The last trip we have made in search of Ethnic Carpets has been to the driest desert in the world: the Atacama Desert. It is in the north of Chile, bordering Bolivia and is two hours by plane from Santiago to Calama plus one hour by car.
We traveled as a family in September and we were fascinated and also very impressed by the aridity and its extreme landscapes.
Traveling with two children of three and four years old to this destination is a bit complicated, as the temperatures are drastic, there are some excursions that are not recommended for children because they are over 5000 meters high, to see the different areas of interest you have to spend time in the car and outside the hotel oasis is a little hard to enjoy when there is no activity.
Apart from this, we loved the desert experience. We rented an all-terrain vehicle and made wonderful excursions on our own.
The Atacama Salt Flat is an extensive salt lake, rough and very white. There are several lagoons, we visited the Céjar Lagoon, where we bathed and could see how we floated thanks to the salt. To preserve this lagoon it is forbidden to use sunscreen and the radiation is very high. Best not to dawdle too much! The children were delighted and I still can’t get it into my head that they can survive in such an environment.
In theChaxa Lagoon we were able to see flamingos up close, some flying above us, and a spectacular landscape, as the white of the salt flat contrasted with the turquoise of its waters and the salmon spots of the flamingos.
The Valley of the Moon is a formation of stone and sand that is very close to the town of San Pedro de Atacama, and has the most impressive views and light I have ever seen. It’s like being on another planet! We went in the afternoon, so we could enjoy the sunset and did two excursions.
We entered Las Cuevas de Sal, dark brown stone caves with a relief similar to Flake chocolate and a lot of depth. To access these caves it is mandatory to carry a flashlight, we relied on the cell phones that we lent to the children and…. they were flying because where we were crouching or squatting they ran, leaving us in the dark. A very adrenaline-filled excursion, which if we had known what it was we might not have done it!
We also hiked up to the Sand Dunes located in the north of the park. Another challenge with kids, climbing a sand mountain in the desert is not as easy as it looks! Once at the top, the scenery is like being on Mars – spectacular!
The Puritama hot springs are on the way to the Tatío Geysers (where, due to the age of the children and its 4200 meters of altitude, we were advised not to go), at 3,500 meters above sea level. They are located in a valley and are very well prepared. There are about 8 pools, the higher up, the warmer the water.
Sergio took advantage of the evening to escape on an organized excursion to see the stars. These excursions leave the village, take the group to a secluded place with telescopes and an astronomer explains the stars to them. He came back fascinated!