Ride.
The best of Northern Chile.
Andes to Atacama Desert.
- Miles: 1354
- Start: Santiago
- End: Toconao
- Time: 4 days to a week
- Suitability: adventure or tourer A2 and above
Santiago – also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country’s central valley and is the centre of the Santiago Metropolitan Region.
Elqui Valley – starts in the west Andes and flows into the Pacific Ocean near the Chilean city of La Serena. It flows through a wine and pisco producing area. Vicuña, the main town of the middle valley, was the home of Nobel Laureate poet Gabriela Mistral.
San Pedro de Atacama – is a Chilean town and commune in El Loa Province, Antofagasta Region. It is located east of Antofagasta, some 60 miles (106 km) southeast of Calama and the Chuguicamata copper mine, overlooking the Licancabur volcano. It features a significant archeological museum, the R. P. Gustavo Le Paige Archaeological Museum, with a large collection of relics and artifacts from the region.
Valle de la Luna (Valley of the Moon) – is located 8 miles (13 km) west of San Pedro de Atacama, in the north of Chile in the Cordillera de la Sal, in the Atacama Desert. It has various stone and sand formations which have been carved by wind and water. It has an impressive range of colour and texture, looking somewhat similar to the surface of the Moon. There are also dry lakes where the composition of salt makes a white covering layer of the area.
El Taito – is a geothermal field with many geysers located in the Andes Mountains of northern Chile at 4,320 metres (14,170 ft) above mean sea level. It is the third-largest geyser field in the world and the largest in the Southern Hemisphere. Various meanings have been proposed for the name “El Tatio”, including “oven” or “grandfather”.
Salar de Atacama – located 34miles (55 km) south of San Pedro de Atacama, is the largest salt flat in Chile. It is surrounded by mountains and lacks drainage outlets. To the east, it is enclosed by the main chain of the Andes, while to the west lies a secondary mountain range called Cordillera de Domeyko. The landscape is dominated by imposing volcanoes such as Licancabur, Acamarachi, Aguas Calientes, and Láscar, the latter being one of Chile’s most active volcanoes. These volcanoes are situated along the eastern side of the Salar de Atacama, forming a north–south trending line that separates it from smaller endorheic basins.
Toconao – is a village 24 miles (38 km) south of San Pedro de Atacama in the San Pedro de Atacama province of Chile’s northern Antofagasta Region. It lies at an elevation of 2,485 m (8,153 ft) above sea level, close to the northeast margin of the Salar de Atacama.
