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Day 1: Arica - Azapa Valley
(25 km / 16 mi)
You will pick up your car at the airport
or downtown rental office.
Arica offers interesting points to
visit, like El Morro, a steep hill to
the south of the center. The Azapa
Valley is a fertile valley where
olives, tomatoes, and tropical
fruits are grown. It is famous for its
archaeological sites that date
back to the 10th century AD and
for the archaeological and anthropological
museum "San Miguel
de Azapa". Overnight in Arica.
Day 2: Putre
(3.500 m/11.483 ft above
sea level) (148 km/93 mi)
Drive up towards the highland village
of Putre, located at an altitude
of 3500 m / 11,483 ft. In
the afternoon, you will enter the
valley of Putre that is surrounded
by snow-capped volcano peaks.
Pre-Hispanic Putre is the capital
of the Parinacota Province. Overnight
in Putre. (B)
Day 3: Lauca National Park
- Arica (225 km / 141 mi)
Discover the captivating beauty of
the Lauca National Park with an
impressive variety of exotic flora
and wildlife such as vicuñas,
alpacas, Andean flamingos, as
well as other species. In the park
you will be able to visit Lake Chungará,
the highest in the world,
and the village of Parinacota with
its beautiful church. In the afternoon
you will return to Arica, stopping
in the Lluta Valley to admire
the geoglyphs on the arid hillside
made by the pre-Columbian
inhabitants. Overnight
in Arica. (B)
Day 4: Arica -
Iquique (318
km / 198 mi)
Drive through the
"Pampa", a dry desert at
1.000 - 1.200 m /3,280 -
3,940 ft above sea level. Various
deep canyons intersect this high
and dry plain. You will then enter
the region of the 19th century saltpeter
boom around Iquique. Overnight
in Iquique. (B)
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Day 5: Iquique -
San Pedro de Atacama
(550 km / 342 mi)
For most of this long ride, you will
be heading south through the
Pampa del Tamarugal before you
turn east to the famous Atacama
Desert. During the whole trip
roads will be paved. Overnight in
San Pedro de Atacama. (B)
Day 6: Salar de Atacama
and Moon Valley
(100 km / 62 mi)
San Pedro de Atacama once was
the center of the Atacama civilization;
the museum Padre
le Paige in the centre
of town has a collection
of over
380,000 exhibits,
including mummies discovered
in this area. We
recommend visiting the
Salar de Atacama, the largest
of the Chilean salt lakes in the
morning or early afternoon
(100 km/62 mi from San
Pedro). Then drive to the Moon
Valley. When the sun sets on
this rocky landscape, its colors will
be just impressive. Overnight in
San Pedro. (B)
Day 7: El Tatio and Puritama
(4.321 m/14.177 ft above
sea level)(94 km / 58 mi)
After an early start (about 04.00
a.m.) you will be able to visit the
El Tatio Geysers, a geothermal
field flanked by soaring Andean
peaks at an altitude of 4,321
m/14,177 ft above sea level. At
dawn, powerful spurts of steam
shoot out of various blowholes.
After your visit to the geysers, you
will drive back to San Pedro; on
your way you can visit the Hot
Springs of Puritama to relax and
warm up in the beautiful thermal
baths. Overnight in San Pedro. (B)
Day 8: San Pedro - Calama
/ Antofagasta 100 km/62
mi to Calama; 320 km/199
mi to Antofagasta )
After breakfast, you will return
your car either in Calama or
Antofagasta, airport or city
office. (B)
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