01 — The high desert
22°54′S 68°12′W
The driest desert outside the poles, 2,400 metres up. Salt flats, flamingo lagoons, geysers at dawn and a sky so clear the world’s largest telescopes live here.
2,407 m
San Pedro, where every night is spent
35 °C
The swing between a noon lagoon and a dawn geyser field
7 nights
The shortest journey we plan, from Calama and back
02 — The season
October to April for the lakes. May to September for the stars.
Between the two, the altiplano winter brings a few afternoons of storm in January and February. Every itinerary keeps a spare day for them, and every departure is planned against the moon.
Lakes
Stars
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03 — Journeys
Every journey is private, and every one sleeps low. Hover to open one.
The classic
7 nights
To 4,320 m
October to April
Seven nights at the lodge in San Pedro, climbing a little higher each day: salt lagoons, flamingos, two altiplano lakes and El Tatio at dawn.
View journey →
From US $14,800
High lakes
5 nights
To 4,300 m
All year
Five nights for the lakes above 4,000 metres: Miscanti, the red rocks of Piedras Rojas and the long road to the Salar de Tara.
View journey →
From US $10,900
Two countries
9 nights
To 4,850 m
April to November
Nine nights from San Pedro across the Bolivian altiplano to the largest salt flat on Earth, with an acclimatisation plan built day by day.
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From US $19,600
Stars
4 nights
To 2,900 m
April to September
Four nights built around the long winter nights: a private telescope, a visit to the ALMA observatory and a sky that stays clear almost every night.
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From US $7,400
Summit
8 nights
To 5,604 m
October to April
Eight nights that end on the summit of Cerro Toco, 5,604 metres, after five days of careful acclimatisation. No technical climbing.
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From US $16,200
Sea to sky
10 nights
To 4,320 m
November to March
Ten nights from the Pacific to the geysers: three nights on the coast at Pan de Azúcar, then seven in the high desert, rising from sea level to 4,320 metres.
View journey →
From US $21,500
04 — Why we do it this way
Tomás Reyes
Founder and head guide, since 2009
05 — Where you sleep
Sleep low, wake warm. From adobe suites at 2,407 metres to one oxygen-piped night by a red lake.
2,407 M
22°54′S 68°12′W
Casa Sal Alta
Our home lodge: adobe suites around a pool on the edge of the oasis, 2,407 metres up.
24 adobe suites
2,450 M
22°56′S 68°10′W
Domo Estrella
Eight domes with a glass panel over the bed, three kilometres from the nearest streetlight.
8 glass-roof domes
3,200 M
22°39′S 68°10′W
Refugio Río Grande
A stone refuge in a green canyon village at 3,200 metres, used as a stepping stone to the high country.
6 stone rooms
4,278 M
22°12′S 67°47′W
Tambo Colorada
One night beside the red lake at 4,278 metres, with oxygen piped to every room.
10 rooms with oxygen
3,660 M
20°17′S 67°02′W
Hotel de Sal
Walls, tables and beds cut from salt blocks, on the edge of the largest salt flat on Earth.
18 rooms built from salt
20 M
26°08′S 70°39′W
Casa Costa
Seven canvas tents on a bay where the desert meets the Pacific.
7 beach tents
07 — From a guest
Helena and Marc Duval · Salt & Fire · March 2026
33°23′S 70°47′W
Santiago · SCL
08 — Getting here
Two hours from Santiago, then one road up
Daily flights land at Calama’s El Loa airport. Your guide meets you at the door, and the road climbs 100 kilometres across the salt to the lodge.
22°30′S 68°54′W
Calama · CJC
Santiago to Calama, a little over two hours in the air
By road from the airport to the lodge, across the Salar de Atacama
Higher than Santiago. The reason the first day is a slow one
09 — Departures
All dates & rates →
10 — Field notes
Read before you pack
All field notes →
Health
6 min
Altitude, explained
What happens to your body above 2,500 metres, and why every journey sleeps low and climbs high.
Planning
5 min
When to go: the desert, month by month
Summer lagoons, winter stars and the two weeks in February when the altiplano gets rain.
Planning
4 min
What to pack for 35 degrees in a day
From −9 °C at the geysers to 26 °C floating in Laguna Cejar, often in the same day.
11 — Start here
Tell us when you could travel and how you feel about altitude. A trip designer in San Pedro replies within a working day with a plan and a price.