Atacama and the Altiplano · Chile
Desert Sky
Six days, two of them mostly after dark
The shape of it
The short version of the Atacama, built around two nights of astronomy and one day on the altiplano.
For travellers who have a week rather than a fortnight, and who care more about the sky than about ticking off the geyser field at four in the morning.
Two astronomy evenings rather than one, both scheduled inside a moonless window, with a professional astronomer and a telescope worth the name. In between, the salt flat, the valley floor and one properly acclimatised day at the lagoons.
El Tatio is not on this itinerary. Six days is not enough time to do it safely after arriving at altitude, and we would rather leave it out than rush you up to 4,320 metres on day three.
- Length
- 6 days, 5 nights
- From
- €3,200 per person
- Best months
- Any moonless week from March to November
- Season
- Autumn, Spring, Winter
- Format
- Small group
- Party
- Maximum eight travellers
- Pace
- Late starts, long evenings, one high day
- Travel styles
- Desert and altitude
Per person sharing, in a group of six to eight. Fixed departures, aligned to the new moon. Dates and prices shown are indicative demo content. Confirm everything with your own operations before publishing.
Start an enquiryDay by day
The itinerary
Written as it would actually run. Select a day to see where you are, what you are doing and where you sleep.
Day 1
Into San Pedro
Direct from Calama in the afternoon. Walk slowly, drink a lot, and meet the group over an early dinner.
- Transfer from Calama
- A slow walk around town
- Group dinner
- Night
- Casa Lickanantay
- Getting there
- Calama to San Pedro, one hour
The country you travel through
Where you sleep
The places we use on this trip
Included
The days worth flying for
What is included
- Five nights with breakfast
- Two astronomy evenings with a professional astronomer
- All excursions with a guide and vehicle
- Transfers to and from Calama
- Dates proposed against the lunar calendar
What is not
- Flights
- Most meals
- Travel insurance
Who plans this journey
Clara Benitez
South America and Indonesia · planning since 2018
Clara read geology at Concepcion and spent four years on fieldwork in the Andes before she ever booked a hotel for anyone. The acclimatisation schedule on our altiplano journeys is hers and she does not bend it.
She has worked in Sumba since 2019 with a guide from Kodi, and is careful about which villages we visit and how often.
Known for: Checking the moon phase before she proposes your Atacama dates, without being asked.
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