San Pedro de Atacama

From Iquique I took a route south-east to small San Pedro de Atacama which is relatively close to the borders to Bolivia and Argentina. (It belonged to Bolivia before the War of the Pacific, by the way) San Pedro is a major tourist destination, because in its vicinity you find a number of natural wonders. And while places like Iquique and La Serena mainly draw domestic tourists, San Pedro very much has an international audience.

The place itself is quaint. The roads leading to it are paved, but in the centre, all streets are unpaved, including the throughfare. It is as if they want to uphold its backwardness. And so far they have been able to hold multi-story hotels out, but the place certainly has all signs of sprawl with new blocks popping up for homes for all people working in the tourist industry and for that matters new hotels and hostals.

Geographically, San Pedro sits between two arms of the Andean range in an area which has no drainage, and close to San Pedro is Salar de Atacama, a very big salt flat. While San Pedro is in a desert, it gets

has water from two rivers that run into the salt flat. And, believe or not, in summer it may rain in San Pedro.

I stayed four nights in San Pedro, and I went on a couple of tours from San Pedro of which three are covered in the following sets. This set includes pictures from San Pedro itself and some places in its direct surroundings, including the mystic Valle de la Luna.

Calama 1. House on House	San Pedro de Atacama 2. Caracoles
3. Side Street I	4. Side Street II
5. Outskirts	6. From a Distance
Pukará de Quitor 7. Pukará de Quitor	8. Río San Pedro
9. View over San Pedro I	10. View over San Pedro II
11. View over San Pedro III	12. View over San Pedro IV
13. Licancabur	14. Cordillera de la Sal I
15. Cordillera de la Sal II	16. Cordillera de la Sal III
17. Cordillera de la Sal IV	18. Pukará and Río San Pedro
Mirador de Kari 19. Mirador de Kari	20. Mirador de Kari II
21. Mirador de Kari III	Valle de Marte 22. Steep Cliffs
23. Valle de Marte	24. The Road to Bolivia
25. Sand Dunes	26. Beetles
27. Sand Dunes II	28. Sand Dunes III
29. Down we Go	30. Summertime Lake
31. Summertime Lake II	32. The Road to the Valley
Valle de la Luna 33. Valle de la Luna	34. Las Tres Marias
35. Pacman	36. Lone Rock
37. Rainbow	38. Rock surface
39. Amphietheatre	40. Main Area
41. Sand Dune Again	42. Amphietheatre II
43. White Floor	44. Climbing
45. Valley View	46. Shadows
47. Rainbow at Sundown	48. View to San Pedro
49. People on a Ridge	50. More People
51. At Sunset	52. At Sunset II
53. Good Night, Sun	54. At Sunset IV
55. Faint Rainbow	56. At Sunset VI

Calama 1. House on House	San Pedro de Atacama 2. Caracoles	3. Side Street I
4. Side Street II	5. Outskirts	6. From a Distance
Pukará de Quitor 7. Pukará de Quitor	8. Río San Pedro	9. View over San Pedro I
10. View over San Pedro II	11. View over San Pedro III	12. View over San Pedro IV
13. Licancabur	14. Cordillera de la Sal I	15. Cordillera de la Sal II
16. Cordillera de la Sal III	17. Cordillera de la Sal IV	18. Pukará and Río San Pedro
Mirador de Kari 19. Mirador de Kari	20. Mirador de Kari II	21. Mirador de Kari III
Valle de Marte 22. Steep Cliffs	23. Valle de Marte	24. The Road to Bolivia
25. Sand Dunes	26. Beetles	27. Sand Dunes II
28. Sand Dunes III	29. Down we Go	30. Summertime Lake
31. Summertime Lake II	32. The Road to the Valley	Valle de la Luna 33. Valle de la Luna
34. Las Tres Marias	35. Pacman	36. Lone Rock
37. Rainbow	38. Rock surface	39. Amphietheatre
40. Main Area	41. Sand Dune Again	42. Amphietheatre II
43. White Floor	44. Climbing	45. Valley View
46. Shadows	47. Rainbow at Sundown	48. View to San Pedro
49. People on a Ridge	50. More People	51. At Sunset
52. At Sunset II	53. Good Night, Sun	54. At Sunset IV
55. Faint Rainbow	56. At Sunset VI

Calama 1. House on House	San Pedro de Atacama 2. Caracoles	3. Side Street I	4. Side Street II
5. Outskirts	6. From a Distance	Pukará de Quitor 7. Pukará de Quitor	8. Río San Pedro
9. View over San Pedro I	10. View over San Pedro II	11. View over San Pedro III	12. View over San Pedro IV
13. Licancabur	14. Cordillera de la Sal I	15. Cordillera de la Sal II	16. Cordillera de la Sal III
17. Cordillera de la Sal IV	18. Pukará and Río San Pedro	Mirador de Kari 19. Mirador de Kari	20. Mirador de Kari II
21. Mirador de Kari III	Valle de Marte 22. Steep Cliffs	23. Valle de Marte	24. The Road to Bolivia
25. Sand Dunes	26. Beetles	27. Sand Dunes II	28. Sand Dunes III
29. Down we Go	30. Summertime Lake	31. Summertime Lake II	32. The Road to the Valley
Valle de la Luna 33. Valle de la Luna	34. Las Tres Marias	35. Pacman	36. Lone Rock
37. Rainbow	38. Rock surface	39. Amphietheatre	40. Main Area
41. Sand Dune Again	42. Amphietheatre II	43. White Floor	44. Climbing
45. Valley View	46. Shadows	47. Rainbow at Sundown	48. View to San Pedro
49. People on a Ridge	50. More People	51. At Sunset	52. At Sunset II
53. Good Night, Sun	54. At Sunset IV	55. Faint Rainbow	56. At Sunset VI

Calama 1. House on House	San Pedro de Atacama 2. Caracoles	3. Side Street I	4. Side Street II	5. Outskirts
6. From a Distance	Pukará de Quitor 7. Pukará de Quitor	8. Río San Pedro	9. View over San Pedro I	10. View over San Pedro II
11. View over San Pedro III	12. View over San Pedro IV	13. Licancabur	14. Cordillera de la Sal I	15. Cordillera de la Sal II
16. Cordillera de la Sal III	17. Cordillera de la Sal IV	18. Pukará and Río San Pedro	Mirador de Kari 19. Mirador de Kari	20. Mirador de Kari II
21. Mirador de Kari III	Valle de Marte 22. Steep Cliffs	23. Valle de Marte	24. The Road to Bolivia	25. Sand Dunes
26. Beetles	27. Sand Dunes II	28. Sand Dunes III	29. Down we Go	30. Summertime Lake
31. Summertime Lake II	32. The Road to the Valley	Valle de la Luna 33. Valle de la Luna	34. Las Tres Marias	35. Pacman
36. Lone Rock	37. Rainbow	38. Rock surface	39. Amphietheatre	40. Main Area
41. Sand Dune Again	42. Amphietheatre II	43. White Floor	44. Climbing	45. Valley View
46. Shadows	47. Rainbow at Sundown	48. View to San Pedro	49. People on a Ridge	50. More People
51. At Sunset	52. At Sunset II	53. Good Night, Sun	54. At Sunset IV	55. Faint Rainbow
56. At Sunset VI

Calama 1. House on House	San Pedro de Atacama 2. Caracoles	3. Side Street I	4. Side Street II	5. Outskirts	6. From a Distance
Pukará de Quitor 7. Pukará de Quitor	8. Río San Pedro	9. View over San Pedro I	10. View over San Pedro II	11. View over San Pedro III	12. View over San Pedro IV
13. Licancabur	14. Cordillera de la Sal I	15. Cordillera de la Sal II	16. Cordillera de la Sal III	17. Cordillera de la Sal IV	18. Pukará and Río San Pedro
Mirador de Kari 19. Mirador de Kari	20. Mirador de Kari II	21. Mirador de Kari III	Valle de Marte 22. Steep Cliffs	23. Valle de Marte	24. The Road to Bolivia
25. Sand Dunes	26. Beetles	27. Sand Dunes II	28. Sand Dunes III	29. Down we Go	30. Summertime Lake
31. Summertime Lake II	32. The Road to the Valley	Valle de la Luna 33. Valle de la Luna	34. Las Tres Marias	35. Pacman	36. Lone Rock
37. Rainbow	38. Rock surface	39. Amphietheatre	40. Main Area	41. Sand Dune Again	42. Amphietheatre II
43. White Floor	44. Climbing	45. Valley View	46. Shadows	47. Rainbow at Sundown	48. View to San Pedro
49. People on a Ridge	50. More People	51. At Sunset	52. At Sunset II	53. Good Night, Sun	54. At Sunset IV
55. Faint Rainbow	56. At Sunset VI

Calama 1. House on House	San Pedro de Atacama 2. Caracoles	3. Side Street I	4. Side Street II	5. Outskirts	6. From a Distance	Pukará de Quitor 7. Pukará de Quitor
8. Río San Pedro	9. View over San Pedro I	10. View over San Pedro II	11. View over San Pedro III	12. View over San Pedro IV	13. Licancabur	14. Cordillera de la Sal I
15. Cordillera de la Sal II	16. Cordillera de la Sal III	17. Cordillera de la Sal IV	18. Pukará and Río San Pedro	Mirador de Kari 19. Mirador de Kari	20. Mirador de Kari II	21. Mirador de Kari III
Valle de Marte 22. Steep Cliffs	23. Valle de Marte	24. The Road to Bolivia	25. Sand Dunes	26. Beetles	27. Sand Dunes II	28. Sand Dunes III
29. Down we Go	30. Summertime Lake	31. Summertime Lake II	32. The Road to the Valley	Valle de la Luna 33. Valle de la Luna	34. Las Tres Marias	35. Pacman
36. Lone Rock	37. Rainbow	38. Rock surface	39. Amphietheatre	40. Main Area	41. Sand Dune Again	42. Amphietheatre II
43. White Floor	44. Climbing	45. Valley View	46. Shadows	47. Rainbow at Sundown	48. View to San Pedro	49. People on a Ridge
50. More People	51. At Sunset	52. At Sunset II	53. Good Night, Sun	54. At Sunset IV	55. Faint Rainbow	56. At Sunset VI

Calama 1. House on House	San Pedro de Atacama 2. Caracoles	3. Side Street I	4. Side Street II	5. Outskirts	6. From a Distance	Pukará de Quitor 7. Pukará de Quitor	8. Río San Pedro
9. View over San Pedro I	10. View over San Pedro II	11. View over San Pedro III	12. View over San Pedro IV	13. Licancabur	14. Cordillera de la Sal I	15. Cordillera de la Sal II	16. Cordillera de la Sal III
17. Cordillera de la Sal IV	18. Pukará and Río San Pedro	Mirador de Kari 19. Mirador de Kari	20. Mirador de Kari II	21. Mirador de Kari III	Valle de Marte 22. Steep Cliffs	23. Valle de Marte	24. The Road to Bolivia
25. Sand Dunes	26. Beetles	27. Sand Dunes II	28. Sand Dunes III	29. Down we Go	30. Summertime Lake	31. Summertime Lake II	32. The Road to the Valley
Valle de la Luna 33. Valle de la Luna	34. Las Tres Marias	35. Pacman	36. Lone Rock	37. Rainbow	38. Rock surface	39. Amphietheatre	40. Main Area
41. Sand Dune Again	42. Amphietheatre II	43. White Floor	44. Climbing	45. Valley View	46. Shadows	47. Rainbow at Sundown	48. View to San Pedro
49. People on a Ridge	50. More People	51. At Sunset	52. At Sunset II	53. Good Night, Sun	54. At Sunset IV	55. Faint Rainbow	56. At Sunset VI

Calama 1. House on House	San Pedro de Atacama 2. Caracoles	3. Side Street I	4. Side Street II	5. Outskirts	6. From a Distance	Pukará de Quitor 7. Pukará de Quitor	8. Río San Pedro	9. View over San Pedro I
10. View over San Pedro II	11. View over San Pedro III	12. View over San Pedro IV	13. Licancabur	14. Cordillera de la Sal I	15. Cordillera de la Sal II	16. Cordillera de la Sal III	17. Cordillera de la Sal IV	18. Pukará and Río San Pedro
Mirador de Kari 19. Mirador de Kari	20. Mirador de Kari II	21. Mirador de Kari III	Valle de Marte 22. Steep Cliffs	23. Valle de Marte	24. The Road to Bolivia	25. Sand Dunes	26. Beetles	27. Sand Dunes II
28. Sand Dunes III	29. Down we Go	30. Summertime Lake	31. Summertime Lake II	32. The Road to the Valley	Valle de la Luna 33. Valle de la Luna	34. Las Tres Marias	35. Pacman	36. Lone Rock
37. Rainbow	38. Rock surface	39. Amphietheatre	40. Main Area	41. Sand Dune Again	42. Amphietheatre II	43. White Floor	44. Climbing	45. Valley View
46. Shadows	47. Rainbow at Sundown	48. View to San Pedro	49. People on a Ridge	50. More People	51. At Sunset	52. At Sunset II	53. Good Night, Sun	54. At Sunset IV
55. Faint Rainbow	56. At Sunset VI

Calama 1. House on House	San Pedro de Atacama 2. Caracoles	3. Side Street I	4. Side Street II	5. Outskirts	6. From a Distance	Pukará de Quitor 7. Pukará de Quitor	8. Río San Pedro	9. View over San Pedro I	10. View over San Pedro II
11. View over San Pedro III	12. View over San Pedro IV	13. Licancabur	14. Cordillera de la Sal I	15. Cordillera de la Sal II	16. Cordillera de la Sal III	17. Cordillera de la Sal IV	18. Pukará and Río San Pedro	Mirador de Kari 19. Mirador de Kari	20. Mirador de Kari II
21. Mirador de Kari III	Valle de Marte 22. Steep Cliffs	23. Valle de Marte	24. The Road to Bolivia	25. Sand Dunes	26. Beetles	27. Sand Dunes II	28. Sand Dunes III	29. Down we Go	30. Summertime Lake
31. Summertime Lake II	32. The Road to the Valley	Valle de la Luna 33. Valle de la Luna	34. Las Tres Marias	35. Pacman	36. Lone Rock	37. Rainbow	38. Rock surface	39. Amphietheatre	40. Main Area
41. Sand Dune Again	42. Amphietheatre II	43. White Floor	44. Climbing	45. Valley View	46. Shadows	47. Rainbow at Sundown	48. View to San Pedro	49. People on a Ridge	50. More People
51. At Sunset	52. At Sunset II	53. Good Night, Sun	54. At Sunset IV	55. Faint Rainbow	56. At Sunset VI

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