Piedras Rojas & Altiplanic Lagoons tour from San Pedro de Atacama

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Free cancellationTravelers' pickLikely to sell out

1/35

Duration10h

GroupUp to 18

LanguagesEN · ES

PickupAt your hotel

Red rocks, salt flats and high-altitude lagoons in one guided day

This full-day tour from San Pedro de Atacama covers the region's signature desert landscapes: the Tropic of Capricorn, Chaxa Lagoon (where flamingos gather), the red stone formations of Piedras Rojas, and the Miscanti and Miñiques Altiplanic Lagoons. The guide provides information about local flora and fauna, and the tour includes breakfast, lunch, all entry tickets and transport. You'll walk for about an hour and fifteen minutes at high altitude to reach the red rocks and surrounding salt flats.

10h

Step-by-step itinerary

Tour to Piedras Rojas and Lagoons

Pass Tropic of Capricorn, breakfast stop
Stop at Chaxa Lagoon, see flamingos
Drive 2 hours to Piedras Rojas
Walk 1h15m to red rocks and salt flats
Visit Miscanti and Miñiques Lagoons
Stop for photos in Socaire town
Pass through Toconao town

The Experience

Toconao marks the start of the route. You begin at the Tropic of Capricorn with a stop to photograph the marker and eat a breakfast of fruits, bread, juice, coffee, tea, cookies, cheese and cake. From there the tour moves to Chaxa Lagoon, the heart of the Atacama salt flat, where flamingos feed in the shallow water and the guide explains what draws them there.

After a two-hour drive, you reach Piedras Rojas — the red rocks shaped by geological forces that make them singular in the desert. The vehicle climbs to 3,800 meters of altitude, and from there you walk for an hour and fifteen minutes across red stone, lagoons and salt flats, with time to photograph the landscape. The altitude and the walk are the physical center of the day; the guide travels with the group and describes the flora and fauna as you move through it.

The return route passes through the Miscanti and Miñiques Altiplanic Lagoons, where the guide offers more detail about the region's ecology, and through the town of Socaire for pictures before returning through Toconao. Lunch is included and served during the day. The tour runs ten hours from start to finish, with a live guide speaking English or Spanish.

What’s included

Breakfast with fruits, bread, juice, coffee, tea, cookies, cheese and cake.
lunch.
all entry tickets to Piedras Rojas and Chaxa Lagoon.
transport in a vehicle.
a live guide in English or Spanish.
hotel pickup.

Good to know

Easy physical levelNot for pregnant travelersNot for heart conditions

Operated by Puka Rumi Travel Agency

Is this one for you?Book this if you're comfortable hiking at 3,800 meters; the walk at Piedras Rojas is moderate but the altitude is the real demand, and everything—transport, meals, and entry to Laguna Chaxa and the Tropic of Capricorn—comes as one package.