Tour Itinerary
Day 1: San Pedro de Atacama to Pan de Azucar Nacional Park
After an early departure to pick up provisions in Calama, we stop at the ghost town of Chacabuco. Once a prosperous nitrate mining town and later a prison camp during the Pinochet dictatorship, it is completely abandoned now. We continue on until the Pan de Azucar National Park where we spend the night, either camping on the beach or staying in cabins.
Day 2: Pan de Azucar National Park to Vicuña
In the morning we have time to explore the secluded beaches of the National Park before driving the 580kms to the Elqui Valley, where we will be based, in Vicuña, for the next two nights.
Day 3: Day in the Elqui Valley
From Vicuna we drive to Pisco Elqui where inexpensive horseback riding can be arranged. Also we visit a Pisco distillery. At night we experience the astonishingly clear skies from the Mamalluca Observatory. We have a guided astronomy tour that includes telescopic observation of the night skies.
Day 4: Vicuña to Santiago
We leave Vicuña to visit the cloud hidden Fray Jorge National Park. This unique pocket of rain forest, in the coastal highland area is also in the middle of the desert! In addition to the exuberant flora, there are several rare species of mammals, reptiles and bird life, unique to Chile.
Some hours later we arrive in Santiago, to complete our trip.