Atacama Desert: A Road Trip Guide to the Best Spots and Routes
The Atacama Desert — the driest place on Earth and a road-trip paradise
The Atacama Desert in Chile is the driest place on Earth. A fantastical land with a brutal climate and out-of-this-world mountain scenery. I'll walk you through the coolest spots — get your 4x4 ready and hit the road!
Hand of the Desert — a nod to Burning Man in the middle of nowhere
👋 Hand of the Desert: 8/10. A giant hand sculpture rising out of nothing, a vague callback to Burning Man. I was driving to Atacama along the coast from Santiago and it was on the way, but I wouldn't make a special trip for it.
Base camp — San Pedro de Atacama
San Pedro de Atacama is a small, atmospheric oasis town with great hotels, and it's the perfect base for day trips to everywhere else on this list.
Laguna Cejar — salt lakes with a crowd
🧂 Laguna Cejar: 3/10. Popular salt lakes where you float on the surface — show up right at 9am opening if you want to avoid the tourist crowds. If you've been to the Dead Sea, there's nothing new to see here.
Valley of the Moon — a three-hour trail at sunset
🌖 Valley of the Moon: 7/10. A sunset spot right by town for when you're too lazy to drive far. Beautiful three-hour hiking trail — I flew a drone here to check it out, and I recommend it 😎
Valle del Arcoíris — Atacama's rainbow mountains, seen from the SUV window
🌈 Valle del Arcoíris (rainbow mountains): 9/10. My favorite genre of sightseeing — gorgeous mountain scenery you can enjoy right from the car window.
Laguna Chaxa — sunset with flamingos and dead silence
🦩 Laguna Chaxa: 10/10. A vast salt lake. Come at sunset — it's stunningly beautiful and silent, with incredible light, flocks of flamingos, and mountains all around.
Above 4,000 meters — watch how you feel
The next spots are all above 4,000 meters, so take care of yourself.
El Tatio Geysers — not worth the early wake-up and the crowds
💦 El Tatio Geysers: 1/10. Atacama's most hyped attraction, but it's not worth it. First, the geysers are early birds and only put on a show at dawn. Second, there are no hotels nearby (which is a real miss!), so you'll have to grind up a dark mountain road at 4am. Third, you'll arrive with a whole crowd of tourists from San Pedro. Fourth, you'll feel sick right along with the geysers.
Monjes de La Pacana — surrealism, rocks, and silence
🗿 Monjes de La Pacana: 10/10. Ever seen Salvador Dalí's cartoon Destino? This surreal desert actually exists! No one really knows how these giant vertical rocks ended up in the middle of nowhere, but it's the best possible spot for a picnic and some deep thoughts about the meaning of life: just you, the desert, and a boulder looming overhead.