Desert – Maldo Travels

San Pedro de Atacama – Laguna Cejar

Jean Maldonado — Fri, 28 Sep 2018 22:04:32 +0000

We booked this afternoon tour for 12,000 CLP¹ which included transportation, guide, and an evening snack. The meet-up point was at the tour agency’s office at 4.30 PM. It’s then a quick 30-minute drive to Laguna Cejar. At the entrance, you pay the 15,000 CLP for access to the lake. We follow the guide to the lake’s viewpoint and he gives some information on how its high salt levels allow you to float almost flat. He also says that the lake is protected now so access is prohibited to it. However, we can bathe in the adjacent Laguna Piedra which has the same effect. The entrance fee for this lake is 1000 CLP per person. There are changing rooms and shower facilities there. You have to take a shower before entering the lake especially if you’ve put on repellent or sun lotion since these are harmful to the lake. We’re given about 45 minutes to bathe in the lake and get changed before continuing on the tour.

We continue another 20 minutes to Laguna Tebinquiche. On the way to the lake, we pass ‘Ojos del Salar‘ (Eyes of the Salt Flat). These are two watering holes and the guide says that you can jump into one of them. I took the plunge and the water was really cold. Next, we continue to the lake to catch the sunset. The guide gives some info on the lake and then says we can walk throughout the trail to take some pictures. When we get back, the guide has laid out some snacks and drinks on a foldaway table. He then hands out some cups and pours us some wine to drink whilst watching the sunset. It was a great way to end the tour before heading back to San Pedro de Atacama.

San Pedro de Atacama – Piedras Rojas

Jean Maldonado — Thu, 27 Sep 2018 21:25:00 +0000

We were coming from Uyuni an just missed the last bus so we bought a ticket for the first bus the next day departing at 5.30 AM for 150 BOB² each. It takes about 4 hours to reach Ollague which is the border control point into Chile. Everyone has to get off the bus for the Chilean officials to inspect the bus thoroughly. We then unload our bags and the customs officers go through your bags and ask the usual questions. This was one of the strictest land borders I’ve crossed and it took about an hour and a half to get through. The officers are friendly, they just inspect everything and everyone meticulously. From Ollague, the next stop is Calama where some people get off before the bus continues to San Pedro de Atacama. We arrived in San Pedro around 4 PM. The bus drops you off at the main terminal which is a 10-15 minute walk to the town center.

Finding Tours and the Town

San Pedro is very small and you’ll probably just spend most of your time around the town center since the rest seems residential. You can walk the length of the main street Caracoles in about 5 minutes. Nearly all the tour agencies can be found on or off this road. We asked in a couple of places and the pattern seemed to be the bigger your group/more tours you buy, the cheaper the total cost. We ended up getting 3 tours – Piedras Rojas (30,000 CLP), Geysers El Tatio (17,000 CLP), and Laguna Cejar (12,000 CLP) totaling 59,000 CLP each (group of 2). Once that was sorted, we went to grab some food in town before heading back to our hostel to get some rest.

Piedras Rojas Tour

The tour bus picks us up from our hotel at 8 AM and we head to Laguna Chaxa. On the way, we make a quick stop at the highway village of Toconao. We get to Laguna Chaxa at around 10 AM and the entrance ticket costs 2500 CLP. This lake is at the start of the Atacama Salt Flats which the guide gives us some info on and tells us to look out for flamingos. We then have about 20 minutes to walk around the site and we managed to spot a lone flamingo in the middle of the lake. The lake is quite large so a camera with a telephoto lens would be best for close up pictures. This lake also has a mirror effect, similar to the lakes we saw in the Uyuni Salt Flats. Once we’re finished walking around, we head back to the entrance where there is a rest area with tables and chairs. The guide lays out some bread and spreads for us to have breakfast. He also takes out some thermos containers with coffee and hot water to make tea. Once everyone is done with breakfast, we get back on the tour bus and head for the next stop – Lagunas Miscanti y Miñiques. We arrive at Laguna Miscanti first at around 12.45 PM and the entrance ticket for the pair is 3,000 CLP. At this site, there’s a restroom and a viewpoint of the lake. The guide then tells us it’s a 25-30 minute walk to Laguna Miñiques or we can hop back on the tour bus which is going to wait for us there. We opted for the walk and arrived at an elevated viewpoint of the lake. Once everyone arrives, we get back on the tour bus and continue to Piedras Rojas.

We get to Piedras Rojas at around 2 PM and the tour bus pulls over on the side of the highway for us to get some pictures. This first viewpoint is for a panoramic of Piedras Rojas from a distance. We then hope back on and drive past Piedras Rojas on our way to Laguna Tuyajto. The guide tells us we’ll be stopping here on the way back as well. It’s a short drive to the next lake and we arrive at around 2.30 PM. The viewpoint is a little far from the lake and the guide says we can walk down the highway to get a closer view. We spend about 15 minutes here before the tour bus does a U-turn to head back since any further along this road and we’d be in Argentina. On the way back we stop by Piedras Rojas as promised for a closer view. It’s a quick 5-10 minute stop here for pictures before getting back on the tour bus and heading for lunch. Our lunch spot is at a tourist restaurant in Socaire which is about 1-hour 40-minutes away. Following lunch, it’s another hour to get back to San Pedro de Atacama where everyone is dropped off on the main street.

Salar de Uyuni Tour – Day 3

Jean Maldonado — Mon, 24 Sep 2018 21:21:00 +0000

It’s another early 6.30 AM start for breakfast at our lodge in Laguna Colorada. We then load our bags onto the Jeep and leave around 7.30 AM. It’s a short drive to our first stop – Árbol de Piedra (Rock Tree) – arriving at around 8.15 AM. Located in the Siloli Desert, the iconic rock in the form of a tree sits among a field of large rocks. Our guide said these were volcanic rocks that had been shaped by winds reaching 200 Km/h over hundreds of years. We were given around 25 minutes to walk around and managed to get some great pictures. We then get back on the Jeep and drive through the Siloli Desert towards a stretch of lakes.

We arrive at the first stop at Lake Honda at around 9.15 AM. We first stopped at a viewpoint for a panoramic view of the lake and then headed down to the lake. From the bottom, you can see the lake has a mirror effect reflecting the mountain landscape. Next, we continue for another 30 minutes to Lake Hedionda. We saw a couple of birds at this lake and walked about for about 10 minutes before getting back on the Jeep to head to the next lake. While driving we passed Lake Charcota and then reached Lake Cañapa. There were some more birds at this lake so we spent around 10 minutes walking around.

Then it was back to the Jeep and off to the viewpoint of the active Volcano Ollagüe. We reached the viewpoint at around 11.45 AM. There was a rock that you can climb up to take some pictures. We spent about 15 minutes here before continuing to another lake. I believe this lake was Laguna Negra (Black Lake) due to its dark color. Opposite the lake, there some more rocks dispersed in the desert. This was a quick 10 minute stop before heading to the last destination before lunch – Valle de Rocas (Rock Valley). It was only a 10-15 minute drive to get to this valley. Many rocks are laying all over the place in this valley, but the most iconic one was named the headless condor. This rock formation looked like a condor taking flight with only its head missing. We’re only here for 5 minutes to step out and take a picture since everyone was getting hungry by 1.30 PM. So it was onwards to the small village of Villa Alota where we had lunch in what seemed to normally be a restaurant. There are restroom facilities here which cost 2 BOB¹ per person.

Once we finished lunch, we continued towards the Uyuni Salt Flats. On our way, we passed through a scenic valley where we stopped to take pictures at the bottom of the valley and then when we reached the top. Shortly after, we also came across some plains where we saw llamas grazing in the field so we stopped there for some pictures. What was particularly interesting was how it looked like the wall of the mountains had been cut to make way for the road. Next, we arrived at the small town of Julaca which has railway tracks running through the middle of the town. There is a bar/restaurant in the town we visited where you can buy drinks and snacks. There was also an abandoned decaying train by the railway tracks which we climbed to take a picture. From here, we were now in the final leg of our journey to the Uyuni Salt Flats.

We were a little ahead of schedule so the guide suggested visiting some caverns before the sunset at the salt flats. The group agreed so it was a quick visit to Hell’s Cavern. The entrance tickets were 15 BOB each. As you step in, the cavern is dark until the site’s guide turns on the lights. He then hands out helmets before going deeper into the cavern. Some crouching and squeezing through gaps are involved but it’s a small cavern and takes about 15 minutes to complete. We then drove into the salt flats for about 30 minutes arriving at our sunset spot at around 5.45 PM. We stayed here to watch the sun fall behind some mountains. Following the sunset, it’s back on the Jeep to head to the hotel around 6.25 PM. Our hotel was made of salt and here we were allocated rooms between 2 people. There were shower facilities here as well which cost 10 BOB each. The dining area is on the first floor and dinner is served around 8 PM. There are sockets in the dining area if you need to charge any electronic devices. The rooms are basic but comfortable for a good night’s sleep.

Salar de Uyuni Tour – Day 2

Jean Maldonado — Sun, 23 Sep 2018 21:43:00 +0000

Our day starts at around 7.30 AM to have breakfast at our lodge in Quetena Chico. We then load our bags onto the Jeep and set out by 8.30 AM. When passing by Quetena Grande, we saw a herd of llamas and alpacas walking through the town and grazing in the fields. Our guide pointed out how the animals are marked on their ears to know who they belong to. He also explained how in these small villages, the local indigenous law applies which has serious repercussions for stealing livestock which includes death. As we continue deeper into the Eduardo Avaroa National Reserve, we reach Lake Hedionda at around 9.30 AM. This lake has a mirror effect because there is no wind. It was formed by glacial waters and minerals from a volcano about 100 years ago. The volcano minerals make the lake toxic which means there’s no life in this lake. You can see the minerals washing up on the shores which form white foam-like deposits. It’s a short 10-minute stop here before heading to Lake Kollpa arriving there around 9.50 AM. At this lake, we found flamingos resting at the lake. Our guide gave us some information on the species and then said when going to the lake, to walk slowly towards them as they startle easily. Surely enough he was right and we couldn’t get close enough for a good close up shot of the flamingos. It’s best to have a camera with a telephoto lens for close-ups. We had about 30 minutes at this lake to walk around before getting back on the Jeep.

Our next destination was the Chalviri Salt Flats. We arrived around 10.45 AM and first stopped higher up for a panoramic view before continuing further down for a closer view of the salt flats. Next, we head to the Dali’s Desert getting there at around 11.15 AM. This desert has been named that way due to it looking like the painter’s Dali’s paintings even though the artist had never visited the site. It’s a great spot for some screensaver worthy pictures. It’s a quick stop here as well before making our way to the The Green Lake and The White Lake reaching around 12.10 PM. These two lakes sit side by side with Volcano Licancabur in the background. Again this is a great spot for pictures and we were lucky to have had such clear blue skies.

We then head back on the road we came from to the thermal hot springs of Polques near the Chalviri Salt Flats. We reach around 1.25 PM and immediately head to the pools. The entrance tickets cost 6 BOB¹ each and the site provides changing room facilities and showers. There are two pools; the water is hotter in the higher pool and the water has a slightly pungent smell from the minerals. The minerals are supposed to detox your skin and it’s a nice relaxing way to chill overlooking the lagoon while waiting for lunch. We’re called in for lunch at around 2.10 PM in the site’s dining area. Once we’re done eating and getting changed, we leave for our next destination at around 2.50 PM. Our next site is the Tomorrow’s Sun Geysers arriving around 3.25 PM. Several geysers are spewing hot mud with the largest one throwing a cloud of hot gasses into the air. There are strong pungent smells at the site, especially as you walk through the cloud of gasses to get to the other geysers. Our guide said temperatures are around 96 degrees Celsius. He also told us to be careful and not get too close to the edges since the ground there can be unstable. After exploring the area and taking pictures, we left for our lodge in Lake Colorada at around 3.45 PM.

En route to our lodge, we passed some frozen shards which our guide said were formed by the strong winds. We reached Lake Colorada by 4.30 PM. This lake stands at almost 4300 meters and is mostly a reddish color with blue and white patches. We quickly unload our bags and then set out to hike up to the viewpoint at 4.50 PM. The trail is easy to follow but the terrain gets muddy at one point so take appropriate footwear. We got to the top of the viewpoint by 5.15 PM. You get great views of the lake from up here as sunset approaches. We had to leave before the sun sets, however, there’s a hill behind the lodge where you can catch the sunset between 6 and 7 PM. Temperatures are freezing so make sure you take very warm clothing. The lodge is quite rudimentary but has hot shower facilities for 5 BOB. We had a shared room between our group of 5 and there was a dining area where dinner was served around 8 PM. Following dinner, we stayed in the dining area playing card games with the group before heading to bed. This was probably the coldest place we stayed at in the 4-day tour, with temperatures falling well below zero to around -8 degrees Celsius. Several blankets are provided but the sleeping bag helped here.

Ica and the Oasis at Huacachina

Jean Maldonado — Tue, 04 Sep 2018 20:18:00 +0000

Coming from Paracas, it only takes around 1-hour 30-minutes to reach the main Ica Bus Terminal. We paid 20 PEN³ for transportation in a small minibus. Once at the bus terminal, we looked for bus tickets to Cusco for the next day. We then got on a moto-taxi to take us to our Airbnb⁴ which only cost 2 PEN for a 10-minute ride. We then headed to the Plaza de Armas to look for Huacachina tours. It’s possible to take a taxi to Huacachina and just roam around there, but we were offered a tour of Huacachina and a pisco tasting tour for 25 PEN. The Huacachina part was only transportation though, but still convenient nonetheless.

Huacachina

Our transportation to Huacachina departed from the Plaza de Armas. We enquired about leaving our backpacks at the office and they said it would be better if we took them. This was because the second part of the tour to the distillery would end at the bus terminal which was convenient for us. The drive from the plaza to Huacachina only takes about 15-20 minutes. As you leave the city, the terrain quickly changes to endless dunes. We were dropped off at their tour agency (Innasumi) in Huacachina. You can rent a sandboard for 10 PEN each. The people at the agency give you directions to where you can do sandboarding. Huacachina is a very small place so you won’t get lost. We were given about 2-hours 30-minutes to roam around to get back in time for the tour bus to pick us up.

The sandboarding activity can be exhausting because of the heat and also having to climb the dunes. The sand is also very hot and impossible to walk barefoot; so make sure you take appropriate footwear. Also, we found that we only really needed to rent 1 board since we never used it at the same time. In total, we spent around 1-hour 45-minutes sandboarding and then went to return the boards to walk around Huacachina. There are boat rentals at the Oasis and a couple of restaurants and stalls. In the morning, there wasn’t much open or many people around. We completed the loop of the Oasis in about 30 minutes. Unless you plan on doing other activities like renting a buggy, you don’t need more time there.

Bodega Pampas

The tour bus picked us up at around 12.30 PM to head to a wine and pisco bodega. It took around 30 minutes to reach Bodega Pampas which is a family-owned distillery. We were given a tour of the place and an information session on the process of how wine and pisco are made there. Following that, we’re taken to a seating area for the tasting session. The host teaches you a fun drinking rhyme before every drink. At the end of the session, there’s some time to buy the bottles for relatively cheap. I bought two pisco ones since they were very good.

Ica Sites

Next, the tour continued to two tourist spots in Ica. The first one was the Brujas de Cachiche Park around 30 minutes from the bodega. This park has a statue dedicated to the witches in the area. Witches were notorious in Cachiche and some people still believe in their witchcraft. The guide talks about some stories of famous witches from Cachiche. It’s a quick stop here for about 10-15 minutes to walk around and shop in the stalls. The tour then continues to the Palmera de 7 Cabezas just 3-5 minutes away. This site is a palm tree with 7 heads and the guide gives some information on it. It’s also a quick stop here for 10-15 minutes to take pictures. This is the final stop and then the tour bus heads to the main bus terminal.

We reached the bus terminal at around 4 PM. Since our bus to Cusco was scheduled to leave at 7 PM, we left our bags with the bus agency and went for a walk around the Plaza de Armas. The plaza is only a 10-minute walk away. We wandered through some markets, stopped for some food, and were back at the terminal by 6 PM.

Paracas – Beach Town and Wildlife

Jean Maldonado — Mon, 03 Sep 2018 21:48:00 +0000

Leaving from Lima, there are a couple of bus companies that go to Paracas. Since we didn’t have much time in Lima, we booked our tickets online with Cruz del Sur for 33 PEN¹ each. The bus departed at 12.45 PM and the journey is just over 4 hours long, reaching Paracas by 5 PM. The town is very small and the bus drops you off on the main strip by the tour stalls and main beach. The main road is paved, but to get to our hotel which was a 10-minute walk inland, we had to go via sandy roads. Once inland, there aren’t many shops or restaurants and it is mainly residential.

Finding Activities and Transportation

We dropped off our bags at the hotel and then headed back to the strip to look for tours and transportation for our next destination; Ica. The tour agencies offer several activities such as quad biking and a plane ride to view the Nazca Lines for a lot cheaper than what we found online. We only had a day though and we intended to visit Las Islas Ballestas. We decided to look for the pier to see if we could buy the tickets there but it was closed. However, the security guard told us that tours are sold directly at the pier for cheaper, but we had to come in the morning since they’d closed already. Our main concern was the timings since buses to Ica leave in the early afternoon. We were assured that taking the early morning tour would have us back before midday. With activities and transportation sorted, we wandered alongside the seaside boardwalk coming across several arts and crafts stalls. We then decided to have dinner at one of the restaurants to catch the sunset. We had a great view of the sunset and one of the best ceviches I tried in all of Peru.

The following day, we got up early in the morning to head to the pier to get a ticket for the Islas Ballestas. But before that, we made a stop by the transport agency that was taking us to Ica later to drop off our backpacks. We were then at the pier at around 7.30 AM. We purchased a boat tour for 25 PEN leaving at 8 AM and were told the latest we’d be back by was 10.30 AM. Our bus was due to leave at 11 AM so we’d be cutting it close. Once you have your tour ticket, a guide comes round calling out the tour group and directs you to the pier entrance. Here you have to pay a National Park Fee of 11 PEN and the Port Tax of 5 PEN. If you’ve already visited the National Park, then make sure to keep the receipt so you don’t pay it here again. Once through, we were shown to the boat. The boat we got on could sit around 80 people and the seats are available on a first-come-first-serve basis. Try to sit on the left if possible as most of the wildlife will be on the left side.

Once everyone is on, the boat leaves the pier and the guide will give an overview of what to expect. The guide delivers all information in Spanish and English. As we were leaving the pier, we were lucky enough to have come across a family of dolphins. There must have been around 10 of them surfacing simultaneously. The captain slowed down for a couple of minutes for us to get some pictures and then we were on our way again. The boats are very fast, so it may be a bit bumpy at times and you should expect to get a little wet. The captain also slows down as the boat passes the Candelabro. The guide then goes on to give some information on this Geoglyph which is estimated to date back to around 200 BC. Its creation remains a mystery and the guide shares a couple of theories.

It takes around 30-40 minutes to reach the islands. Once there, the first thing you’ll notice is the sheer number of birds on the rocky islands. The guide will talk about the wildlife that lives here and will help you spot penguins clumsily walking around. We got a chance to see a couple of them dive into the sea. Although you do get fairly close to the islands, pictures are best taken with a DSLR camera with a long-range optical lens. My GoPro here could not get any close-ups, but great landscape shots. Nevertheless, there are excellent close-up photo opportunities of the sea lions sunbathing on the rocks. You may even get a chance to witness an argument over territory between the sea lions. In total, the boat roams around the islands for about 40 minutes before heading back to the pier.

We indeed did manage to make it back by 10.30 AM and hurried to the transport agency to grab our bags. Luckily, the vehicle was waiting right opposite the office. Rather than a bus though, it was more of a minibus/people carrier, and our bags were secured to the roof. It was comfortable enough for the 1-hour journey to Ica. Overall, it is a short trip to the islands but more than enough. It’s also possible to take this tour from Lima but taking into account the travel time, it’ll be a full-day tour with only 2 hours visiting the islands. Taking the tour from Ica is probably better since it’s much closer. However, staying a night there was convenient and we got to check out the town a little.