Things to see and do Great North

Located in the middle of the salar, these five small turquoise lagoons offer a beautiful sight. Indeed, they have a salt concentration 40% higher than normal, a bit like the Dead Sea in Israel. You float on the water. Be careful when you go swimming, as the lagoon is full of crystallized salt, you can cut yourself: remember to bring flip-flops and even gloves, and plenty of water to remove the salt after swimming. Choose the period from September to December for a dip, it's the best time!

Created in 1967 and housed in an old olive mill, it is undoubtedly one of the best museums in the region. It exhibits petroglyphs from the Azapa Valley and a collection of Andean fabrics, ceramics and basketry. The exhibition, very well done, informs us about the way of life of the natives of the coast and the valleys. But it is above all the Chinchorra mummies (there are 300 in all), the oldest in the world, that will hold your attention, as well as the explanations of the mummification process. This civilization practiced mummification 2,000 years before the Egyptians! In 2017, these mummies were transferred to the National Museum of Natural History of Chile in order to perform CT tests: the aim was to understand and study some of the characteristics of these mummies. Absolute archaeological rarities, these mummies were inscribed on the Unesco World Heritage list in July 2021. Finally, the traditional techniques of olive oil extraction will no longer hold any secrets for you thanks to a large 18th century press on display a little further on. Behind the museum are the San Miguel burial mounds, which were formed into mounds by the successive accumulation of layers of sand and vegetable fibres. They belong to the cultural stage known as Alto Ramirez (400 BC - 400 AD). Leaving the museum, you can go to the village of San Miguel.

Julie arrived in San Pedro 17 years ago. Close to the Atacamene culture and a trained ethnologist, she has many anecdotes and stories to tell about archaeology, flora and fauna, geology... and offers themed tours through exclusive hikes. Julie, her partner Eric and their entire team know the desert like the back of their hand, and will take you off the beaten track to places where authenticity reigns: from villages untouched by tourism to the valleys of the Arc-en-Ciel and its petroglyphs, you'll experience a holiday that's out of the ordinary.

A big travel agency. All tours are available. The guides appear as professionals, but as they change very often, we are not of course their reliability… most of your escorts are foreign. There is nothing to blame about prices compared to the proposed benefits, but solitude will not be your companion.

In this lagoon, you will be able to observe the pink flamingos, these graceful birds and their flight which leaves behind them a trail of magic powder, and inevitably pink. Of the five species of flamingos in the world, three are found in Chile: the Andean flamingo, the Chilean flamingo and the James flamingo. Now threatened, these flamingo species are fragile and to admire them is a privilege. Be sure to observe them in silence and discretion. Other bird species include the Andean avocet and the snipe.

This valley is located at the exit of the city, next to the liparite quarry used for building houses. It is a small parade with vineyards, figs, pegs, pruniers, on the edge of a small stream that flows peacefully. A mirage in the middle of the desert! When you go back, you will see holes in the caves, the refrigerators of the time that kept food.