Saturday, January 5, 2019 – Moon Valley and the Salt Mountains
Slept on and off but got up for good before 7. We went over to the common area for breakfast at 7:30 but it looked closed, so we sat outside with cappuccinos until almost 8, then we finally went in and they had been open, so we grabbed some stuff from the buffet and ordered eggs. A little rushed to make our 8:30 pickup, but since it was just us, we probably didn’t need to rush.
We went to Valle de la Luna this morning, trying to get an early start to avoid crowds, and to avoid heat. Here at the visitor center, it is easy to see that we have avoided the first. The last time we were here, there was a line for this picture.
We visited this place in November 2017, on a cruise ship excursion from Antofogasta. It was about 4h by bus in each direction. Needless to say our visit was superficial so we looked forward to more in-depth sightseeing today!
We entered the park and the barren landscape was up close and personal. It was like a private tour this early in the morning.
The main attractions in Valle de la Luna are the rock formations and the sand dunes. Last time we saw the sand dune, it killed us that there were people looking down at us from the top of the dune. We didn't have time to climb it then. But this time, we parked and started up, taking a path around the back of the dune.
Sebastian led the way. It's a bit of a climb at altitude but we were up to the challenge.
Soon we were near the top. We could see down to the road, and the "Amphitheater" dominated the view.
Good to stop and take it all in, instead of driving by in a bus. Despite the early hour, it was sunny and fairly warm. We made sure to put on a lot of sunscreen as the sun is intense here at high altitude (about 8000 feet).
Barren landscapes but gorgeous vistas. The rock layers have been turned from horizontal to nearly vertical by tectonic forces. Amazing.
The path goes on but we liked the vista here just fine.
Sand dunes collect in the valleys.
A few tourists blocking the view.
Here is the unobstructed view. And not another soul around - the solitude was incredible!
It was great to get a more detailed visit than last time. One of the reasons we were glad to come back here. In the 45 minutes we were up here, we only saw one other group of hikers. This place is beautiful. I can't believe it isn't more crowded!
We climbed back down the path and went back to the road for a closer view of the Amphitheater. You can clearly see how the rock strata have been deformed by intense tectonic activity.
A fault line in the rock layers of the Amphitheater. The white stripes should be continuous. Imagine how much force it takes to split that rock!
Then we went to an abandoned salt mine for a quick walk to the salt cliffs.
The patterns that the salt deposits make in the cliffs are otherworldly.
In the morning sun you could hear the salt making cracking noises as it expanded in the heat from the sun – it sounds cool, but scary! You didn't want to stand too close in case a big salty glacier calved on you.
We made a stop at the Three Marys (Las Tres Marias), which we saw last time. It takes a lot of imagination to see them. We looked at some other formations in the area.
The road ends past here, so we turned around and went back for a stop at the salt caves. They also were surprisingly empty.
It was a cool scramble up the mountains, through narrow slots, then a low-ceilinged cave.
We needed headlamps for the spelunking part.
Finally out the other side, and back down the mountain to the parking lot.
After that we went to a deserted overlook, with a great view of two prominent volcanoes here: Licancabur on the left, and Juriques on the right.
Legend has it that Juriques is flat-topped because he and Licancabur liked the same woman. In a fit of rage, Licancabur decapitated his brother.
Here we saw Mars Valley, mis-named Death Valley. Apparently the original name (in Spanish) was Valle de Martes (Mars Valley) but it was mispronounced because of somebody's bad French accent, and misheard as Valle de Meurtes. Thus the name “Death Valley” has stuck.
You can go sandboarding down the dune here. We didn't.
The rock formations are astounding.
You can see all the way to Bolivia from here. We will go nearer to some of these mountains tomorrow, if all goes according to plan. With binoculars, we could see that one of these snow-covered mountains was an active volcano. Steam and sulfur was pouring out a side vent.
Sebastian had some fruit skewers and beverages ready for us, so we enjoyed a snack while we took in this amazing view. Keeping hydrated is important at this altitude.
Back to Awasi in time for a shower and lunch. Lots of choices – I started with octopus and Chris had a beet-quinoa salad.
I had a filet mignon for my main, and Chris had chicken with peas and rice.
Desserts were meringue and berries, and I had crème brulee.
One of the Sauvignon Blancs on the menu is from Tabali, which we visited in November 2017 during our Limari Valley tour. It was nice to see a familiar label! All the included wines are Chilean so it's fun to explore the list.
We walked into town after a quick nap, and hit the ATM for some Chilean pesos. My new Schwab ATM card worked perfectly. They are supposed to refund ATM fees, which are fairly hefty here. We'll have to see if that works.
Then off to the market for hats (which we’d forgotten to pack). We also bought a stone condor statuette for our animal collection back home. It was carved with ceremonial symbols and looks pretty interesting. The whole shopping expedition cost about 12.000 pesos – less than $20, so pretty cheap. So we each bought a T-shirt at another place on the way home for good measure.
Now it was time for the afternoon tour – again in the Salt Mountains, but further to the north. We left around 4:30 and started out near Death Valley, with an overlook of the Catarpe region, near the Fort (Pukara del Quitor).
Then we went north further into the valley along the San Pedro River, where we stopped at a reservoir.
Then further north, we climbed up to an old Inca Tambo – kind of a way station along the Inca Road where travelers could stop for the night. Very considerate but I like our digs better.
Great view but the 5-minute climb was tough at that altitude!
Then we went off-roading a bit into Alto Catarpe, stopping at a tunnel through the mountains dating back to 1930. More views, but a few clouds on the horizon, crossing over from Bolivia.
It’s the first old road to Calama but the tunnel is closed to vehicular traffic, due to a part of the ceiling that’s caved in. So we parked and walked through.
After the tunnel we hiked up to a lookout over the valley where we enjoyed the views but had to be careful because it was incredibly windy!
On the way we passed by what superficially resembled the Tambo ruins but wasn’t – it was actually built by the military as a storehouse in the 1970s.
So many mountains here! Definitely not a boring desert landscape.
Our last part of the tour was to watch a “reverse sunset” but first we had to walk down the mountain. You can barely see our truck from where we were perched.
A reverse sunset happens here because a more coastal range (The Mako Range) blocks your view of the actual sunset if you're in the valley. But the Andes project high enough to catch the last rays of sunlight, so Sebastian says that if you look east, the sunset colors are projected onto the Andes.
So we went off-roading again and crossed over to the eastern side of the Salt Mountain Range, where we eventually parked and climbed some more, up to another archaeological site overlooking the Vilama River.
This was a ceremonial Tambo, where one of the gates supposedly lines up with the sun. We are now looking east, towards the Andes in the distance, with the sunset behind us.
Such great colors. The golden colors of the day's last light make the mountains look beautiful.
The clouds that you see have all come from the eastern side of the Andes. They are formed in Bolivia and when it's hot enough there, they have enough "lift" to cross the Andes and come to Atacama. During the winter it is cloudless here, but during the summer it can actually rain!
The sun has disappeared behind the Mako range, so we can't see it. But its light still reaches the high peaks of the Andes.
The wind has been intense this afternoon and evening. I guess the weather is a little unsettled. Will we see rain in the Atacama?
The light faded slowly and the mountains grew darker. Less gold and more purple as night started to fall.
Looking back to the west, the last colors of sunset were fading.
The colors were as great as advertised, and we enjoyed this unique experience.
We walked down to the truck in the last of the daylight, which was now only illuminating the high clouds. But it was enough to see by.
We arrived back at the hotel just before 9:00. A late dinner, with beetroot salad for me and salmon for Chris to start.
My salad came paired with Pinot Noir, which was served chilled. Felipe tells me that it's common practice in Chile to drink it that way.
Entrees were Pejeperro (a local rockfish) for Chris, and Pork for me accompanied by a seaweed concoction that resembled ratatouille. It was served with a very flavorful Merlot.
Dessert was chocolate, flavored with and accompanied by varying preparations of lemon and basil. Then there was another chocolate nibble after that.
We asked Felipe the bartender if we could try a Carmenère with the chocolate, since we hadn't had any yet. It was a great match.
Now, off to bed in preparation for our full day tour tomorrow. Hoping to sleep some.
Slept on and off but got up for good before 7. We went over to the common area for breakfast at 7:30 but it looked closed, so we sat outside with cappuccinos until almost 8, then we finally went in and they had been open, so we grabbed some stuff from the buffet and ordered eggs. A little rushed to make our 8:30 pickup, but since it was just us, we probably didn’t need to rush.
 |
| Main Entrance, Valle de la Luna |
We visited this place in November 2017, on a cruise ship excursion from Antofogasta. It was about 4h by bus in each direction. Needless to say our visit was superficial so we looked forward to more in-depth sightseeing today!We entered the park and the barren landscape was up close and personal. It was like a private tour this early in the morning.
The main attractions in Valle de la Luna are the rock formations and the sand dunes. Last time we saw the sand dune, it killed us that there were people looking down at us from the top of the dune. We didn't have time to climb it then. But this time, we parked and started up, taking a path around the back of the dune.
Sebastian led the way. It's a bit of a climb at altitude but we were up to the challenge.
Soon we were near the top. We could see down to the road, and the "Amphitheater" dominated the view.
 |
| The Amphitheater, Valle de la Luna |
Good to stop and take it all in, instead of driving by in a bus. Despite the early hour, it was sunny and fairly warm. We made sure to put on a lot of sunscreen as the sun is intense here at high altitude (about 8000 feet).
Barren landscapes but gorgeous vistas. The rock layers have been turned from horizontal to nearly vertical by tectonic forces. Amazing.
The path goes on but we liked the vista here just fine.
Sand dunes collect in the valleys.
A few tourists blocking the view.
Here is the unobstructed view. And not another soul around - the solitude was incredible!
It was great to get a more detailed visit than last time. One of the reasons we were glad to come back here. In the 45 minutes we were up here, we only saw one other group of hikers. This place is beautiful. I can't believe it isn't more crowded!
We climbed back down the path and went back to the road for a closer view of the Amphitheater. You can clearly see how the rock strata have been deformed by intense tectonic activity.
 |
| Panoramic view of Amphitheater and Giant Sand Dune, Valle de la Luna, Atacama Desert |
A fault line in the rock layers of the Amphitheater. The white stripes should be continuous. Imagine how much force it takes to split that rock!
Then we went to an abandoned salt mine for a quick walk to the salt cliffs.
The patterns that the salt deposits make in the cliffs are otherworldly.
In the morning sun you could hear the salt making cracking noises as it expanded in the heat from the sun – it sounds cool, but scary! You didn't want to stand too close in case a big salty glacier calved on you.
 |
| Not the Three Marys |
We made a stop at the Three Marys (Las Tres Marias), which we saw last time. It takes a lot of imagination to see them. We looked at some other formations in the area.
 |
| Salt Caves, Valle de la Luna |
It was a cool scramble up the mountains, through narrow slots, then a low-ceilinged cave.
We needed headlamps for the spelunking part.
Finally out the other side, and back down the mountain to the parking lot.
After that we went to a deserted overlook, with a great view of two prominent volcanoes here: Licancabur on the left, and Juriques on the right.
Legend has it that Juriques is flat-topped because he and Licancabur liked the same woman. In a fit of rage, Licancabur decapitated his brother.
 |
| Mars Valley Overview |
You can go sandboarding down the dune here. We didn't.
The rock formations are astounding.
You can see all the way to Bolivia from here. We will go nearer to some of these mountains tomorrow, if all goes according to plan. With binoculars, we could see that one of these snow-covered mountains was an active volcano. Steam and sulfur was pouring out a side vent.
Sebastian had some fruit skewers and beverages ready for us, so we enjoyed a snack while we took in this amazing view. Keeping hydrated is important at this altitude.
Back to Awasi in time for a shower and lunch. Lots of choices – I started with octopus and Chris had a beet-quinoa salad.
I had a filet mignon for my main, and Chris had chicken with peas and rice.
Desserts were meringue and berries, and I had crème brulee.
One of the Sauvignon Blancs on the menu is from Tabali, which we visited in November 2017 during our Limari Valley tour. It was nice to see a familiar label! All the included wines are Chilean so it's fun to explore the list.
We walked into town after a quick nap, and hit the ATM for some Chilean pesos. My new Schwab ATM card worked perfectly. They are supposed to refund ATM fees, which are fairly hefty here. We'll have to see if that works.
Then off to the market for hats (which we’d forgotten to pack). We also bought a stone condor statuette for our animal collection back home. It was carved with ceremonial symbols and looks pretty interesting. The whole shopping expedition cost about 12.000 pesos – less than $20, so pretty cheap. So we each bought a T-shirt at another place on the way home for good measure.
 |
| Catarpe Overlook. A little bit of green. |
Then we went north further into the valley along the San Pedro River, where we stopped at a reservoir.
Then further north, we climbed up to an old Inca Tambo – kind of a way station along the Inca Road where travelers could stop for the night. Very considerate but I like our digs better.
Great view but the 5-minute climb was tough at that altitude!
Then we went off-roading a bit into Alto Catarpe, stopping at a tunnel through the mountains dating back to 1930. More views, but a few clouds on the horizon, crossing over from Bolivia.
It’s the first old road to Calama but the tunnel is closed to vehicular traffic, due to a part of the ceiling that’s caved in. So we parked and walked through.
After the tunnel we hiked up to a lookout over the valley where we enjoyed the views but had to be careful because it was incredibly windy!
On the way we passed by what superficially resembled the Tambo ruins but wasn’t – it was actually built by the military as a storehouse in the 1970s.
So many mountains here! Definitely not a boring desert landscape.
Our last part of the tour was to watch a “reverse sunset” but first we had to walk down the mountain. You can barely see our truck from where we were perched.
A reverse sunset happens here because a more coastal range (The Mako Range) blocks your view of the actual sunset if you're in the valley. But the Andes project high enough to catch the last rays of sunlight, so Sebastian says that if you look east, the sunset colors are projected onto the Andes.
So we went off-roading again and crossed over to the eastern side of the Salt Mountain Range, where we eventually parked and climbed some more, up to another archaeological site overlooking the Vilama River.
 |
| Vilama River Overlook |
This was a ceremonial Tambo, where one of the gates supposedly lines up with the sun. We are now looking east, towards the Andes in the distance, with the sunset behind us.
Such great colors. The golden colors of the day's last light make the mountains look beautiful.
The clouds that you see have all come from the eastern side of the Andes. They are formed in Bolivia and when it's hot enough there, they have enough "lift" to cross the Andes and come to Atacama. During the winter it is cloudless here, but during the summer it can actually rain!
The sun has disappeared behind the Mako range, so we can't see it. But its light still reaches the high peaks of the Andes.
The wind has been intense this afternoon and evening. I guess the weather is a little unsettled. Will we see rain in the Atacama?
The light faded slowly and the mountains grew darker. Less gold and more purple as night started to fall.
Looking back to the west, the last colors of sunset were fading.
The colors were as great as advertised, and we enjoyed this unique experience.
We walked down to the truck in the last of the daylight, which was now only illuminating the high clouds. But it was enough to see by.
 |
| Dinner Companions, Awasi |
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| Salmon over pureed peas. Crispy skin to accompany. |
My salad came paired with Pinot Noir, which was served chilled. Felipe tells me that it's common practice in Chile to drink it that way.
 |
| Pork with Bull Kelp "Charquican" |
Entrees were Pejeperro (a local rockfish) for Chris, and Pork for me accompanied by a seaweed concoction that resembled ratatouille. It was served with a very flavorful Merlot.
 |
| Chocolate Petit-Fours |
Dessert was chocolate, flavored with and accompanied by varying preparations of lemon and basil. Then there was another chocolate nibble after that.
We asked Felipe the bartender if we could try a Carmenère with the chocolate, since we hadn't had any yet. It was a great match.
Now, off to bed in preparation for our full day tour tomorrow. Hoping to sleep some.
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