Top of the canyon at end of salt cave
2 декабря 2017 г., Чили ⋅ ⛅ 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 декабря 2017 г., Чили ⋅ ⛅ 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 декабря 2017 г., Чили ⋅ ⛅ 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. TheЧитать далее
The amphitheater
2 декабря 2017 г., Чили ⋅ ⛅ 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 декабря 2017 г., Чили ⋅ ⛅ 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 clayЧитать далее
Duna Mayor
2 декабря 2017 г., Чили ⋅ ⛅ 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 ofЧитать далее
Views from Duna Mayor
2 декабря 2017 г., Чили ⋅ ⛅ 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 theЧитать далее
Sunset over the Moon Valley
2 декабря 2017 г., Чили ⋅ ⛅ 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 oppositeЧитать далее
Off to Salar de Tara
3 декабря 2017 г., Чили ⋅ ⛅ 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 areaЧитать далее
Salar de Tara
3 декабря 2017 г., Чили ⋅ ⛅ 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.Читать далее
Off to the Cathedral formation
3 декабря 2017 г., Чили ⋅ ⛅ 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 thatЧитать далее
The Cathedral formation
3 декабря 2017 г., Чили ⋅ ⛅ 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 theЧитать далее
Salar de Tara viewpoint
3 декабря 2017 г., Чили ⋅ ⛅ 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. ThisЧитать далее
Down to the valley
3 декабря 2017 г., Чили ⋅ ⛅ 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 декабря 2017 г., Чили ⋅ ⛅ 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 ofЧитать далее
Organic fossil rocks
3 декабря 2017 г., Чили ⋅ ⛅ 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 декабря 2017 г., Чили ⋅ ⛅ 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 thisЧитать далее
Aguas Calientes lake
3 декабря 2017 г., Чили ⋅ ⛅ 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 aЧитать далее
Obsidian stones
3 декабря 2017 г., Чили ⋅ ⛅ 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 inЧитать далее
Andean Fox
3 декабря 2017 г., Чили ⋅ ☀️ 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 декабря 2017 г., Чили ⋅ 🌙 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 backЧитать далее
Lunch at San Pedro de Atacama
3 декабря 2017 г., Чили ⋅ ⛅ 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 withЧитать далее
Geysers del Tatio
4 декабря 2017 г., Чили ⋅ ⛅ 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 wereЧитать далее
Hot pools at El Tatio
4 декабря 2017 г., Чили ⋅ ⛅ 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,Читать далее
The main geyser
4 декабря 2017 г., Чили ⋅ ⛅ 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 metersЧитать далее