The Atacama Desert of Chile is truly one of the most unique, beautiful landscapes in the world. One day you feel like you’re stepping onto Mars while the other you’re floating against your will in a salt lagoon. You might be asking yourself, “what is there to do in the Atacama Desert?” and you’d be surprised by just how much variety there is and how many unique and special things to do in the Atacama Desert there really are. Whether you’re building a 3 day or a 5 day Atacama Desert itinerary, I’ve got the best things to do in the Atacama Desert for you to build out the perfect trip!

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Use code AMANDAWANDERS to save 25% at the incredible Terrantai Lodge boutique hotel in the Atacama Desert

The Short Version • Things to Add to Your Atacama Desert Itinerary

The Long Version of What to Do in the Atacama Desert

This list is going to contain not only what to do in the Atacama Desert but also what to do in San Pedro de Atacama, the town I’m going to recommend you stay in! This list full of Atacama Desert tourist attractions is going to provide a little bit of magic for everyone.

How to Get to the Atacama Desert

First thing’s first when it comes to your upcoming trip is is arriving to the Atacama Desert. Lucky for you, getting to the Atacama Desert is actually not too challenging in my opinion! We flew LATAM from Santiago, Chile to Calama, Chile and picked up a rental car at the airport.

Rent a Car For Your Atacama Desert Road Trip

You can absolutely fill your Atacama Desert itinerary with day trips that don’t require you to drive, but I personally love a good road trip. So if you want to mimic this Atacama Desert itinerary completely, I’d recommend you rent a car.

Where to Stay in the Atacama Desert

Without a doubt, the answer to the “where to stay in the Atacama Desert” question is the Terrantai Lodge in the town of San Pedro de Atacama. It is this absolutely gorgeous boutique hotel in the heart of San Pedro de Atacama that embodies the culture and overall feel of the Atacama Desert so perfectly, you feel this immense calm and care when staying there. It also has everything you could need from an Atacama Desert hotel with amenities galore such as:

• Lovely swimming pool
• Free Chilean wine tastings every night
• Free secure parking
• Full breakfast available each morning
• Snacks and tea throughout the day
• and more

Also, with the code AMANDAWANDERS you can get 25% off your total booking!

10 Best Things to Do in the Atacama Desert

Now that we’ve officially arrived, let’s dive into the best things to do in the Atacama Desert.

Valle de la Luna

This is one of the top things to do in the Atacama Desert and on basically every Atacama Desert itinerary for a reason. Valle de la Luna, or in English the Valley of the Moon, is this incredibly beautiful area of the Atacama Desert with a rich history. It used to be called “Las Salinas” because of all the salt that led to mining in the area, and you can see this everywhere you go.

Things to do in the Valle de la Luna:

• Hike/walk Higher Dune Trail
• Visit the amphitheater
• Explore the former salt mines
• See the unique rock formation known as the Three Marys 

You can buy Valle de la Luna tickets on arrival, which is what we did because the website wouldn’t process our cards ahead of time. Additionally, when we did arrive to purchase tickets on-site, only Apple Pay would work and cash isn’t accepted, so it was a tad stressful when we didn’t think we’d be able to enter. However you could absolutely add a Valle de la Luna day tour to your Atacama Desert itinerary and not have to worry about whether your payment will work.

Valle de la Luna tour options:

Explore As Many Miradores As Possible

No “things to do in Atacama Desert” list is complete without simply going out to view as many miradores – or lookouts – as possible. The terrain in this area is simply so unique and special you truly could spend an entire day on your Atacama Desert itinerary driving between them all. Some of my favorite miradores were:

• Mirador Achaches
• Mirador de Kari – Piedra del Coyote (accessible at sunset with your Valle de la Luna ticket)
• Mirador Likan-Antay
• Mirador de San Pedro de Atacama

Visit the Flamingos at Laguna Chaxa Park

Laguna Chaxa Park is in the Los Flamencos National Reserve and, as an animal lover, is a must-add to any Atacama Desert itinerary. This park contains walking routes to visit the salt lagoons where dozens to even hundreds of flamingos like to hang out. Visiting this park was seriously so fun and in my opinion is near the top of any best things to do in the Atacama Desert list. Buy tickets online beforehand and enjoy your time with the flamingos.

Pro tip? They close at 7:30pm, not 8pm. So if you’re trying to get there for sunset – which you should, it’s gorgeous – get there a little bit earlier than you think.

Laguna Chaxa Park tour options:

Float in Laguna Piedra

Have you ever wanted to float in the Dead Sea but haven’t been able to make it all the way there? Well, Laguna Piedra is your South American alternative! 

This must-add to your Atacama itinerary was actually so much fun and I would recommend this to literally any and everybody who wants to visit this area. Not only is it fun to float in a salt lagoon like this, the surroundings are ABSOLUTELY stunning. What makes it so special is the high salinity level in this lagoon that basically forces you to float, no matter what. I was lifting my whole body out of the water and floating like gravity didn’t exist, it was amazing! Genuinely this was one of my favorite things to do in the Atacama Desert, and that says something!

Your ticket will include access to Laguna Cejar, Laguna Piedra (where you’ll float), as well as a third lagoon. The other lagoons (outside of Piedra) you cannot swim in, but they are still very beautiful to explore.

Laguna Cejar tour options:

Explore the Piedras Rojas, Salar de Aguas Calientes, and Lagunas Altiplánicas Area

Seeing photos of Piedras Rojas is what made me want to travel to the Atacama Desert in the first place! This area is so full of natural beauty it’s actually insane, from amazing salt lagoons to bright red rocks to mountains and vicuñas everywhere. It really has it all, and I highly recommend allocating a full day on your Atacama Desert itinerary to exploring Piedras Rojas and the Aguas Calientes area. 

You will need to book your tickets online ahead of time and arrive in the town of Socaire one hour before your reservation time, so make sure to plan for that accordingly. I recommend purchasing the ticket that includes Piedras Rojas (Salar de Aguas Calientes Sur) as well as Lagunas Miscanti y Miñiques so you can see everything in the area! 

You can absolutely drive this on our own – we did – but the drive to Lagunas Altíplanicas for example was the worst road we drove for the entire trip. However the rest of the roads were completely fine, so it’s totally up to you and your driving comfort level.

Piedras Rojas tour options:

Relax in Puritama Hot Springs

Spanish: Termas de Puritama

These are the most unique hot springs I’ve ever floated in and 100% a must-add to any Atacama Desert itinerary. After a slightly bumpy ~30 minute drive from town, you end up parked on a cliffside parking lot. You get out of your car and walk down a 5 – 10 minute trail down to the entrance to the springs where you can see these hot springs are embedded in the bottom of a canyon. They’re stunning, and 100% a top thing to do in the Atacama Desert. 

There are eight pools at Puritama Hot Springs that you can bounce between and you basically either make reservations online beforehand for AM timeslot (9:30am – 1:30pm) or PM timeslot (2:30pm – 6pm) and can spend as much time there during your reservation as possible.

Admittedly, the drive out was one of the rockier ones we drove, so joining a tour for the Puritama Hot Springs isn’t a terrible idea by any stretch of the imagination if you’re not a super confident driver.

Puritama Hot Springs tour options:

Explore the Town of San Pedro de Atacama

This is one of the most special, unique towns I’ve ever experienced. Walking around here, looking up to a volcano piercing the horizon, is truly something magical. There’s so much to do in San Pedro de Atacama, but a couple of our favorites were:

• Eat delicious meals at restaurants like La Casona, Jardin Meraki, La Franchuteria, and Pizzeria El Charrua
• Grab ice cream at Babalú
• Explore the markets and buy local wares
• If you want to book tours on arrival, there are TONS of agencies in town that will help sort you out

Other Things to Add to Your Atacama Desert Itinerary

There are so many things to do in the Atacama Desert that we couldn’t squeeze into our itinerary but would have loved to if we had had the time! Here are a few of those:

Stargazing Tour

I truly wish we had been able to do this when we were there but unfortunately we had some weird, very abnormal cloudy weather while we were there. But the Atacama Desert is one of the best places in the world to stargaze, so I would 100% recommend adding a tour to your Atacama Desert itinerary.

El Tatio

El Tatio is a large geothermal field that you’ll find on most Atacama Desert tourist attraction lists. However, we didn’t go because our hotel receptionist told us the road was particularly bad when we were there so we decided not to risk our rental car.

Vado Rio Putana

These are some beautiful wetlands on the way to El Tatio that look like an oasis amid the desert. Because we didn’t go to El Tatio, we also didn’t go here. But when the road is good I would definitely recommend adding this to your itinerary because it looks stunning.

Baltinache

There’s a Laguna Baltinache in the Laguna Piedra area but that isn’t the one I’m referring to. Additionally, this was the only place our rental car company told us we couldn’t drive our rental vehicle to because the road was not good. However, pictures of this lagoon look incredible and if you can get yourself out there safely, I’d highly recommend visiting.

Here’s a blog from Peter Orsel with all the details to get to this spot! 

Hiking

There are so many hiking trails in the area that you will not run out of options if you’re a hiker. Here are some of the best trails in Atacama.

Things to Do in the Atacama Desert Map

Here’s a map with all of the places I recommend you add to your Atacama Desert itinerary!

So there you go, some of the best things to do in the Atacama Desert! If you have any questions, as always please reach out. And in the meantime, feel free to follow me on Instagram and TikTok, and sign up for my newsletter for travel tips and group travel announcements straight to your inbox.

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