Crossing Northern Chile

Arrival in Santiago and private transfer to your hotel.

An English-speaking guide will accompany you during the transfer.
Visit of Chile's capital, nestled at the foot of the Andes. Although Santiago has become over the years a modern and bustling city, some older neighbourhoods have preserved their atmosphere and a romantic charm.
You will visit the Plaza de Armas, San Francisco Church, the Bellavista area, Cerro San Cristobal, etc.

Night at the Principado de Asturias hotel ***.
Included : transfer arrival, english speaking guide, guide expenses, entrance fees, private transport, room & breakfast
Included opts : International guide

Private transfer from your hotel to Santiago airport.

Domestic flight from Santiago to Calama (time to be confirmed, flight indicated in option).

Arrival at Calama airport and private transfer to San Pedro de Atacama, a small oasis in the middle of the driest desert on Earth.
In the middle of the afternoon, departure to the Cordillera de Sal (salt mountains) and the Moon Valley to have a walk in a magnificent landscape made of sand dunes and sculpted calcareous mountains. Make sure you watch the sunset project amazing colors over the tortuous scenery before going back to San Pedro.

Night at the Takha Takha Hotel in a superior room **.
Included : transfer departure, domestic flight, airport tax, transfer arrival, english speaking guide, guide expenses, entrance fees, room & breakfast

Morning at leisure to take time to discover the streets of San Pedro. You can visit the museum of Father Le Paige which gathers an impressive collection of 380,000 objects from the Atacamena culture.
At 15:30, departure towards the north of the Salar de Atacama and the lagoon Cejar. Have a swim break in the lagoon where you will surprisingly float, thanks to the extreme salt concentration. An unforgettable moment in the desert! Continue you journey to the Ojos del Salar, another lagoon where you can swim. End of the Tour at the Laguna Tebenquinche to enjoy the beautiful colors of the Licancabur volcano and a small appetizer with a famous pisco sour. Return to San Pedro.

Night at the Takha Takha Hotel in a superior room **.
Included : english speaking guide, entrance fees, private transport, room & breakfast

Departure from your hotel in the morning. Day fully dedicated to the discovery of the Atacama salt flat and its surrounding. The Toconao and Socaire villages, the Quebrada de Jerez, the Chaxa, Miscanti and Miñiques lagoons with their volcanoes, are the “must” of this visit. Lunch in a restaurant at Socaire. Return to San Pedro at the end of the afternoon.

Night at the Takha Takha Hotel in a superior room **.
Included : lunch (no drinks), english speaking guide, guide expenses, entrance fees, private transport, room & breakfast

In the morning, departure for the the Salar de Tara in a 4WD. A steep hill takes you to the Altiplano towards the border post of Paso Jama. After 60 miles and a 3-hour drive, you will discover the famous Salar de Tara, offering one of the most impressive landscapes of the Altiplano. At an altitude of 4,300m, this salar is surrounded by beautiful volcanoes. Volcanic roc formations eroded by time form the most amazing shapes: the guardians of Pacana and the Tara cathedrals. The Tara Lagoon allows fauna and flora to survive in such a hostile environment.
You will get back to San Pedro at the end of the day.

Note: Because of the altitude, you will spend the entire tour in the car. Dress up according to the cold weather.

Night at the Takha Takha Hotel in a superior room **.
Included : english speaking guide, entrance fees, private transport, box lunch, room & breakfast

Departure between 4.30 and 6.00 (time depends on the vehicle, the number of passengers and the season) from the hotel towards the Tatio. You will arrive at the perfect time to admire the sunrise and the geysers roaring in the cold air of the Altiplano. The valley looks like a giant pot. Water spurts here and there. This geological curiosity mixes a ground still frozen with boiling hot clear water springs (70°C/160°F). Observation of numerous volcanic formations.
After a few hours, return to San Pedro via the Machuca Valley.

Night at the Takha Takha Hotel in a superior room **.
Included : english speaking guide, guide expenses, entrance fees, private transport, breakfast, excursion (private), room & breakfast

5-day expedition in a private vehicle with a Spanish-speaking driver
Descent towards Calama and Maria Elena. You will reach the famous Pan-American Highway, this road that connects Alaska with Tierra del Fuego. You will drive through the Pampa of Tamarugal. This desert area experienced in the late nineteenth century a rush, but not for gold, for saltpeter. Many abandoned "oficinas" reflect this ephemeral and tragic past. You can also admire stunning and monumental geoglyphs on the slopes of the hills around Cerros Pintados. Pre-Colombian civilizations drew nearly 350 figures, representing human, animal and abstract forms.
You will arrive at the end of the day in Pica, a charming oasis with orange, lemon and guava trees.
Night at the Hotel Santa Rosa ***.
Included : local guide, guide expenses, entrance fees, private transport, room & breakfast

After a good night sleep, you will go up towards the Andes to reach the Salar de Huasco. This basin surrounded by volcanoes, at 3,700 m above sea level, impresses with its solitude. The trail continues north. You will reach the Portezuelo pass (at 5,075 m!) and then drive around the Cariquima Volcano (5,390 m alt.) before arriving at the border village of Colchane.
The crossing of the Huasco Salt Flat will depend on the weather conditions.


Night at the hotel Isluga **.
Included : room & breakfast, local guide, guide expenses, entrance fees, private transport, dinner, box lunch

Head north, among the bogs with llamas in Volcán Isluga National Park, and cross the colonial villages of Isluga (3,980 m alt.) and Enquelga (3,850 m alt.). A narrow track that seems to play hide and seek with the border takes you to the Salar de Surire (4,245 m alt.), which takes its name from the ostrich (“suri” in Aymara). You can see three varieties of flamingos, as well as numerous llamas, alpacas, and vicunas. Lunch break near the hot springs. Then you will get back on the track, guided by the Guallatiri Volcano and its sulfuric fumes, through Las Vicuñas Natural Reserve, to reach the village of Putre in late afternoon.

Night at Hotel la Chakana **.
Included : local guide, guide expenses, entrance fees, private transport, box lunch, room & breakfast

Option 1: Start your day with the Chungará Lake and then walk down to the Cotacotani Lagoons (3h walk). The guide will show you the way and pick you up at the end of the walk. Then, you will drive down to Parinacota and its pretty church, and to Putre.
Option 2: Take a short walk (around 30 minutes) to get to Las Cuevas. In the village of Parinacota, the vehicle will pick you up and you will drive down to the Cotacotani Lagoons, without doing the hike. You will then continue to the Chungará Lake and Putre at the end of the day.

Night at Hotel la Chakana **.
Included : local guide, guide expenses, entrance fees, private transport, room & breakfast

Leave the Andes to drive down 3,500m in a little more than 150 km (about 6-hour drive with stops). The view on the Nevado de Putre (5,824 m alt.) is stunning. You will see candelabra cactuses on the edges of the canyon, the Pukará of Copaquilla, the church of San Geronimo in Poconchile, and many geoglyphs and petroglyphs.

Night at the hotel Chinchorro suite ***.
Included : local guide, guide expenses, entrance fees, private transport, room & breakfast

Private transfer to Arica airport.

Domestic flight from Arica to Santiago (time to be confirmed, flight indicated in option).
Arrival at Santiago Airport.
After meeting your guide, head to Valparaiso.
Visit of this town, and its old quarters, listed as a World Heritage by UNESCO. With its many hills crowned with picturesque houses and warehouses, its steep narrow streets, its cable cars and street singers, the city has a particular identity and a very special atmosphere. Seize the opportunity to have lunch in a typical seafood restaurant. Visit of La Sebastiana, one of Pablo Neruda's houses.
Note: La Sebastiana is closed on Mondays.

Night at Hotel Manoir Aktinson ***.

Upgraded room with view over the Ocean.
Included : private transport, domestic flight, airport tax, english speaking guide, guide expenses, entrance fees, room & breakfast, breakfast

Day at leisure in Valparaiso. Visit the different neighborhoods, the Alegre and Concepción hills, registered as world heritage by UNESCO. Take one of the 100-year-old lifts to help you get up the hills, and enjoy the bohemian peacefull lifestyle of this coastal town.

Night at Hotel Manoir Aktinson ***.

Upgraded room with view over the Ocean.
Included : room & breakfast, breakfast

Private transfer from Valparaiso to Santiago airport.
Included : private transport