miscellaneous details such as malfunctioning laptops and ATMs, and overwhelming search results on hostel world and couch surfing.

 

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