Santiago and Wonders of San Pedro de Atacama
7 Days / 6 Nights - Per person on a double basis - Code CDA014
Day 01: Santiago Airport - Santiago
Reception at the Santiago Airport and transfer to the selected hotel.
Day 02: Santiago - City Tour Santiago
Buffet breakfast served at the hotel`s restaurant.
Santiago is a mixture between classic atmosphere and modernity, features that we invite you to know. Our tour through Santiago will show you the immensity of the city, its varied geography and civility. We will guide you through the Main Square of Santiago, where the Cathedral, Main Post Office and City Hall are located. Here you will be a witness of the origins of our city. Our next stop of the journey will be the civic neighborhood and the surroundings of La Moneda Government Palace and the Santa Lucía Hill, place where in February 12, 1541 Santiago was founded by the Spanish conqueror Pedro de Valdivia. After that we will be driven through some of the oldest neighborhoods of Santiago, such as the República and Concha y Toro Neighborhoods. Later, we will visit the eastern part of the city and we will see the modern buildings and the changes that they have brought to the neighborhood. We finish our tour in a handicraft store, located in an exclusive neighborhood, where we'll appreciate with a Pisco Sour, Lapis lazuli masterpieces, made with this stone that just exists in Chile and Afghanistan.
Lodging.
Day 03: Santiago - Santiago Airport – Calama Airport – San Pedro de Atacama – Moon Valley
Buffet breakfast served at the hotel`s restaurant. At the agreed time, transfer to Santiago Airport. Reception and transfer from the Calama Airport to your hotel in San Pedro de Atacama. In the afternoon, departure from the hotel to the Moon Valley (4:00 pm in summer / 3:00 pm in winter; summer season begins on October 1. (Time subject to confirmation). 19 km from San Pedro, in the Salt Mountain Range, is the Moon Valley, declared a nature sanctuary and monument and protected by the uniqueness of its beauty. It consists of a depression surrounded by small hills with impressively sharp peaks. The tour is an imaginary trip to landscapes that do not belong in our world, but to other planets. We will see Dinosaur Valley and Death Valley, where there is a spectacular panoramic view of the area. We continue to Moon Valley, where we will find geological formations that are the result of successive foldings of the earth's crust. In the valley is possible to appreciate the salt sculptures known as Las Tres Marias, formed by wind erosion. Continuing with the tour we will walk through the interior of the caves that remain from the old deposits, to get closer to valley where is the Big Dune. After a break, we will climb this dune, which impresses with its size and is used for extreme sports as snowboarding Towards dusk, a bold palette of golds and reds appear, touching the soul and sensibilities of the visitor. Return to the hotel. Lodging.
Day 04: San Pedro de Atacama - Altiplanic Lagoons - Atacama Salt
Departure at 08:30 hrs. from the hotels. In this excursion, we will visit Piedras Rojas (Red Stones) located in the Tara Salt Flat with its fascinating and beautiful red-colored landscape, remarked by its owe-inspiring geological formations born from the rusting of the iron. After that, we will go through the path to the Altiplano in order to visit the Miscanti and Miñiques Lagoons, located more than 4,200 meters above the sea level and surrounded by great and imposing volcanoes from the Andes Mountain Range and flora and fauna in their natural environment. We will continue to Chaxa Lagoon, a scenery and beautiful landscape, divided into several water mirrors where a great number of flamingoes and other birds such as Andean Flamingoes. Finally, before we return, while the landscape features marvelous views of the Licancabur and Lascar Volcanoes, we will visit Toconao with a typical colonial architecture, San Lucas Church, the first National Monument. Return to San Pedro at 04:00 pm approximately.
Day 05: San Pedro de Atacama - Archaeological Tour
Breakfast in the hotel. At 09:00 am departure from the hotel. A landscape without history loses the richness that time and people have brought to it. Therefore, on this excursion, we invite you to discover the richness of the Atacama, or Likan Antai, culture. We will gather fascinating information about who lived in the area and how they did it, from pre-Columbian to colonial times. We will learn about the customs and traditions of the different cultures that lived in the area by visiting the most notable archaeological sites such as Tulor and Pukará de Quitor. The miraculously preserved village of Tulor is the oldest remaining ancient dwelling place in the Atacama Basin, and the first human settlement, called "Cuna de los Likan Antai (Cradle of the Likan Antai people)".Pukará de Quitor, a construction from the twelfth century, was a witness to decisive historic events that are part of the local culture. We ended our trip in San Pedro de Atacama, with a visit to the church before the return to the hotel. Lodging.
Day 06: San Pedro de Atacama -Tatio Geysers
Departure at 5:00 am. Pick up at 4:30 from the hotel (subject to confirmation) We leave at dawn from San Pedro de Atacama Hotel to go to the Tatio Geysers, a geothermal center with geysers that can only be seen very early in the morning. After seeing this spectacular sight in a magnificent natural setting, we eat breakfast. On the way back, we see the majestic Andes mountain range, whose peaks seem close enough to touch. We then arrive at Machuca, a small llama herder settlement. The village is filled with adobe houses with thatched roofs. Green wetlands lend a special charm.
Day 07: San Pedro de Atacama – Calama Airport
Breakfast in the hotel. At the scheduled time, transfer to the Calama Airport. End of our services.