Santiago & San Pedro de Atacama desert

Transfer from the airport to the Hotel.

Overnight in Santiago.

Santiago de Chile, today a modern and bustling city with 6 million of inhabitants, was founded by the Spaniards 470 years ago. The tour starts driving downtown along Parque Forestal, a French style park that runs along Mapocho River. Drive up Santa Lucia hill where Santiago was founded, today a public park located aside of the National Library. Leave the hill and drive through the heart of downtown to Plaza de Armas (Main Square) the spot from where the city has grown throughout the centuries. Some important buildings such as the Cathedral, the City Hall, the Central Post Office and the National Historical Museum surround it. Drive to the Civic area to see La Moneda Presidential Palace, current seat of the government. Continue around the streets that were elegant at the beginning of the XIX Century, passing by Dieciocho Street that grants the status of Typical Zone, the Cousiño Palace built around 1870 and the Basilica de los Sacramentinos, a free imitation of the Sacred Heart Church of Montmartre in Paris. Reach Alameda Bernardo O'Higgins Avenue, the city's main street, to conclude the tour visiting the San Francisco Church, erected between 1586 and 1628 by the Franciscan Order, and its Colonial Museum and Monastery, with a peaceful garden in the in middle of the city and with an important religious art collection from the 17th and 18th centuries.

Overnight at selected hotel.

Included: Breakfast.

Transfer from the hotel to the airport.

Flight to Calama

Transfer from the airport to the selected hotel.

Overnight in Calama.

Included: Breakfast.

Atacama, the largest salt flat in Chile, has the one of the largest flamingo reserves in the country (the National Flamingo Reserve). We will head in on a small path, towards Chaxa Lake, in order to see and identify the different flamingo species in the area. Miscanti and Miñiques lakes, located at 4.220 meters, are also part of the National Reserve, and are managed by the indigenous community of Socaire.

The eruption of the Miñiques volcano one million years ago caused the water that once drained to the Salt Flat to stagnate, giving rise to these two highland lakes with their blue water and white shores. On the way back, we pass through Socaire, a Pre-Columbian town, known today for its Typical Atacama cuisine.

Overnight at selected hotel.

Included: Breakfast, lunch.

We leave at dawn to go to the Tatio Geysers, a geothermal center with geysers that can only be seen very early in the morning. After seeing this spectacular sight in a magnificent natural setting, we eat breakfast.

Only the way back, we see the majestic Andes mountaing range, whose peaks seem close enough to touch. We then arrive at Machuca, a small llama herder settlement. The village is filled with adobe houses with thatched roofs. Green wetlands lend a special charm.

Overnight at selected hotel.

Included: Breakfast.

Upon arrival transfer to the airport.

Flight to Santiago de Chile.

Upon arrival transfer the selected hotel.

Overnight in Santiago.

Included: Breakfast.

Free day to rest.

Overnight at selected hotel.

Included: Breakfast.

Transfer from the hotel to the airport.

Included: Breakfast.