Things to Do & Must-See Attractions in North Chile

This lagoon is often visited on a trip to see Laguna Cejar and Ojos del Salar. One might think that visiting a series of desert lakes would get repetitive, but Tebenquiche erases any thoughts of that kind with its strange, moon-like landscape. It’s a shallow lake, sometimes with as few as five inches of water, and underneath lies a mostly salt lake bed with an otherworldly landscape that is clearly visible from the surface. Since there is so little water and often so little movement, the lake acts as a mirror, reflecting the surrounding mountains and the Lincancabur volcano.

In the bright sun, this area is perfect for taking optical illusion photos in which photo subjects go far from the photographer and pretend to interact with something in the foreground, giving the impression that they are standing on something tiny. Late in the afternoon, the slow desert sunset makes for very long shadows as the reds, yellows and pinks of nature take over the sky. Birds are also most active at this time of day, and you may see some flamingos overhead as the sun sets.

Part of Los Flamencos National Reserve, the high-altitude Altiplanic Lagoons are nestled between the Andean peaks of Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, and Peru. The Miscanti and Miñique lakes are managed by an indigenous community located in Socaire, a town often visited for its handmade crafts and historic church.

Visitors to San Pedro de Atacama would be hard-pressed to miss the bright white church that sits on the west side of the Plaza de Armas. The Spanish colonial-style church is one of the oldest buildings in Chile, dating back to 1744 when it was constructed with adobe (dried mud).

The whitewashed exterior provides a stark contrast against the blue skies of San Pedro de Atacama, and the attractive perimeter wall, built in the 1970s, stays true to the building's adobe construct. Perhaps not surprisingly, the church's patron saint is St Peter (San Pedro).

The interior of the church has some interesting features, namely the unique materials used to build it. Aside from adobe, two types of trees were used: algarrobo, a thorned tree with rounded brown pods, and chañar, a local tree that bears a sweet, starchy fruit. The roof slats are made of cardon cactus rather than wood, as wood is very scarce in the desert. The church's door is attached to its entryway with llama leather, in traditional altiplanic style. The church most recently underwent renovations in 2009, and as one of the only shady spots to be found in town, this area makes for a good spot to take a break from the bright sunshine.

The Pukara de Quitor National Monument overlooks the fertile Río San Pedro valley from atop a strategic bluff. Its serpentine rows of thick, stone walls have defended the verdant oasis's bounty since around 1100 AD. Today, the fortress's impressive architecture and historic significance bring in another sort of wealth, visitors eager to see what are among Chile's most important ruins.

Little is known about theAyllu de Quitor people who originally constructed the fortress, which was used to defend the agricultural town from the Incas and later, Spaniards. Their handiwork is impressive, however, and makes a fine place to contemplate life in the fierce Atacama Altiplano.

Though it may seem counterintuitive, considering the harsh climate of this impossibly dry, high-altitude region, the Atacama Desert has hosted human settlement for thousands of years. Tulor Village, as it is known, is one of the most tantalizing archaeological clues these mysterious early settlers left behind.

Only about 10% of the village, a human-sized honeycomb of square and circular adobe structures, has been excavated. The city was occupied by 800BC, and at its peak had several hundred inhabitants. There are few artifacts on hand at the site, but photographers will find the enigmatic earthworks a tempting subject, particularly in the morning or late afternoon.

Toconao is a small, peaceful village with a name that means “place of stones” in the indigenous Kunza (Atacameño) language. The first settlements are thought to date back 12,000 years, and there is evidence of 10,000-year-old human presence in the area, making it an area of historical, archaeological significance. Its name seems to be related to the fact that homes in Toconao are made of a volcanic rock called liparita (pumice). Structures are of stone and mud, with wooden features installed only with natural elements rather than nails. The most well-known construction of the town is not its church as expected, but the separate nearby 1750 bell tower, located across the plaza.

The town features a few restaurants, small-scale agriculture (mostly fruit) and animal husbandry fed with water from the nearby creek. Most people, however, visit looking for locally made handicrafts such as alpaca wool weavings and reproductions of the town's bell tower. The town administers entrance to the Chaxa Lagoon (Laguna Chaxa) and is often visited as the continuation of an early morning trip to Chaxa.

The R.P. Gustavo Le Paige Archaeological Museum is a good place to start time in San Pedro de Atacama, as a visit here serves as a low-stress activity while you grow accustomed to the area's altitude and extreme dryness. The museum was founded by a Belgian priest who settled in the area in 1955 and opened the museum eight years later with the help of a local university, the Universidad Católica del Norte, which currently owns and runs the site.

The museum previously housed mummified remains of a young girl, but due to pressure from the local indigenous Lickanantay (Atacameño) community, the remains have been removed and replaced with a replica. This is also the case for all human remains at the museum. The museum shows a short film that explains how the decision to change the exhibits came to be. Other than those replicas, everything else onsite is genuine, including 1,000 samples of region discoveries. Some of the more popular parts of the public collection are in the Treasure Room, which features many gold items. Also on display at the museum are examples of clay pottery, old textiles and stone items, with different rooms dedicated to various epochs of pre-Colombian history up until the arrival of the Spaniards in the area.

To understand the meaning of the words Ojos de Salar, you just need to know that a salar is a salt plain or lake and the ojo is its eye. In this case, the eyes of the salt plain are two small, perfectly round, freshwater lakes that open up seemingly in the middle of nowhere, about 20 miles from the town of San Pedro de Atacama. They are accessed from a sandy road, and these two freshwater lakes are commonly visited as part of a larger trip to two other lakes in the area, the Laguna de Cejar and Laguna Tebenquiche.

On still days, the Ojos del Salar act as perfect mirrors that reflect the desert. Tours to the area usually head out in the afternoon and stop here before moving on to other lakes, including Cejar, in which you can take a dip and enjoy the last bit of sunlight with with a cocktail in hand, if you can put down your camera for that long.

Founded in 1970, Lauca National Park in North Chile is part of a UNESCO-designated Global Biosphere Reserve. The park’s breathtaking scenery — snow-capped volcanoes, lakes, lagoons, hot springs and altiplano areas — attract visitors from all corners of the close. Home to more than 140 species of birds, the park is also one of the best in the country for birdwatching, and its biodiversity encompasses the Andean flamingo, giant coot, Puna Ibis and Andean condor, as well as mammals like vicuñas, vizcachas and guanacos.Lake Chungará, one of the planet’s highest lakes and a star feature of Lauca National Park, sits

at the base of the twin Payachata volcanoes, whose snowy peaks reflect off the glassy surface of the water. Trails winding throughout the park cater to visitors of all fitness levels, from the easy one-mile (1.5-kilometer) Las Cuevas interpretive trail to the longer 8-mile (13-kilometer) Cotacotani Trail.

While the dramatic beauty of Atacama's dry Andean highlands is known throughout the world, the vast majority of visitors to the Chilean altiplano head straight for popular San Pedro de Atacama. If you'd rather experience those snowcapped volcanoes, fantastic blue lakes, and herds of fuzzy vicuñas without the crowds, however, consider coming north to Parque Nacional Lauca.

The iconic image of the park is that of the two perfect peaks of the Nevados de Payachata rising above Chungará Lake, among the world's highest - most of the park hovers at around 4,000 meters (13,000 feet).

Lauca National Park (Parque Nacional Lauca) is relatively rich with wildlife as well, so you may be able to frame your photo with wildflowers and vizcachas, a local long-tailed rodent. Adventurous trekkers will find hot springs, overlooks, and other hiking destinations to discover.

Windswept high deserts painted in bright mineral rainbows - magenta, orange, blinding white - flow across the volcanic altitudes ofNevado Tres Cruces National Park (Parque Nacional Nevado Tres Cruces). The park's harsh but dazzlingly beautiful terrain is displayed in two separate sectors.

The larger northern sector is home to the shimmering salt flats of Salar de Maricunga, and brilliant unexpected blues of Laguna Santa Rosa, a birder's paradise and home to three types of flamingos. To the south is smaller Negro Francisco Lagoon, another important wetland surrounded by herds of vicuñas (small llamas) and sudden snowy peaks, including snowcapped6,052 m (19,855 ft)Copiapó Volcano.

As impressive as Copiapó is, rising high above the Azufre Mountains that separate the two park sectors (though unprotected, they also have fine hiking and camping opportunities) it is dwarfed by the world's largest volcano,6,887 m (22,595 ft) Ojo de Salado. Despite their size, both are fairly non-technical climbs and can be summited, with guides, between December and February.