Excursions for the Atacama Desert region
of Northern Chile from Latin Trip, the best tours at the best prices from
people who know Chile best.
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our Internet reservation and information request form
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select just the right tour for you at 1-800-811-8829 fom the USA or Canada.
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ARICA CITY
TOUR Code: ARI401.
$50 Per Person
Duration: Half day.
Frequency: Daily, year-round.
Includes: Regular transportation,Guide,
Entrance fees for museums,Crafts.
Itinerary: The tour begins
with a drive along the beaches of La Lisera and El Laucho on Costanera.This
offers an close look at the fishing industry, now the city’s most important
commercial enterprise. From there, continue to the fertile Azapa Valley.
Enjoy the glorious flower patches, olive groves and mango and passion fruit
plantations, then proceed to Sombrero and Sagrado hills and their enigimatic
geoglyphs. Visit the San Miguel Archaeological Museum to see mummies from
the Chinchorro culture 10,000 years old, these are the oldest such specimens
in the world as well as impressive collections of ancient basketry and
pottery. Return to the center of the city and the craft market, then, for
a breathtaking city and harbor views, ascend El Morro, scene of one of
the battles of the War of the Pacific (1879-84). Finish with a trip downtown
where architectural highlights include the impressive Ferrocarril Arica-La
Paz Station and two works of Alexandre Gustave Eiffel: Aduana, the customs
house, and the Gothic-style Cathedral of San Marcos. Return to the hotel.
LAUCA NATIONAL
PARK AND CHUNGARA LAKE Code:ARI501. $75Per
Person lunch included
Duration:Full day.
Frequency:Daily, year-round
(except on Mondays).
Includes:Regular basis transportation,
Guide,Lunch,Crafts,Entrance fees for national park and protected wilderness
area.
Itinerary:The excursion starts
on the international road to Bolivia and turns inland to the Lluta Valley,
which is dotted with grand estates and farms. Visit villages like Poconchile,
a pre-Inca settlement that boasts one of the oldest churches in the country,
the 17th-century Church of San Gerónimo. Proceed to the gorge or
ravine of Cardones to admire the picturesque cacti candelabros, which stand
as tall as 15 feet and branch out in all directions. Take in the vistas
at Copaquilla, a cliff-clinging fortress that dates back to the 12th century,
and zigzag up to the town of Putre, 11,000 feet above sea level. Next,
enter Lauca National Park which is dominated by volcanos Parinacota, Pomarape
and the always smoldering Guallatire. The park encloses the gloriously
emerald Cotacotani Lagoon, habitat for wild llamas, guanacos, alpacas,
vicuñas, and vizcachas, as well as Chungará Lake, which,
at 14,800 feet, teems with unusual bird life such as gigantic taguas, or
coots, and Chilean flamingos. On the way back, stop at Parinacota, the
pre-Hispanic village to see the quaint mud homes and 17th-century colonial
church. After lunch, admire the architecture in the town of Putre carved-stone
portals adorn the entrances to most houses and craft workshops. Return
to Arica.
ROUTE TO
THE GEOGLYPHS BETWEEN ARICA AND IQUIQUE Code: ARI502.$ Upon
request
Duration: Full day.
Frequency: Daily, year-round.
Included:Private transportation
(by car or minibus),Guide, Box lunch in route, Entrance fees for national
park or protected wilderness areas.
Itinerary:To trace the footprints
left by the ancient civilizations of the region head towards the South
of Arica. Through the Pampas of Chaca and down to Punta Camarones, appreciate
a welcome contrast to the dry hilly horizon: a verdant agricultural valley.
Then, take note of the geoglyphs on the steep, rocky hills of Chiza, and
continue to study the geoglyphs of Tiliviche in the Pampa of Tana. Stop
at the British Cemetary where 100 tombs from the late 19th century overlook
the desert. Enjoy a box lunch en route to Pampa of Tamarugal, a national
reserve famous for its tamarugos, or desert trees. Deviate to the town
of Huara and Unita Hill, which slope is dominated by the Giant of the Atacama,
an 800-foot tall human image, one of the most important pre-historic anthropological
finds in the country.
IQUIQUE CITY
TOUR Code: IQQ401.$25
Per Person
Duration: Half day.
Frequency: Daily, year-round.
Includes:Private transportation
(car or minibus),Guide,Entrance fee for museum.
Itinerary:Evidence of Iquique’s
Golden Age fueled by Chile’s 19th-century nitrate boom is apparent with
a drive through this coastal city, which is now supported by the fishing
industry. Pass the beaches and avenues of the city’s southern section,
then continue to the historical quarter and Baquedano Avenue, the city’s
main thoroughfare noted for its unique wood Georgian/American-style
homes built around the turn of the century and Astoreca Palace, a museum
that encompasses the Culture House as well as an interesting marine shell
collection. Next, stroll around Plaza Pratt notice the ancient trees and
soaring palms where the clock tower (constructed in 1877), the neo-classic
Municipal Theater and the Moorish (all stucco, wood, and fanciful Don Quijote
murals) Centro Español are located. In front of the Ferrocarril
Arica-La Paz Station, ponder the Monument of the Unknown Sailor, a statue
built in honor of all those who perished during the War of the Pacific,
which lasted from 1879 to 1884, between Chile, Bolivia and Peru. Return.
THE GEOGLYPHS
AND PICA OASIS AND MATILLA Code: IQQ501.$
84 Per Person Lunch Included.
Duration: Full day.
Frequency: Daily, year-round.
Includes: Private transportation
(car or minibus),Guide, Box lunch, Entrance fees for national park and
protected wilderness area.
Itinerary:This excursion begins
high on the coastal range: a spectacular bird’s-eye view of Iquique, its
beautiful beaches, the Pacific Ocean, and, to the south, Dragon Hill. The
trip continues on to the arid pampas. Here, take a break in Huberstone,
which is now a crumbling ghost town but was, in the middle of the 19th
century, a bustling mining town. In the midst of the arid landscape of
the Pampas of Tamarugal, wander into the dense forest reserve (the native
tamarugo, an unusual desert tree, was re-planted by man after it was practically
wiped out during the mining boom). The tour proceeds to Pintados and to
the surrounding petroglyphs, perhaps the most spectacular artistic remnant
of ancient American civilization. More than 400 panels representations
of men, animals, birds and abstract images span the hillsides. Next, visit
the sanctuary of La Tirana where, each July, a popular religious celebration
unites ancient Andean and Catholic traditions. At the quaint oasis of Matilla,
study the colonial Church of San Antonio, complete with belfry, and the
Lagar of Matilla, an 18th-century winery-turned museum. Pica and its Church
of San Andrés (take a peek at its lifesize rendition of The Last
Supper) await nearby. After lunch, dip into the baths of Cocha Resbaladero,
a warm, tranquil watershed. Return.
CHIU-CHIU AND
THE FORTRESS OF LASANA Code:SPA401.$74
Per Person
Duration:Half day.
Frequency:Monday, year-round.
Includes:Regular transportation,Guide.
Itinerary:The tour kicks off
in the nearby village of Chiu-Chiu, which features an imposing 17th-century
church, one of the oldest in the area. Next, walk along the edge of the
Loa River to study ancient Rupestrian etching on the cliffs hanging over
the riverbank. Finally, travel on to the hilltop fortress of Lasana. This
village, which dates back to the 12th century, is the best-preserved remnant
of the Atacama people complete with solid stone architecture all rooms,
barns, and narrow alleystypical of the period.
TOCONAO AND
THE ATACAMA SALT FLAT Code:SPA402.$74
Per Person
Duration:Half day.
Frequency:Monday, Wednesday,
Friday and Saturday, year-round.
Includes: Regular transportation,Guide,
Crafts, Entrance fees for national park or protected wilderness areas.
Itinerary:Depart for the oasis
of Toconao, known for its imposing bell tower and its alleys packed with
small craft workshops. The tour proceeds with a stroll through the orchards
(apples, pomegranates and quinces grow in abundance) that line the ravine
of Jeria. From there, visit the surprising Salar de Atacama, a huge lake
hidden under a thick white mantle of salt (the largest salt flat in Chile).
Proceed to the Chaxa Lagoon, habitat for three types of flamingoes as well
as a number of migratory birds. Return to San Pedro de Atacama.
SAN PEDRO DE
ATACAMA, PUKARA DE QUITOR AND MOON VALLEY Code:SPA403.$35
Per Person
Duration: Half day.
Frequency: Monday, Wednesday,
Friday and Saturday, year-round.
Includes:Regular transportation,Guide,Entrance
fees for museums.
Itinerary:The expedition starts
with a tour of San Pedro de Atacama, the cradle of the Atacama culture.
Highlights in this compact oasis town it is made up of narrow alleys and
adobe buildings are the 17th-century Church of San Pedro and the Gustavo
Le Paige Archaeological Museum, a small museum that, between its world
renown collection of ancient Indian mummies, particularly well preserved
due to the area’s extremely dry climate, and its pottery display, which
includes a rare set of tabillas de Rapé(supposedly these were used
to inhale hallucinogenic substances), provides a surprisingly thorough
overview of the cultural evolution in this region. Continue on to Quitor,
a 12th-century fort perched on a hill above the San Pedro River, and then
the Valley of the Moon, an unusual landscape 90 percent salt and carbonate
exquisitely eroded by water and wind. Return.
LAGUNA VERDE
(BOLIVIA) Code:SPA404. $
145
Duration:Half day.
Frequency:Tuesday, year-round.
Includes:Regular transportation,Guide.
Itinerary:Over the Bolivian
border, about 40 miles from San Pedro de Atacama, is the Green Lagoon,
an enchanting, emerald (due to a high concentration of magnesium), 10-square-mile
body of water. Like an immense green mirror, the lagoon throws off a reflection
of volcano Licancábur, which rises almost 19,000 feet above sea
level. This makes for a magical setting and may be the reason why the pre-Columbian
inhabitants of the territory considered the area sacred.
MARTE AND CATARPE
VALLEYS Code: SPA405.$40
Per Person
Duration: Half day.
Frequency: Sunday, year-round.
Includes:Regular transportation,Guide.
Itinerary:Departure heading
toward the Marte Valley also known as the Death Valley. This outstanding
place, located on the Salt Mountain Range, features one of its major attractions
of bizarre rocky formations that surround it. The Inca ruins may be observed
when traveling along the river San Pedro. Return to San Pedro de Atacama.
TATIO GEYSERS
Code:SPA501.$75 Per
Person
Duration:Full day.
Frequency:Tuesday, Thursday,
Friday and Sunday, year-round.
Includes:Regular transportation,Guide,Entrance
fees for National Park or protected wilderness area,Breakfast snack.
Itinerary:Depart early morning,
drive across the pampas, climb the high plateau (volcano Putana crowns
a spectacular view), and continue upward to, at 14,800 feet above sea level,
the world’s highest geothermal field: the famous Tatio Geysers. With the
first light of the sun, enjoy breakfast and watch giant columns of steam
shoot from deep in the earth high in the sky. A guided exploration follows
to observe this natural phenomena, as well as the mineral-rich, and therefore
magnificently colorful, craters and small gurgling geysers. Descend in
the shadows of the Torcopuri, Jorjencal and Sairecábur volcanoes
and observe the wonders (like the bofedales) of the high plateau.
MEÑIQUE
AND MISCANTI LAGOONS Code:SPA502. $75 Per Person
Duration:Full day.
Frequency:Saturday, year-round.
Includes:Regular transportation,Guide,Box
lunch en route.
Itinerary:A morning departure
is necessary to reach the mystical lagoons of the high plateau. Both the
Meñique and Miscanti are fed from water sources far below the surface
of the earth, and both attract an array of wildlife, like an abundance
of flamingos whose pink figures, a stark contrast to the surrounding snowy
slopes, are brilliantly reflected in the waters.
CASPANA
Code:SPA503.
$ 45.
Duration:Full day.
Frequency:Wednesday, year-round.
Includes:Regular transportation,Guide.
Itinerary:The day is devoted
to exploring a pair of pre-Columbian villages begins at Caspana, an oasis
9,500 feet above sea level. The small village, a neat cluster of white,
thatched-roof mud houses, sits in a fertile valley, and it is here that
the inhabitants cultivate vegetables and beautiful flowers to sell in Calama
using the terrace-style farming technique typical of the area. Return to
San Pedro de Atacama.
SENTINELS OF
PAKANA Code:SPA504.$
125.
Duration:Full day.
Frequency: Friday, year-round.
Includes:Regular transportation,Guide.
Itinerary:Leaving San Pedro
de Atacama, head southeast toward the Salar of Tara. This ecosystem is
characterized by grand columns of rock, forms that were molded by centuries
of erosion and violent volcanic eruptions. |
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