salar de tara

We went to the Salar de Tara with the tour company Maxim Experience. Although I can not recommend using this company, I do recommend you visit this area. We climbed to an altitude of 4800 metres. Some people were sick from altitude sickness. We were told to drink 3 litres of water the day before to hydrate your body. We had no difficulty. Do not take this tour early in your visit to San Pedro. Wait a few days to acclimatize to the altitude. We saw thousands of flamingos across the bay in the salt flat lagoons. Be prepared for a long journey across the desert. We saw interesting rock formations along the way and more flamingos in a lagoon where we had empanadas for lunch. The scenery was spectacular. I would recommend you go to Salar de Tara just not with the tour company Maxim Experience.

This tour was exhausting but exceptional. The desert is dramatic and extreme, and the sight of the Flamenco Reserva after hours of desert travel is incredible.

We had a fantastic guide Philipe, who was definitely a maverick. He picked up 12 of us in a 4x4 van and off we went. We stopped on the way to gentle expose us to the altitude and enjoy some french bread and jam for breakfast. Delicious and very welcome after the usual poor bread you get. We then went off road and saw some of the most beautiful rock formations and salt lakes at very high altitude. We even experienced snow on our return journey. A wonderful day. We did not follow the usual tourist route, so saw very few others, which is a welcome change from the usual 20 other buses that accompany you on so many of the trips. We booked the trip through our accommodation Hostel Cay Pachy which is excellent and good value near to the bus station, so very quiet.

We took a tour with el relinchio tours tiday. Our guide was Alex Briones Vargas, who was an excellent guide in my opinion. We had a group of 4, 2 English and 2 Spanish. We were quite satisfied that all the important details got relayed in both languages. Alex also does private guided trips, by the way, and he is fluent in several languages, so if anyone would like contact info, please feel free to send me a message.Anyway, to get back to the excursion, the Salar de Tara is east of San Pedro, getting fairly close to Argentina. And you go up, way up, to well over 4000 meters. I think this place would be really difficult to get to without a guide, because the drive is extensively off road, with no well marked track at all. We had a beautiful day for our trip (we had all over dressed I think) but Alex the guide said that definitely you do not want to be caught out there past the afternoon. Apparently the weather at night is reliably inclement..always either rain or snow moves in, and it is windy and cold.We saw all kinds of amazing rock formations, had lunch (with wine!) by a beautiful lake with many flamingoes and other birds, and learned so much about the geology, the geography, and the politics of the area. Just a really satisfying day.Oh, and watch out for altitude sickness. My poor husband got a blinding headache -mostly fixed by returning to lower elevation, but not pleasant. Aspirin, caffeine, and lots of water apparently all help.

Such beautiful colors with the mountains in the background. Loved seeing all of the Flamingos too. The trip to Tara was a bit "hairly"through the sand. But we made it with an excellent driver!

We did the full day tour with them from San Pedro.Our guide Oscar Vasquez was fluent in English and Spanish. He answered our 1000 questions from geology to history of this part of Chile with a smile.If you need an english spoken guide in San Pedro I can can only recommend him. Oscarenglishguide@hotmail.comThe tour was absolutely stunning and offers great views and colorful landscapes.Furthermore we got served fresh tasty food with wine during the trip.It is worth to do the trip if you love vast deserted places!

Salar de Tara is simply the most beautiful visited part of Atacama Desert. You ought to go there with an experienced driver and guide, it is in the middle of nothing and outside of the main roads. You can see volcanic rocks, a beautiful lake with flamincos and the Tara Salt Flat sorrounded by volcanos. Be ready for a 2-hours-waling, take your sunblock and a bottle of water. The best!

You have to take a 4x4 or an agency because it can get really extreme. You have to follow some marks on the dirt and sand and after 2 hours you will get at an improbable lagoon, salar and nature at 4200m. Don´t loose this opportunity!

Off the beaten track, amazing scenery and wildlife. Our guide set up a picnic lunch overlooking the salt lake - very civilised, lots of great birds

Salar de Tara is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. It was by far our favorite place we visited while in Atacama. There were 7 of us in total including our guide and driver, and we didn't see a single other person while we were there. Beautiful and serene.

We took a tour with Cosmo And I no for 70000 full day (natural toilets!)As it was high season, the minibus was full so we shared our adventure with 13 people.Visited the volcanoes and flamingo lake which was stunning.The highlight were all the rock formations including the cathedral and packana monks all set against the bluest skies in the world!!Definitely don't miss this!!

If you are staying in San Pedro area, this is not a close tour. Despite the long journey, once you reach the Salar all your problems are forgotten. It is top 3 in the most peaceful places on earth for sure. Views are amazing and you could just stay there staring for hours...I

Please, don't miss the opportunity to visit this place. It's totally wonderful. It's not easy to go without a tour, so book one and go (I did it with Incanorth tours). The place is amazingly beautiful. It's nice to explore the different kinds of rocks and soils in this place. And when reaching the Salar itself, with a beautiful view to the lake when having lunch, you'll want to spend your life having that view! :)

You will have a number of tours to choose from in San Pedro, but do not miss this one. Search and view the pictures and you will want to go there. Once in a lifetime!

This site is great for sunset views, windy but magical. Afternoons are the best time to visit, great photography