Top of the canyon at end of salt cave
2. Dezember 2017 in Chile ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C
The climb out of the cave was a steep climb to the top of the canyon. It was quite windy there. Top was about 20-25 mts above the cave exit.
Climb down from canyon top
2. Dezember 2017 in Chile ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C
There is a path at the top of the salt cave canyon all the way to the front and then down near the entrance. There were some very beautiful clay and salt formations here.
Tres Marias
2. Dezember 2017 in Chile ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C
After the salt cave, we went to the end of the Moon Valley to the rock formations called the Tres Marias. The head of one of the Marias has broken over time due to a tourist trying to climb it. TheWeiterlesen
The amphitheater
2. Dezember 2017 in Chile ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C
After Tres Marias, we were dropped off at the amphitheater formation. From here we walked to the lunar landscape. At the base of the amphitheater is the monk formation as well.
Lunar landscape Moon Valley
2. Dezember 2017 in Chile ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C
From the amphitheater, we walked to the lunar landscape. This area is the reason for the valley to be called moon valley. On one side were huge sand dunes and the other side a depression with clayWeiterlesen
Duna Mayor
2. Dezember 2017 in Chile ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C
The next stop on the tour was the Duna Mayor. It is a huge sand dune next to the lunar landscape. There is a path around the dune where one can climb to the top of the dune. The play of the shadows ofWeiterlesen
Views from Duna Mayor
2. Dezember 2017 in Chile ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C
From the top of the Duna Mayor, the views were fantastic. On one side, we could see the depression forming the lunar landscape. In the middle was the road cutting across the moon valley and on theWeiterlesen
Sunset over the Moon Valley
2. Dezember 2017 in Chile ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C
After the Duna Mayor, the tour proceeded to the Moon Valley viewpoint to see the sunset. We reached the spot by around 7:45 pm. The sun was still a bit above the horizon but the moon on the oppositeWeiterlesen
Off to Salar de Tara
3. Dezember 2017 in Chile ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C
We were up by 7:30 am and ready by 8 am for our pick up for the Salar de Tara tour.
Located at 4,300m, and 100 km from San Pedro de Atacama, this is a high-altitude Altiplano lake with a surface areaWeiterlesen
Salar de Tara
3. Dezember 2017 in Chile ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C
Our first stop in the Salar de Tara was at Monjes de la Pacana (Pacana Monks). Its a stone formation in the middle of the desert that looks like monks in their habits. Nearby is the obelisk formation.Weiterlesen
Off to the Cathedral formation
3. Dezember 2017 in Chile ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C
From the first stop, we drove deeper into the Salar de Tara. The drive was on flat desert plains. The land was quite soft in some places and could have been dangerous for inexperienced drivers thatWeiterlesen
The Cathedral formation
3. Dezember 2017 in Chile ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C
After driving for about 1 hour, we reached the cathedral formation quite near the Salar de Tara Laguna. Its a mesa formation with a flat top. We drove a few metres further to the viewpoint of theWeiterlesen
Salar de Tara viewpoint
3. Dezember 2017 in Chile ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C
The views of the Salar de Tara from the viewpoint were stunning. There were stone formations on one side in yellow color, in red on the other side and tge salt lake in the depression in front. ThisWeiterlesen
Down to the valley
3. Dezember 2017 in Chile ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C
From the viewpoint, we drove down into the valley along a dirt road. There were strange stome formations on the way.
Multi color organic fossil stones
3. Dezember 2017 in Chile ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C
Below in the valkey, we reached some very strange rock formations with white and yellow colors. They didn't taste like salt nor did we smell sulphur so we were puzzled at what could be the origin ofWeiterlesen
Organic fossil rocks
3. Dezember 2017 in Chile ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C
We spent about 10 min at these interesting formations before driving further to some more formations in the valley.
Catedrales de Cenizas (Ash Cathedrals)
3. Dezember 2017 in Chile ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C
We then proceeded a bit further to the base of the viewpoint from where we had seen the Salar de Tara. Here too, we saw the yellow remains of organic fossil from the same lake that covered thisWeiterlesen
Aguas Calientes lake
3. Dezember 2017 in Chile ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C
From the cathedral formations, we drove over to the Aguas Calientes lake. It is also a salt lake with a lot of flamingos. At one corner of the lake, there is a lot of plant and algae growth due to aWeiterlesen
Obsidian stones
3. Dezember 2017 in Chile ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C
The way back to the entrance of the national park, passes through a flat desert landscape with lots of stones and pebbles strewn around. Our guide told us that one could find obsidian stones spread inWeiterlesen
Andean Fox
3. Dezember 2017 in Chile ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C
Jist outside of the national park, an Andean fox came right next to our van. We stopped to take some pictures of it. From here, there was a fantastic panoramic view of the Salar de Tara behind us.
Salar de Pujsa
3. Dezember 2017 in Chile ⋅ 🌙 26 °C
On the way back to San Pedro de Atacama, we stopped for a short while at Salar de Pujsa. The saline lake that forms the part of the salar looked jet blue in the afternoon sun. From here, we drove backWeiterlesen
Lunch at San Pedro de Atacama
3. Dezember 2017 in Chile ⋅ ⛅ 2 °C
We reached back in San Pedro de Atacama by about 4 pm. The lunch was included in our tour today so the guide took us to a nice restaurant in the town. The food was nice and we enjoyed conversing withWeiterlesen
Geysers del Tatio
4. Dezember 2017 in Chile ⋅ ⛅ 2 °C
We had 2 tours planned for today. The first half of the day was for the Geyser del Tatio and in the afternoon was the Tour to Escondidas lakes.
Our pickup was at the hostel at about 4:30 am. We wereWeiterlesen
Hot pools at El Tatio
4. Dezember 2017 in Chile ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C
The whole surface was interspersed with hot pools and fumeroles bellowing out steam from below the surface. There were mud pots and hot springs everywhere. The rising steam with no breeze to blow it,Weiterlesen
The main geyser
4. Dezember 2017 in Chile ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C
There are two main areas here, and you can see the water start to bubble out of the frozen surface of the earth as the sun’s rays warm it. There is a large geyser that shoots water some 4-5 metersWeiterlesen