Tour Itinerary
Day 1: Santiago to La Serena
We leave Santiago stopping first in Pichidangui, a sleepy fishing village with a large beach. After spending an hour or so here, we continue on north. We pass through Coquimbo to arrive in La Serena in the mid afternoon. As well as being a very popular beach resort, La Serena is the second oldest city in Chile. It has interesting colonial architecture from the 16th and 17th centuries and its daily market is one of the most picturesque in the country.
Day 2: La Serena to Bahía Inglesa
A few kilometres north of La Serena we leave the motorway and take a gravel road leading to the Reserva Nacional Pinguino de Hulmbold. Passengers can choose to hangout on the beach or jump on a boat to explore the nearby islands which are populated by penguins, sea lions, sea otters and protected bird species. Dolphins are often sighted swimming along side the boats. After spending about three hours here, we continue our journey to arrive in Bahía Inglesa. Bahía Inglesa is well equipped with camping grounds and cabins, right on the beach.
Day 3: Day at Bahía Inglesa Beach
Free day on the beach! During the day we drive to nearby Caldera (7kms) to have a look around, go to the post office, supermarket and internet cafe. This evening we usually have a communal BBQ (asado), prepared by our legendary cook-drivers.
Day 4: Bahía Inglesa to Antofagasta
Today we cross the driest part of the Atacama Desert where some meteorological stations have not registered any rain in over 50 years. During the day we stop at the creepy cemetery of Oficina Alemania, an old nitrate mining operation. We also make a stop at the prominent Mano del Desierto (Hand of the Desert) sculpture. Just north of Antofagasta, we watch the sun set behind Monumento Natural La Portada, the gigantic arched shaped rock formation that sits in the ocean. We return to Antofagasta to spend the night.
Day 5: Antofagasta to San Pedro de Atacama
We start the day heading north, for about 70km until Baquedano, to visit their 19th century steam engine cemetery. From here we leave the motorway onto a salt-paved road, running over the Tropic of Capricorn until we see the Salar de Atacama (Atacama Salt Flat). Plenty of time is available for taking pictures here.
After crossing the Salar, we get to the small oasis village of Peine to relax in the refreshing rock pools and see the ruins of local indigenous and Spanish settlements. Later we continue north, back onto the Salt Flat, for the Reserva Nacional los Flamencos. We quietly watch the sunset over the Laguna Chaxa, a flamingo breeding site. In the evening we arrive in San Pedro de Atacama to spend the night.
Day 6: Day in San Pedro de Atacama
The morning is free to explore this unique adobe town. In the afternoon we leave town to see a few nearby attractions including visiting the pre-hispanic ruins of the village of Tulor, exploring eery salt caves and viewing the spectacular sunset, from Valle de la Luna (Valley of the Moon), over the nearby volcanoes.
Note: For passengers hopping off the bus here; from San Pedro de Atacama it is possible to connect with buses to Salta in Argentina, to Arica on the border with Perú or to take a 4x4 trip via the Uyuni Salt Flats into Bolivia.
Day 7: 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 8: 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 9: 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 10: 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.
Several hours later we arrive in Santiago, to complete our trip.