7-Day Hiking Tour - Atacama Desert

San Pedro de Atacama, Chili

AT
AMITY TOURS
  • Email address verified
11 reviews
Duration: 7 days
Group size: 4 - 10
7-Day Hiking Tour - Atacama Desert
San Pedro de Atacama, Chili

AMITY TOURS
  • Email address verified
11 reviews

Duration: 7 days
Group size: 4 - 10

About this trip

Luxury adventure in Northern Chile and the driest desert in the World. Enjoy and explore hiking ancient trails between valleys. Find yourself among astonishing landscapes surrounded by volcanoes, salt flats, canyons and gorges.


In addition, you’ll learn about the Atacama Desert, its history, geology, culture, indigenous people, archaeology, and native flora and fauna.

Flights

Before we kick off our hiking tour in the Atacama Desert, you should take a day or two to adjust to local time and recover from your travels, and allow for any flight or luggage delays. You should fly into Calama airport (CJC).


In Chile, domestic flights are operated by 3 local airline companies: Latam, Sky Airline and JetSmart.


Official Airport Transfer


The official shuttle company at Calama's Airport is called TransVip.

They are the only authorized shuttle company at the airport, and their staff wears a green and orange uniform.

By contract with the airport, they must have available transport based in the domestic flights arriving every day. They have a counter at the airport, on the ground floor next to the car rental companies.


They offer regular shuttles to San Pedro de Atacama at $12.000 pesos (USD $17 per person), and they need a minimum of 4 people. If they don't have the 4 minimum passengers, or if you want to have a private shuttle, with the same company you can do it at $75.000 (USD $100 per vehicle).


You don’t need reservations and you can pay in Credit Card or Cash. The ATM is on ground floor.

All their shuttle services will drop you off at the hotel or address you are staying in San Pedro de Atacama. 


Driving time is approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes.

Arrival in Chile - Getting your bearings

For the pre-night stay, we recommend staying at Hotel La Casa de Don Tomás in San Pedro de Atacama, which is well-located with lots of restaurants and other facilities just a short walk away.


Suggested Hotels

What’s included

  • Professional guide
    English-Spanish speaking
  • Private transportation
  • Accommodation
    As per itinerary
  • All meals
    As per itinerary
  • Hiking poles
  • Accident insurance
    Basic Plan
  • All activities
    As per itinerary
  • Entrance fees
    To National Parks, hot springs & local attractions

What’s not included

  • Flights
    International & Domestic
  • Travel Insurance
  • Gratuities
    At restaurants & hotels
  • Extras
    Beverages & cocktails, laundry & SPA services

Available Packages

Trip Price
$3,270
Deposit: $655

Available options

Itinerary

Day 1
Hike in Mars Valley

 On our first day, you will meet your team of local professional guides at Hotel. After an introductory briefing, we’ll head towards the Salt Mountain Range where the Mars Valley is located. This mountain range forms a natural barrier between the Pacific Ocean and the Atacama Salt Flat. 


After ascending a small dune, we will hike north along one of the cornices bordering the Mars Valley. The stunning panoramic view allows us to appreciate how erosion has molded the Salt Mountain Range, revealing the geological processes that shaped it. 

The most fun part of the excursion is a steep but enjoyable descent down a dune, from where we cross the valley on our way back to the van. 


Altitude: 2,600 meters above sea level

Distance: 3,7 kilometers

Meals: Welcome dinner

Accommodation: La Casa de Don Tomas Hotel 3* or Desértica Hotel 4*

Your Organizer


AT
AMITY TOURS
11 reviews
Amity Tours is an Adventure Travel Company founded in 2003. We are a boutique inbound tour operator specializing in Family Adventures - Cycling – Skiing – Hiking & Conservation Tours in Chile and Argentina. Our key elements are ADVENTURE - PEOPLE - NATURE.

Reviews

Our self-guided bike tour around Lago Llanquihue was truly the trip of a lifetime. The bike ride itself offered challenging hills, varied terrain (beaches, countryside, small towns, forests, etc), and incredible lake and volcano views the whole time. We also very much enjoyed biking up to the waterfalls and Lago Todos los Santos, where we took a boat across the river for a fun lunch. The accommodations (Casa Ayacara, Entre Volcanes Lodge, and Hotel Awa) were all great in different ways, and everyone was extremely friendly. We also enjoyed the food and restaurants in the region a lot as well. From a logistics standpoint, the RideWithGPS maps were very helpful and the luggage transport service was always on time and reliable. We arrived to each hotel after biking to find our bags had already been moved into our room, which was so nice. Caitlin with Amity Tours was SO SO helpful in making this trip as incredible as it was. She helped us by suggesting an itinerary, and then listening to what we wanted and making adjustments and customizations to the trip to make it absolutely perfect. I cannot thank her enough for helping us think through every little detail. A few of the great things she did was help us book a private hot tub experience at Cancagua Day Spa near Fruitillar (which was a highlight of our trip, for sure) as well as adjust our itinerary to allow us to lodge in a different area and have a dedicated bike day to go to the waterfalls/Lago Todos los Santos. She was patient, flexible, understanding, professional, and, above all, absolutely nailed it! Thanks Caitlin!
By Patrick K for Megan & Patrick's Milestone Birthday Adventure! on Feb 18, 2024
we had great food, met wonderful people, and learned a lot and kept safe by our enthusiastic guides.
By Gail H N for (2) 6-Day Patagonia Experience in Torres del Paine Gail on Dec 24, 2023
Even though concerned about the lack of internet, this made the experience even better! The standard dome was a bit chilly but so comfortable once in the well blanketed bed. The yoga was a great addition and the food couldn't have been better. I liked the choice of activities every day and loved the guides. Great trip!
By Betsy B for 6-Day Patagonia Experience in Torres del Paine Betsy Barrett on Dec 23, 2023
The Eco Domes are fantastic. We had a Superior Suite Dome which was large with lots of storage. It had both a wood stove and a bathroom heater. The bed was very comfortable. The food at Eco Camp is plentiful and delicious. Our guides were great--so knowledgeable about Chile and the local flora and fauna. Lots of little surprises each day. It was great having a yoga option. The logistics of getting to and from Eco Camp were perfect. Highly recommend this trip.
By Joan S for 6-Day Patagonia Experience in Torres del Paine Joan and Robert on Dec 22, 2023
Thanks for a great Chilean hiking trip. We enjoyed every minute of it. David was a wonderful guide. He was very knowledgeable about the areas we hiked, always organized, and took us through all that the volcanoes had to offer……Wind, rain, snow, sun, and some amazing views. A big thank you to Eduardo our driver for safely getting us to and from all our hikes. It was an excellent few days of hikes, delicious food, beautiful accommodations and fun with David and Eduardo.
By Terry K for PRIVATE HIKING TOUR CHILE L&V - TOM EBBERN NOV2023 on Dec 01, 2023
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