I’d left Chile from Puerto Varas at the end of March, but I returned for a few days in June to see another highlight of the country: the Atacama desert. It was a shame I didn’t see anything else of Chile’s north, but you have to make choices. I entered Chile by bus, coming from Jujuy in Argentina. The bus trip from there to San Pedro de Atacama is incredible! The route goes over the beautiful Cuesta de Lipán, which I’d already seen on my road trip, and continues by crossing the Salinas Grandes, the salt flats I’d driven on a couple of weeks earlier. The bus really goes right through the white plain towards the Paso Jama, the border between Argentina and Chile at 4200m altitude. There was hardly anyone at the border, just a camper in front of us. Our bus also only had 6 passengers, so it was a smooth and quick crossing.
We kept going through the high Andes, ascending to over 5000 meters, before descending again to San Pedro, which lies at “only” 2407 meters. But it didn’t feel like we were so high. In Europe you stand on a mountain and look down into the valley 2000 meters below. Yet the Andes here, was like a wide, gentle landscape. No steep cliffs, just soothing pastel colors. There were lagoons and volcanoes. Llamas were crossing the dry, red landscape, looking for a small bush to munch on. And wait, what’s that? A bunch of flamingos were standing in a lagoon right next to the road. I shared this experience with an Italian couple that had joined me in the front of the bus on the top floor. We just stared out of the big window in front of us.
Eventually we saw the big volcanoes on the border of Chile and Bolivia and we descended on a very long, pretty straight road until we parked in San Pedro de Atacama. I was surprised about how touristy this town was. The whole main street is packed with shops and tour operators, but at this time of the year it wasn’t too busy. It wasn’t hard to plan anything though. On my first day I ended up biking towards Valle de la luna with my new Italian friends Gloria and Zeno. It’s about a 6,5km ride to the entrance of the park and then another 11km to the end of the park. Of course we needed to ride the whole 17,5km back afterwards. And… it’s kind of hilly. On the way out there we got surprised by a river on the road. There was at least 15cm of water, if not more. In any case, it reached the pedals of our bikes, but we were advised by our bike rental agent to just cross it. “And yes, you are in the right direction. There just usually isn’t any water there.” Reassured, we rolled down the hill and into the water. We reached the other side with wet feet.
Once in the park of the valley of the moon, it was easy to see where the name comes from. We were in the desert. It was rough, rocky, sandy, not a plant in sight. There were some white spots of small salt deposits. We were pedaling on a dirt road, climbing past a checkpoint until we reached sendero Duna Mayor. We were more than happy to get off our bikes. On this longer trail we climbed up to a few viewpoints. The desert stretched out in front of us until the Cordillera of the Andes. It’s nothing like how I imagine a desert to be: the classical gigantic beach with a lone palm tree next to an oasis and some camels roaming around. I really could imagine to be on the moon, or another planet. To preserve the nature the path is well marked and some park rangers are checking that everyone stays on it. On the way back to our bikes, the trail looped by a huge sand dune. It’s got a perfect, sharp line on top, like a roof. Nobody has set foot on the sand. It’s nature’s creation of smooth sand, with the occasional ripples caused by the wind. I admired it, while the sand stuck to my wet feet and sandals.
We decided to bike to the final attraction next and then make our way back via the other stops. By the time we arrived at the three Marys, my belly started rumbling. However, you’re not allowed to eat in the park, so I had to make do with drinking some water. The simple rock formation of three spikes was somewhat underwhelming. The road there had been downhill and quite pleasant, but now we had an uphill stretch to get to the mina de sal, or old salt mines. There was a short trail that leads past an old house and some equipment. We also saw some really cool minerals in the rocks.
More impressive was our last hike. It was one of the two longer trails and this one was quite exhausting. You have to imagine that we hadn’t eaten anything in hours, had already biked for some time in the hot sun and had to walk through loose sand, like you’re on a beach. But this trail promised great views of the other side of the sand dune and the amphitheater, so we dragged our feet through the sand. At the first high point, we found out we had to descend again and go up to get to another viewpoint. Some other backpacker cyclists told us it was definitely worth it, so we kept following the trail in a loop through the landscape. I guess it was similar to the first walk we did, but this landscape was just so fascinating, so after catching our breath at the ridge of the rocks, we enjoyed the views one last time.
Our ride back was absolutely brutal. Sitting on the bike hurt my butt and I had gotten so hungry. Once we reached the top of the last hill, I was so happy. All that was left, was the way down to the exit and then the flat road to town. As soon as we reached the visitor center I reached into my bag and ripped off a piece of my olive bread like a savage. It was the energy I needed to bike to San Pedro de Atacama. We decided not to go through the river again, but take the somewhat longer main road. It was a very satisfying day, but I felt the pain for the duration of my stay in San Pedro. If I ever go again, I’ll go by car.
