BIKE AND HIKE TOUR IN CHILE’S ATACAMA DESERT

Included:  bedroom and breakfast, transport

Day 2 – Bike Ayllus and Likan Antay Experience – Hike Kari Gorge – Stargazing

On our first day, you will meet your team of local professional guides at the Hotel at 9 am. They will go over all logistic details and help you fit your bike to your satisfaction.

Morning Ride: Today we will have a great introductory experience to the Likan Antay culture and its way of living. We will leave the hotel by bike and ride through different ayllus. The Ayllu is an ancient type of organization and land management. Created by the Altiplano people who inhabited these desert sites, it was this that allowed for the settlement and development of these cultures, managing the landscape to survive in the most complex conditions of this isolated place, in the middle of the driest desert in the world. We will pass by Solcor, Sequitor & Tulor. Here we will make our first stop in order to visit the Tulor archaeological site, one of the oldest archaeological sites in northern Chile. Then we will meet Wildo and his family at the ayllu of Coyo and share with his family some daily activities and ancestral cosmovision. We will enjoy lunch at a local restaurant in Coyo tasting typical food prepared with local products. Finally, we will bike back to the hotel, rest from the sun and get prepared for our PM excursion. Distance by Bike: 30 Km

Elevation: 2.400 Meters above sea level.

Afternoon Hike: During the afternoon we’ll head toward the Salt Mountain Range, which forms a natural barrier between the Pacific Ocean and the Atacama Salt Flat. The hike starts at the Coyote rock, a strange rock formation and gets deep into the mountain range and its geologic forms. We’ll hike for 2 hours by the Kari George located in the Moon Valley, admiring beautiful views of Atacama. The Moon is well-known due to its statuesque and rocky formations. Salt emerges to the surface, covering the surface with a dry, whitish layer that gives the place a lunar aspect. Distance Hiking: 8 Km. Elevation: 2.400 Meters above sea level.

Evening activity: At night we will enjoy an amazing astronomy outing. We’ll spend 2 hours that starts with an astronomy lecture in a specially equipped room, followed by a naked eye star-gazing and finally, a celestial bodies telescopic observation.

Accomodation: Hotel Casa de Don Tomás 4* or similar.

Included:  Bike and helmet, entrance fees, excursion, bilingual local guide, insurance, bedroom and breakfast, snack.

Afternoon Ride: In the afternoon we will bike from San Pedro to the town of Toconao. Once here we will visit the Main Plaza, the Church and the historic Belltower,  historic symbols of this town all of them.

Accommodation: Hotel Casa de Don Tomás 4* or similar.

Later, we will visit some vegetable gardens and sample some local wine. After we will continue biking towards “Reserva Nacional Los Flamencos”, where the Atacama Salt Flat is located and bird watching is amazing. This National Reserve is formed by a gigantic depression of more than 3.500km2, located 2.300m. high. The Atacama salt flat is the biggest salt field in Chile and its large quantities of salt make the surface white and rough. The dryness and altitude of the salt field allow an excellent panoramic view of the area. The bottom of the salt field is composed of an enormous lake, which receives water from mountain rivers and melting snow. As it has no runoff, several small lagoons have formed, where we can observe the three species of flamingos living in the area: Puna, Andean and the Chilean flamingo. Here we will wait until sunset and then head back by van to our hotel in San Pedro and spend the night (in summer sunset is around 9 pm and in winter around 6 pm). Distance by Bike: 63,7 Km. Elevation: 2.400 Meters above sea level.

Included:  Bike and helmet, entrance fees, excursion, bilingual local guide, insurance, bedroom and breakfast.

Afternoon Ride: After lunch, we leave by bicycle to Catarpe through a road that goes up to Salt Ridge. We go through an ancient tunnel before starting a descent that will take us to the Piedra de la Coca, a site with petroglyphs. We continue our trip to the Paciencia plains through stony grounds and on our way back we pass through the Mars Valley. Return to San Pedro de Atacama overnight. Distance by Bike: 36 Km. Elevation: 2.400 Meters above sea level.

Accommodation: La Casa de Don Tomas 4* or similar.

Included:  Bike and helmet, entrance fees, excursion, bilingual local guide, insurance, bedroom and breakfast

Day 5 – Bike and Hike Guatin – Machuca and Rio Grande (Full Day)

Included:  Bike and helmet, box lunch, entrance fees, excursion, bilingual local guide, insurance, bedroom and breakfast.

Day 6 – Hike Tatio Geysers (Full Day)

Today we will enjoy a hike at the geothermal field. We will hike through abandoned shelters and native wildlife. This hike around the Copa Coya Hill to the Tatio Geysers provides unforgettable moments. The red-hued rock that the wider valley is known for turns to a dusty grey or pale orange throughout this excursion, which begins on the trails surrounding Copa Coya Hill. Despite its elevation and apparent isolation, the route is known to attract its fair share of on looking wildlife as you hike, including native Vizcachas, Vicuñas and an abundance of llareta plants, longest-living in the world. We will enjoy lunch at the geothermal field with the chance to take a bath at the thermal pools. Later, we’ll return to San Pedro de Atacama and enjoy dinner together with your local guides. Distance Hiking: 9 Km. Elevation: 4.400 Meters above sea level. Accommodation: La Casa de Don Tomas 4* or similar.

Included:  Bike and helmet, box lunch, dinner, entrance fees, excursion, bilingual local guide, insurance, bedroom, and breakfast.

Day 7 – Bike Andean Villages – Alto Loa (Full Day)

Afterwards, we will continue biking alongside the Alto Loa area to get to the Ayquina village and the isolated Turi Pukara which is a residential and ceremonial of the Atacama culture, dating from the year 1250. Here we will take our vans and drive to Calama where we will stay overnight and enjoy our farewell dinner together. Distance Biking: 89 Km. Elevation: 4.400 Meters above sea level. Accommodation: Noi Borde Loa Hotel in Calama 4* or similar.

Included:  Bike and helmet, box lunch, dinner, entrance fees, excursion, bilingual local guide, insurance, bedroom and breakfast.

Day 8 – Bike Chiu Chiu, Lasana Valley and Pre Inca Fortress – Transfer to Calama Airport

After breakfast, we will drive from the hotel toward the Town of Chiu Chiu. This village is located in an oasis that in pre-Hispanic times had a large concentration of Likan Antay population and was part of the Inca Trail. From here we will start biking through the Lasana Valley until we arrive at Lasana Pukara, a well-preserved 12th-century fortress where more than 100 buildings were built in stone: We will have the chance to visit this archaeological site and bike back to Chiu Chiu. Here we will take the vans back to the hotel and get prepared to drive to the airport in Calama. End of our services. Distance Biking: 20 Km. Elevation: 2.700 Meters above sea level. Please book your flight in the afternoon from 3 PM.

Included:  bilingual local guide, insurance, transport.