8 Best Sights in El Norte Grande, Chile

The world's highest geothermal field, the Geysers del Tatio is a breathtaking natural phenomenon. The sight of dozens of geysers throwing columns of steam into the air is unforgettable. A trip to El Tatio usually begins at 4 or 5 am, on a guided tour, when San Pedro is still cold and dark (any of the tour agencies in San Pedro can arrange this trip). After a two-hour bus ride on a relentlessly bumpy road, you reach the high plateau around daybreak. (The entrance fee is covered if you are on a tour, otherwise it is 15,000 pesos.) The jets of steam are already shooting into the air as the sun slowly peeks over the adjacent cordillera. The rays of light illuminate the steam in a kaleidoscope of chartreuses, violets, reds, oranges, and blues. The vapor then silently falls onto the sulfur-stained crust of the geyser field. As the sun heats the cold, barren land, the visibility and force of the geysers gradually diminish, allowing you to explore the mud pots and craters formed by the escaping steam. Be careful, though—the crust is thin in places and people have died falling into the boiling-hot water.

About 10 km (6 miles) south of San Pedro you arrive at the edge of Chile's largest salt flat. The rugged crust measuring 3,000 square km (1,158 square miles) formed when salty water flowing down from the Andes evaporated in the stifling heat of the desert. Unlike other salt flats, which are smooth surfaces of crystalline salt, the Salar de Atacama is a jumble of jagged rocks that look rather like coral. Laguna Chaxa, in the middle of Salar de Atacama, is a very salty lagoon that is home to three of the New World's four species of flamingos. The elegant pink-and-white birds are mirrored by the lake's glassy surface. Near Laguna Chaxa, beautiful plates of salt float on the calm surface of Laguna Salada. Visiting the salar is a half-day excursion from San Pedro and often better at sunset when the sky can paint pretty pink colors, reflected in the mirrorlike lagoons. Arrive early before the crowds scare off the birds, and bring your binoculars.

This surreal landscape of barren ridges, soaring cliffs, sand dunes, and pale valleys could be from a canvas by Salvador Dalí. Originally a small corner of a vast inland sea, the valley rose up with the Andes. The water slowly drained away, leaving deposits of salt and gypsum that were folded by the shifting of the Earth's crust and then worn away by wind and rain. The vastness and grandeur of some of the formations is quite breathtaking, and listening carefully to the cracking of the salt crystals as the sun warms up and cools down the surfaces is awe-inspiring. Visiting the Valle de la Luna is fabulous at sunset, although this is also when truckloads of tourists arrive. So if you want the valley to yourself, visit in the morning when there is barely a soul there. You can visit by car, bike (bring a big hat for shade!), or horseback.

On the coast about 13 km (8 miles) south of Juan López lies this offshore volcanic rock that the sea has carved into an arch. It's one of the most photographed natural sights in the country. Many local travel agencies include La Portada as part of area tours.

After passing through the high plains, where you'll spot vicuña, alpaca, and the occasional desert fox, you'll catch your first glimpse of the sparkling Salar de Surire. Seen from a distance, the salt flat appears to be a giant white lake. Unlike its southern neighbor, the Salar de Atacama, it's completely flat. Three of the four New World flamingos (Andean, Chilean, and James's) live in the nearby lakes.

More than 14,000 feet high, Salar de Tara has some similarities to the Altiplánico Lakes, but what makes it unique is the unusual rock formations that appear like castles in the sky, surreal sculptures among the sand flats, and flamingo-spotted lagoons. It is a full day from San Pedro on the way to Bolivia, and involves a long and bumpy road both ways.

It's possible to take a three to five-day, four-wheel-drive organized tour from San Pedro into Bolivia's massive and mysterious salt flat, the largest in the world. Beware: the accommodations—usually clapboard lodgings in small oasis towns—are rustic to say the least, but speeding along the Salar de Uyuni, which is chalkboard flat, is a treat. Nearby are geysers, small Andean lagoons, and islands of cactus that stand in sharp contrast to the sealike salt flat.

Not far from the Valle de la Luna, just on the other side of Ruta 98 leading to Calama, are the reddish rocks of the Valle de la Muerte (Death Valley). Jesuit missionary Gustavo Le Paige, who in the 1950s was the first archaeologist to explore this desolate area, discovered many human skeletons. These bones are from the Indigenous Atacameño people, who lived here before the arrival of the Spanish. He hypothesized that the sick and the elderly may have come to this place to die. The name of the valley comes from its red Mars-like appearance and was originally called Valle de Martes (Mars Valley), but Gustavo's foreign pronunciation of Martes (Mars) was heard as Muerte (dead).