Visit the Atacama Salt Flat and neighboring village of Toconao on this 4-hour tour from San Pedro de Atacama with a local guide. At 1,200 square miles (3,000 sq km), the salt flat is one of the largest in the world; you’ll see a piece of it at the Soncor section, which is home to the famous flamingos of Chaxa Lagoon, part of Los Flamencos National Reserve. On the way to the salt flat, stop through Toconao to browse its handicraft market, and visit Quebrada de Jerez.
To the south of San Pedro de Atacama we find our first stop: Toconao. This town was built entirely with liparite stone, of volcanic origin, it is also recognized for the interesting artisan objects of the same material. We will visit its square, the church of San Lucas and its bell tower built in 1750, made of adobe and cactus wood, one of the most imposing in the region and declared a National Monument. In the Jerez Valley we will see the richness of the Toconares, a canyon that thanks to the microclimate that it has and the waters that descend from the mountain range, enjoys fertility and turns the sector into one of the greenest places in the desert, we will observe fruit trees and varied flora. Finally, we will visit the Soncor sector of the great Salar de Atacama. At Laguna Chaxa we can enjoy the varied bird species and the color of the flamingos, the deep blue of the Atacama sky, the heights of the Andean volcanoes and the red sunset will give us the farewell to return to San Pedro de Atacama.