San Pedro de Atacama
Travel Guide > South America > Chile > San Pedro de Atacama
In this Article
- Introduction
- Sights and Activities
- Events and Festivals
- Climate
- Getting There
- Getting Around
- Eat
- Drink
- Sleep
- Keep Connected
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Introduction
San Pedro de Atacama is a town in northern Chile and is one of the main hubs to visit the extraordinary beauty of the surrouding landscapes. It's a real tourist town, with all the amenities one desires (or not, depending on your taste!): luxurious hotels, small scale hostels, restaurants and a cold beer after a day in the desert.
Sights and Activities
San Pedro itself hardly has to offer anything, although it's nice narrow streets with adobe structures and a nice church (Iglesia San Pedro) are a few small highlights. One exception is the Museo Gustavo Le Paige.
Still, the oasis village has most of its attraction elsewhere, starting outside the build-up area:
- El Tatio Geyser.
- Valley of the Moon (Valle de la Luna).
- Laguna Chaxa, the biggest saltlake in the country, with numerous flamingos, including the Andean, James and Chilean species (three out of a total of five!).
- Volcanoes like symmetrical Licancábur (5,916 metres high), clearly visible from town.
- Altiplano in the Andes mountains.
- Atacam Desert - the driest in the world and also one of the most scenic.
- Termas de Puritama, volcanic hot springs en route to El Tatio Geyser.
If you want to go to these places, you can partly travel with your own car, or book something with one of the Tour Operators in San Pedro.
Events and Festivals
Climate
It's located at more than 2,400 metres above sea level and although nights are generally cool to cold, days (even in winter) can still be hot during the afternoon. Temperatures rise quickly during the first hours of the day.
Summers last from December to February when temperatures are usually between 25 and 30 degrees Celsius, winters from June to August with around 18 to 24 degrees Celsius. Nights during winter can plummit to -10 degrees Celsius!
Rain is almost absent, it's one of the driest towns in the world!
Getting There
By Plane
El Loa International Airport near Calama is the nearest airport, where there are shuttle services to/from San Pedro de Atacama.
LAN Chile flies to/from Santiago, Antofagasta, La Serena and Iquique. Sky Airline flies to/from the places mentioned above plus Lima, Salta and Arica.
By Car
San Pedro is reached by well maintained tarmac roads from other Chilean cities, like Calama which is a few hours away. Roads to Argentina are also paved, but to Bolivia they are just partly paved, after which roads are rough and not recommended to travel with your own wheels.
By Bus
There are regular buses to Calama and overnight buses to Santiago (20-24 hours).
Arica and Antofagasta are among other places with (multiple) daily connections.
On Tuesday, Friday and Sunday, there are buses to Salta and Jujuy in Argentina, leaving at 11.30am and taking around 12 hours to complete the journey over the Paso de Jama in the Andes. The road is also completely paved.
Tour operators also offers multiple-day trips to Uyuni in Bolivia, visiting the Altiplano, Salar de Uyuni and lakes like Laguan Colorada.
Getting Around
By Car
There are a few taxis, but they are pretty useless.
By Public Transport
Within the town, there is no need to take any transport other than your legs or bike.
By Foot
San Pedro itself is easily explored on foot in 30 minutes. If you go outside town, be sure to take other modes of transport.
By Bike
Bikes are for rent to explore the region.
Eat
For an extensive overview of restaurants, have a look at the San Pedro Restaurants website.
Sleep
Budget
| Property | Address | Type | Popularity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hostal Iquisa | Calle Puripica 172 | Guesthouse | 80 |
| Hostal Solor | Volcan Tatio 737 Poblacion Licancabur | Guesthouse | 90 |
| Incahuasi B&B | El Carmen 132 | Guesthouse | 83 |
| Rent a House San Pedro | Domingo Atienza 3a San Pedro de Atacama | Apartment | 97 |
Mid-Range
Upscale
Keep Connected
Keep Connected in San Pedro offers an overview regarding post, telephone and internet possibilities.
Internet
There are internet cafes in town and several restaurants, hostels and hotels have services as well.
Phone
See also International Telephone Calls
Post
This is version 2. Last edited at 13:34 on Aug 26, 09 by Utrecht (+52). 5 articles link to this page.
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