Lagunas Altiplánicas y Salar de Atacama

We took a tour today to the Salar de Atacamar (salt flat) and the Altiplánico (high plateau). The salt flat is 10km north of San Pedro and lies in a basin surrounded by a circle formed by the Domeyko and Andes mountain ranges. It covers an area of over 3000 square kilometers, making it the largest salt flat in Chile and the third largest in the world.

A path through the harsh salt flat

In the midst of the Salar de Atacama is Laguna Chaxa, a shallow salt lake with volcanic backdrops in all directions, and home to a variety of wildlife, including three species of flamingos.

Laguna Chaxa

Andean flamingos

Chilean flamingos

A flamingo in flight

Some little field mice at the information centre

We left the salt flat for the famous Altiplánico region of the Atacama, which is the high plateau 4000m above sea level. Here we visited Laguna Miscanti and Laguna Miñeques, famous for their birdlife, especially the six species of coots.

Laguna Miñeques

Laguna Miscanti

Our tour ended with stops in Toconao and Socaire, two oasis villages east of San Pedro. These villages use the traditional adobe style of building, securing volcanic stones with a mixture of mud and straw.

The early colonial church in Socaire

Me and a very friendly llama!