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Chile
15 days/14 nights Atacama Desert Tour
Tour start dates: 2005 |
4th June |
25th June |
23rd July |
13th August |
Flight
Santiago - Antofagasta. We will see a variation of desert landscapes,
ranging from the lonely salt flats called "salares," in the
high mountain ranges, to the splendid "flowering desert" which
blooms during the months of September and October. Map
(390 ) |
We cross the Tropic of Capricorn while traveling to Calama, center of the copper mining industry and head of the captivating and historic towns alog the Loa River valley. Among the points of interest: the world's largest open-pit coppermine, called Chuquicamata, is located here. We leave Calama en route to San Pedro de Atacama, one of the finest and best preserved examples of the old colonial desert town. Along the way we pass the "Salt Range" - sharp ridges formed from erosion that in some places take on the appearance of dinosaurs. We will visit the famous San Pedro church, built around 1745 and the largest and most fascinating of the region. The ceiling of this church is made of cactus stalks, one of the few building materials available in the region. 350 km. |
San Pedro de Atacama had its origins long before the arrival of the Spanish. The town is small, with narrow alleys dating back to its earliest days. The principal building material here is adobe. We will visit the archeological museum of Padre Le Paige. Here the display shows the evolucion of the Atacama culture in its estimated 11,000 years of history. Then we will ride out to Chaxsa Lake, within the enormous Salar de Atacama, the Atacama Salt Flats, where we expect to see the famous Andean flamingos. Along the way we will see the unusual pre-Inca circular dwellings at Tulor, dating to several centuries BC. If time allows we may also visit the famous Indian defensive fortresses (or “pucaras”) of Quitor and Lasana, and observe sections of the well preserved Inca Trail.
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Today
we leave very early, at about 4:30 in the morning, to see the justly
famous Tatio geyser field, in a valley surrounded by high peaks. We will
go with a minibus and return at 12:00 midday. The geothermal activity
here is connected with the Tatio volcano, which has an altitude 4280
meters (14038 feet). The geysers are most active right at dawn,
producing columns of superheated water more than 30 feet high in places,
and filling the area with clouds of steam. The edges of the hot pools
are composed of soft mineral salts, and it is extremely dangerous to get
close to these pools. When we arrive to San Pedro de Atacama we travel
to Calama. We will spend the night in the city of Calama. 500 km. |
Today we head for Iquique, stopping along the way at the ghost towns of Humberstone and Santa Laura, formerly among the most important nitrate mining centers of the Atacama desert region. We will have a discussion of the history and importance of nitrate minig and these ghosts towns, along with visits to the old machinery (much of it imported from Europe). We will visit La Tirana, the town where the famous Virgen del Carmen fiest is celebrated between the 12th and 18th of July. About 80.000 people attend this fiesta, dressed in masks and wearing traditional altiplano clothing, bring offerings for the Virgin Mary. We will visit the town of Pica, which is on the old Inca highwayThen we proceed Iquique for dinner and our hotel. Map (390 kb)
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Travel to Arica to next day go to Puno in Perú. 316 km.
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