Chile Atacama Desert

The Atacama desert is a year-round destination, although its climate is influenced by the Bolivian Andes. Occasional strong rains in Jan-Feb can close visitor sites for a few days and, between Jun-Sep, snow can hinder the high-altitude crossings into Bolivia and Argentina. For almost all of the year, the sun shines and the night skies can be spectacular.

For more detailed information visit our When To Go section.

The main language spoken in the Atacama desert is Spanish.

The Chilean Peso is the main currency used in the Atacama Desert. Bring your local currency needs from a larger town, where notes can be withdrawn from the many ATMs using a UK credit or debit card. Limits may be lower than your UK bank allows.

The time difference between the Atacama desert in Chile and the UK is GMT -4 hours. Sometimes daylight saving is observed in the summer, from Sep/Oct to early Mar.  

When visiting the Atacma Desert in Chile you may want to conisder combinging your visit with the Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia, usually visited on a 3-day package by 4WD; La Serena and the Elqui Valley, 1.5 hours by air from Calama, a hour drive from San Pedro; Lauca National Park near the northern border, 800 km.

To get to the Atacama desert fly from Santiago to Calama (2 hours) then it’s a 2 hour road journey (104 km) to San Pedro.

The feast day of Saints Peter and Paul:  24 Jun. The entire village of San Pedro joins in the celebrations with processions.