Chile (July-August 2015): San Pedro de Atacama, Toconao, and Laguna Chaxa
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Location of San Pedro de Atacama in northern Chile: |
Annotated satellite view of the region around San Pedro de Atacama: |
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The village of San Pedro de Atacama, at 2400m in the Atacama Desert, 100 km east of Calama, is by far the main touristic center in northern Chile. It is not clear to me why. For sure, the region offers a large number of incredible sights, but many tourists do not seem much interested in seeing them and don‛t stay more than a couple of days. In fact, I met no or very few tourists during my excursions outside San Pedro. The village itself has a relax atmosphere thanks to its rustic adobe buildings and unpaved streets. But it is not particularly beautiful and its streets are crowded with non-locals. Dozens of tour companies and restaurants try relentlessly to attract passerby‛s attention. Accommodations and food are overpriced and winter nights feel rather cold. I would be lying if I said that I liked the place. I spent most of my time doing excursions outside San Pedro and thanks to Pablo Garcia of Atacama Contact I had an excellent time visiting some truly spectacular places. At least, San Pedro has an excellent (and very friendly) place for coffee: Roots Cafe on Toconao Street.
Atacama Desert near San Pedro de Atacama.
The oasis of San Pedro de Atacama seen from Altos de Chulacao, a small hill above the pukara de Quitor, 3 km north of the village‛s center.
Other photos from the oasis.
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Church of San Pedro, one of the oldest in Chile, made of thick blocks of adobe.
Pukara de Quitor built on the eastern side of the Cordillera de la Sal, 3 km north of San Pedro‛s center. This pre-Hispanic fortress was used to protect the oasis. It also contained domestic habitations.
Faces of Atacameno people carved in stone at a memorial above the pukara de Quitor commemorating the resistance of 25 Atacamenos beheaded by Spanish invaders in 1540.
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Left: Bell tower of the church in the village of Toconao (35 km south-east of San Pedro). Center: Door of the bell tower, made up of slices of cactus logs (cardons) bound by llama leather. Right: One of the small canyons in Toconao. Perhaps because the village lies partially in such canyons, the name Toconao means ″hidden place″ in kunza language (an extinct language once spoken in the Atacama Desert).
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Toconao is locally famous for its old gardens where locals cultivate a large variety of fruits and vegetables, including figs, pomegranates, grape... The gardens, each owned by a family of Toconao, are accessible by narrow alleys with small irrigation canals. Today, more and more inhabitants get a better salary by working for a lithium mining company operating in the Salar de Atacama and some of the gardens are no longer well maintained.
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Rica-Rica, a magic aromatic plant of the Atacama Desert used for its medicinal properties, especially against stomach pain and diarrhea.
Salar de Atacama.
Laguna Chaxa in the salar de Atacama.
Two is better than one.
