Well well……I was up at 2.30 this morning for a 5.15 flight to Calama . One and three quarters of an hour’s flight to this once copper capital (till the mines in Chuquicamata were dismantled in 2003), it now serves as the gateway to the geological and archaeological wonders of Chile’s high central desert. It was bright and cold at this time of the day. We got a transfer to San Pedro de Atacama,a small village located in one of the many oases which are found in the altiplano of the second region of Chile. The 100 km drive through mindless barren landscape was a wake up call early in the morning, preparing me for the day.
Landscape - Calama to San Pedro de Atacama
The Hotel Altiplanico lies just outside the little village and consists of mud cottages spread out over a few acres of land that has taken some hard work to sprout some vegetation. The place is absolutely gorgeous. Dumping our luggage and after a light breakfast we were out to explore San Pedro de Atacama. This village town of 2500 sits at the foothills of the Andes cordillera and is between the Andes and the Domeyko ranges. Today it is the base camp for all explorations of the extreme landscape consisting of the Valle de Luna, Death Valley, El Tatio Geysers, Toconao, Puritama Hot Springs, Tara Salt Lakes etc.
The Hotel Altiplanico
With a few unpaved roads criss-crossing at right angles, it takes one hour at a leisurely pace to walk through San Pedro de Atacama. Our first stop was at the church whose antecedents are unknown, though it it served as a parish in 1641. This white building forms an impressive sight against the splendid blue skies so characteristic of this region.
The Church at San Pedro de Atacama
There is an archaeological museum, an indigenous craft market, the municipal offices and the Carabineros (police station) sitting around the church. We then strolled through the rest of the town, the main street is Caracoles and is a host to all the major restaurants, tour operators, many lodges and crafts shops. It also has expedition specialists who can take you for sand boarding or mountain biking in the Death Valley. By now the dry desert heat could be felt. It wasn’t unbearable though. This town has a rustic appeal and all efforts have been made to preserve its charm which reflects in every building, street corner, grocery store and restaurant we came across. It seemed frozen in history.
Streets of San Pedro de Atacama
Lunch was exciting in this inconspicuous restaurant La Estaka, which attracted our attention when the waiter was writing the board outside for the day’s ‘Promociones’ or special menu and guess why we went in – it had Pollo Curry (pronounced ‘cooorie’) and this foodie seriously wanted to know how a Chileno makes chicken curry in Atacama! Surprise, surprise! It was a treat indeed as the food was served in a coconut shell and tasted awesome, though concocted in a Indo-Thai-Chileno kinda way!
A glass of chilled Chilean Chardonnay was bliss. From here we walked back to the hotel to prepare for the next half of the day – a journey to the Moon Valley.
Valle de la Luna - Moon Valley
At 3.30 pm we left with a group over eager and sporting people who came from Spain, Columbia, Chile and Argentina leaving us two screaming for some attention over our non-Hispanic heritage! When we could explain that we weren’t from Latin America and just spoke enough Spanish to ask for a bottle of ‘sin gas agua’ – they turned around and tried impressing us with their English skills (ignorant ‘us’).
This completely off the road journey through the rocks and dunes of the desert was fascinating. We walked through a canyon for 3 miles and at one point quietly sat and heard the constant cracking of the salt rocks, ducked behind rocks to avoid gusts of dark sand blowing and felt like ‘adventurists’ after climbing a 1000 feet to view the sunset on the lunar scape and the Andes changing colour with the setting sun. You will read about the landscape in details in formal literature and tourist guides but let me tell you just being in a car is not enough to soak it in. A certain level of fitness would help and a good 5-7 miles walk through this scape is inevitable.
Climb to a Dune
This valley is surrounded by the Andean volcanoes which look majestic and glow with the setting sun and with not a speck of vegetation in sight it is a different kind of a desert. The mineral content makes the sand darker than probably the Sahara or other Middle-eastern deserts we often see pictures of and whether the moon resembles this landscape only Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin will tell, but the eternal tourist in me is impressed enough to recommend a visit to this part of the world!
Volcan Licancabur - 5950 metres reflecting the setting sun
Back in the hotel penning my thoughts in the lobby (wi-fi available here for free) I have to call it a day – the wake up call is at 3 am for an early start to the Tatio Geysers and more tomorrow. Hard work eh!
More tomorrow.
Looks amazing.