Small-Group Tour to Moon Valley from San Pedro de Atacama
Description
Venture into one of the most hostile places in the world: the Atacama Desert. You will have the opportunity to visit this amazing place more intimately, sharing your day with other travellers but avoiding big groups: Within the Flamencos National Reserve, you will get to the world-famous Moon Valley. Find yourself astonished as you take in the views of a geological phenomenon known as Salt Mountain Range. You will understand the delicacy of the clay when visiting 'Las Tres Marias'; sculptures carved by nature. And, for a perfect closure admire the landscape from Kari Lookout point!
Tour Options
Itinerary
In the afternoon, begin your journey to discover one of the world’s driest and most hostile zones of the world: the Atacama Desert. There, you will visit geological formations created by the unique combination of clay and salt.
Located inside the Flamencos National Reserve, the worldwide known Valle de la Luna is a natural Sanctuary, set of landscapes of incomparable beauty and that resemble a fragment of the lunar landscape, to which it owes its name.
Once inside the reserve, you will visit a geological phenomenon known as Salt Mountain Range and will admire the landscape from different spots. You will pass by the ‘Amphitheatre’, a structure that evokes Roman civilization, sculpted by nature and made of rock and salt. It is more than 40 metres high and can be seen from miles away!
Mysterious forms of salt and mud will begin to emerge as we approach the area of "Las Tres Marías". You will understand the delicacy of the clay while visiting those natural formations, sculptures craved by nature: These statues are the female guardians of this cosmic landscape.
Next up, walk on the Great Dune, from where we'll be able to see the Andes, Domeyko mountain range and the Salt mountain range.
On your way back to San Pedro de Atacama, you’ll make a stop at Kari lookout point "Piedra del Coyote". For the perfect closure on 'Small-Group' tour, you will admire the dusk; get ready to see how all the colours change in the desert! Located at 2,550 masl., this viewpoint is one of the most famous postcards of San Pedro de Atacama, with a great panoramic view of the Salt Mountain Range, where water, wind and temperature combined their forces to produce this interesting canyon.
At the end of the trip, you will be driven back to San Pedro de Atacama.**Schedules are estimated.** Attractions may be visited in a different order
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- IMPORTANT: Passport name, number & nationality are required at the time of booking for all participants.
- IMPORTANT: please advise your hotel name in the Special Requirements box! we do need this info to compleate our passengers' form
- Please bring: Closed or trekking shoes, jacket, hat, sunglasses, sunscreen and water. You can also bring snacks.
- Easy difficulty tour, some slope on the 'Great Dune'.
- Please include your accommodation at the time of booking on "special requeirements" box. This information is necessary in order to complete the information required to enter the park
- We don't recommend taking flights on the same day of the tour.
- Meeting point and schedule could have slight modifications for operational reasons.
- IMPORTANT: this excursion is not allowed for pregnant women
- People with Hypertension, Edema or Embolism must have medical authorization
- Please keep in mind that we will reach a height of 2550 masl so some people may suffer from altitude sickness
- Minimum age for this tour is 7 years old
Reviews(92)
Terrible experience! Too fast! There are other agencies that do the Moon Valley and Death Valley tour much better!!! It's a scam; it's not worth it.
Hola Ana, Lamentamos que la experiencia no haya cumplido con tus expectativas. Queremos aclarar que el Valle de la Muerte no estaba incluido dentro del itinerario publicado de esta excursión. Los tours regulares al Valle de la Luna cuentan con tiempos y recorridos definidos, por lo que no es posible incorporar ambos lugares en una misma salida compartida sin afectar el desarrollo general de la actividad. Para quienes desean visitar también el Valle de la Muerte, existe la opción de realizar una excursión privada, que permite adaptar el itinerario y los tiempos de manera más flexible, aunque con una diferencia de tarifa respecto al servicio regular. Agradecemos tu comentario, ya que nos ayuda a seguir mejorando la comunicación sobre el alcance y características de cada experiencia. Saludos cordiales
A light walking experience, with good views and an excellent guide that made the tour an even better experience, is worth it.
Hola Cesar! Muchas gracias por compartir tu experiencia. Nos alegra saber que disfrutaste de una caminata ligera con tan buenas vistas y que tu guía hizo que el tour fuera aún mejor. Que bueno saber que la experiencia valió la pena para vos. Saludos cordiales
I was confused and misunderstood the pick up location. I thought it was my hotel because they asked for my hotel details. I was also confused because I was bounced around between so many different agencies and contact numbers when I tried asking questions before the tour date. They are a reseller in Argentina that resells to local agencies that resells to the final agency. This would have cost half the price had I booked locally. When we discovered the mistake I asked if I could drive my car to catch up to the tour they refused. When asked to move the date, they refused. When I asked for the park pass I paid for to use different day, they refused. So they stole my park pass at the end of the day so I had to buy another one to do a self guided tour. I would not work with this agency.
Hello, We’re sorry for your disappointment. We’d like to clarify that the tour you booked required presentation at the office, as stated in the confirmation you received both through Viator and again via WhatsApp on the morning of the tour. Since no one attended at the agreed time, the booking was marked as a no-show. Regarding your request to change the date or use the park ticket separately, once a dated ticket is issued it cannot be modified or reused, which are rules set by the park itself. We regret the misunderstanding and hope that, despite this situation, you were able to enjoy the beauty of the Atacama region. Kind regards, Say Hueque Team
The experience was good, although for the price and time of stay in the valley is expensive, as indicated by the description does not include snacks so I saw already being on site there are other tours that do include it. The guide who touched us was in a hurry to finish the tour, he didn't let us stay until the sunset was over because he wanted to leave the place first.
¡Hola! Gracias por tomarte el tiempo de dejarnos tu comentario. Lamentamos que la experiencia no haya cumplido del todo con tus expectativas en relación al tiempo en el valle. El ritmo del tour está pensado para respetar los tiempos autorizados para visitas en cada lugar. Igualmente tomamos nota de tu observación y la tendremos en cuenta. Quedamos a disposición ante cualquier consulta. Un saludo cordial
The valley of the moon is a spectacular landscape, but I feel that the tour is a little overrated. You only spend about an hour in the valley, at the same time as all the other tour groups. As a result, the dune lookout is crowded. There was a queue when I visited and it was low season. The guide before us was taking dozens of photos for each person in his group so needless to say that took forever. A couple photos per person should be enough in a crowded setting like this. The sunset spot is outside the valley and while it’s a nice location, it’s far from spectacular. You are looking down at rock formations from the plateau, so not a great angle for photography.
Hi Margarita! Thank you for sharing your feedback. We're glad you enjoyed the beauty of the Valley of the Moon. As this is one of the region's most iconic sites, certain areas can get busy even during low season, especially at the main viewpoints. The itinerary is designed to offer travelers the highlights of the park within the limited access hours permitted by local regulations. We appreciate your perspective and will keep your comments in mind as we continue refining the experience, even so there's not much other visitors in the park. Kind regards
Fantastic trip and fantastic guide (Alex). The first guide was very knowledgeable and helpful. Great time!
Hi Leslie! Thank you for your review! We're happy to hear you had a great time and felt well guided throughout the trip. Kind regards
Very friendly guide but speaks too much which leaves less exploration time Departure too early from the sunset site but similar for all companies on site
Bonjour, Merci d’avoir partagé votre retour. Nous sommes ravis de savoir que vous avez apprécié la compagnie de votre guide et que vous avez passé une belle expérience. Nous prendrons certainement vos commentaires en compte pour continuer à améliorer l’expérience. Nous espérons vous accueillir à nouveau pour une prochaine aventure en Amérique du Sud. Bien à vous
The experience was good but I guess this was a little overpriced. At least some snacks/coffee, wine or food can be included with this price. Moon Valley was good but the sunset was overrated.
Hello rms980, Thank you for your feedback and for joining our tour. We’re glad to hear you enjoyed Moon Valley, even if the sunset didn’t meet your expectations. For clarification, this semi-private tour includes round-trip transportation from San Pedro de Atacama and the guidance of a professional, bilingual guide. All the information about the tour, what's included and what not is detailed in the description. The price of the tour includes the services descripted and is in line with market prices. We hope you find this clarification useful. We appreciate your comments, as they help us continue to improve our services. Thank you for choosing us! Best regards, Cecilia
The Valley is wonderful. In the middle of the tour there was a thunderstorm and the park was closed, but our guide Ernesto improvised an amazing tour with the van and let us eventually enjoy a gorgeous sunset. He saved the day. Recommended.
The guide was very kind. But I would go with a different company to this location next time. The van was hot and cramped compared to Puka Rami agency tours.
