We think that San Pedro is the prettiest town in Chile (many of us
will come with their families). It is hard to give details on every of
the many many possible activities in San Pedro. This page attempts to
summarize some of the most impressive/attractive things to see, at
least from the point of view of the organizers.
In San Pedro ( Area map )
It is worth spending an afternoon or evening walking around San Pedro.
It has a small archeological museum, a very nice church next to the
"plaza de armas", and lots of shops selling all kinds of handicraft
work at prices that can usually be negociated. San Pedro has also a
swimming pool a bit outside the village, which can be reached in less
than 30 minutes walk.
Short excursions around San Pedro
There is a number of archeological sites to see, just next to San Pedro.
Each can be visited in half a day walk or cycling (better alternative
for most places). There are plenty of agencies renting bicycles for
less than US$10 per day. Among the trips to do, it is probably worth
visiting the farmlands south of the village (which are flat, so easy
to visit by bike), or the "Valle de la Muerte", similar to the more
famous "Valle de la Luna" West of the village, but closer. Note that
the trip is a lot less dangerous than the name of he place would tend
to indicate ! Biking to Valle de la Luna is also worth it, although
this can be done with the (cheap) local tours. While the former
option takes half a day, the latter can take one full day.
Half a day tours
We plan to have one half day free during the meeting. Again, there
are many options there. The two most popular half day tours include
the visit of the "Valle de la Luna" and the "Salar de Atacama". Both
can be booked one day in advance in one of the many agencies offering
it (6-7US$ per person) and leave around 2-3 pm daily:
Valle de la Luna:
The Valle de la Luna is a desertic area
resembling the moon, where wonderful sunsets can be seen. Tours
usually take 5 to 8 persons in a van or four wheel drive car and are
back to San Pedro around 6-7 pm.
Salar de Atacama:
The Salar de Atacama is a wide flat area
where minerals coming from the altiplano accumulate. The combination
of minerals, altitude and illumination conditions result in the
production of unique species of algues and plancton that feed local
flamingoes. Sunset and sunrise offer spectacular views of the Salar,
at a time where flamingoes come in groups to eat the plancton.
Note that the Salar can be also seen in some of the one-day tours
proposed in the next section.
One day tours
If you come before or stay a couple of days after (advisable), you can
enjoy 1-day tours. The longer tours you take, the more diverse they
are. Three of the best ones probably include:
Geyser "El Tatio:
This tour takes you to the highest and
largest geyser field of the world. It's location on a plateau at
4300m makes the trip a bit tough but it is really worth it. Tours
leave at 4-5am from San Pedro, and take you to the Geyser field for
sunrise (take warm clothes, it's freezing there before the sun is up).
Breakfast is provided and you can even have a bath in a pool filled in
with hot water from the Geyser. The landscape on the way back is
very impressive and if you are lucky, you may see Vicunas (smaller
version of the Lama) and Viscachas (jumping beasts half way between
rabbit and kangaroo). The tour is back a bit after noon and costs
18000 Ch$ (35 US$) per person.
Lagunas Miscanti-Miniques:
A particularily impressive
tour which leaves at 6-7am. It first stops at the Salar de Atacama and
goes to high altitude Lagunas (4100m) 100km south of San Pedro passing
through small villages on the way up. On the way down, you stop at
Tocanao a small village irrigated by a rivers formed after an
earthquake. The tour is back around 8 pm and costs 18000 Ch$ (35 US$)
per person.
Laguna Verde: we have so far little information on this
tour, which is similar to the previous one with the difference that it
takes you to Bolivia.
Archeological tour
Some more...
For the ones who may want to spend several days before/after the
meeting, there are several possibilities for longer tours, mainly
going to Bolivia. Tours of several days, up to one week can be book
for very reasonable prices (about 100US$ per person).
Back to the Workshop page
Workshop Account
Last updated on January 20, 2000
