A Dusty Little Town In The Middle Of Nowhere And It’s A Tourist Mecca

Most of the streets are just dirt, it gets hot in the daytime and unusually cold at night and there’s often a wind that’s blowing the dust around…

Exploring the Atacama Dessert from San Pedro, Chile

Welcome to San Pedro de Atacama, Chile’s gateway to the Atacama Dessert. This desert in northern Chile is the world’s driest non-polar desert, a starkly otherworldly plateau situated between the Andes Mountains and the Pacific Ocean, known for stark landscapes like salt flats, geysers, volcanic peaks, and hosting unique ecosystems and Moon-like terrain. Significant features include the Valley of the Moon, El Tatio Geysers, flamingo-filled lagoons, and high-altitude plains.

Even though the town’s character is mostly adobe one story buildings and dirt streets, San Pedro has become an international travel destination that now receives more than one and a half million tourists annually. The small town, with a local population of less than 2,500, serves as the gateway and main hub for exploring the Atacama Desert.

Because of this growing popularity San Pedro de Atacama offers an incredible range of high-quality hotels and restaurants, blending rustic desert charm with luxury and excellent local cuisine. Top accommodations include luxury lodges like Awasi Atacama, Nayara Alto Atacama, and Explora en Atacama, along with boutique options like Terrantai Lodge along with an assortment of economy hostels.

From a base in San Pedro you can explore incredible desert landscapes, from the lunar formations of Valle de la Luna & Valle de la Muerte (don’t miss seeing a sunset), colorful mountains in Valle del Arcoiris, high-altitude lagoons like Lagunas Miscanti & Miñiques, and surreal salt flats and floating in the salt ponds at Laguna Cejar. Don’t miss the sunrise geysers at El Tatio, ancient petroglyphs at Yerbas Buenas, and unbelievable stargazing into the dark clear heavens, plus hiking, biking, and exploring charming villages like Machuca.

Getting There

The nearest airport to San Pedro de Atacama is El Loa Airport (CJC) in Calama, Chile, located approximately 70 miles northwest of the town.It is the main gateway for visitors to the Atacama Dessert, offering regular, 2-hour flights from Santiago via LATAM, Sky Airline, and JetSMART several times a day. From Calama there are numerous transfer options to San Pedro starting at about US$25 per person. Check out transfers and tours at Get Your Guide HERE.

Dining Options

The town is known for the number of four and five star food in cozy, Adobe-style restaurants, particularly along the main street (Calle Caracoles). Noted for featuring Lickan-antay (Atacameño) cuisine, that includes ingredients like quinoa, chañar, and llama. Also a surprising number of places offer live music, charming, and sometimes romantic settings, often with outdoor seating under the stars.

Key Tips

The Environment: If you’re planning a visit you need to understand that you will be above 10,000 feet most of the time, that the humidity is near zero and the winds can be strong. Sun screen, chap stick and sun glasses are a must and carry water!

Payments: While most places accept credit/debit cards, it is essential to carry Chilean pesos for smaller establishments, tips, and excursions.

Our Recommendations

For our visit we stayed at the Don Raúl Hotel located in the heart of town a half block off Calle Caracoles. The rooms were comfortable, the shower hot and it included a great breakfast in the attached Restaurante Agua Loca (also a good option for dinner). If you are exploring on your own we’d recommend looking into tours available from Get Your Guide (see the link above).

The Don Raul Hotel San Pedro de Atacama

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