ATACAMA DESERT TRAIL - CHILE

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The Atacama Desert in Northern Chile is the driest desert on earth, created by the rain shadow of the Andes, east of the desert. It is one of the most spectacular and dramatic landscapes on earth made up of salt basins (salares), sand and lava flows. As you can imagine the Atacama is extremely sparsely populated. Our ride takes us from Calama in the centre of the desert to San Pedro de Atacama, a natural oasis. En route we camp in tents under brilliant clear skies - no rain is guaranteed! We ride at all paces on excellent criollo horses. An incredible adventure and not too much heat due to the 6,oooft altitude.

Trip length 13 days / 12 nights Ride price detailed prices price promise 2012: double pp £2,009/€2,315/$3,105 Departure dates 2012: 28 October; 25 November Approximate riding time per day Most days 6hrs riding Riding ability required Confident in walk, trot and canter and riding fit Group size 2-12 Meeting point (getting there) Calama Airport, Chile (CJC) Transfer Included from meeting point. Approx transfer time is 10 minutes to your hotel and then an hour the following day. Flight guide London - Calama £880-£950 return Single supplement detailed prices Paid locally; please enquire.

SAMPLE ITINERARY - ATACAMA DESERT TRAIL

Day 1
Calama - Chiu Chiu
Arrival at Calama Airport. Reception Dinner. Hotel.

Day 2
Chiu Chiu – Puente del Diablo (Horse Ride: 6 hours)
Our trip begins in Chiu Chiu, with a visit to the cemetery, and then we ride to Chiu Chiu lagoon to continue up by Salado River until we get to Puente del Diablo where we will spend the night camping.

Day 3
Puente del Diablo - Turi
(3.000 mts. altitude) (Horse ride: 6 hours)
Moving forward by the Rio Salado, we cross Puente del Diablo we ride to the Vegas of Turi (3.100 mts.) and finally arrive to Turi village, we visit the handcraft goat milk cheese factory and taste their delicious products.
Bath in Turi’s pool with mineral water. Camping beneath the stars.

Day 4
Turi - Paniri
(Horse ride: 6 hours)
Crossing the pampas the ride leads us to the Pucará de Topain, and finally we reach Paniri, the only walled town in this area. Ride visiting the town, farming terraces and nearby caves. Walk around a giant cactus forest. Overnight at some villager’s houses/camping.

Day 5
Paniri - Toconce
(3.600 mts. altitude) (Horse ride: 6 hours)
Setting out from Paniri Viejo we cross the bridge of an old dam, enjoying a splendid view of the cactus forest. We continue our way bordering the Chao hill and crossing little ruins through out the track, until we get to an old ranch where we have lunch.
After crossing passes that go through the pampas, we descend by a slope from where we can see Toconce town on the other side of the canyon. We reach a little dump in ruins where several caves can be seen on the end of the canyon. Incredible farming terraces are seen on the mountain slope. We arrive in the quiet town of Toconce where we will sleep in local accommodations/camping.

Day 6
Toconce - Caspana
(3.400 mts. altitude) (Horse ride: 5 hours)
We start our ride following the car road, passing by the cemetery, and from there we take a path bordering the Toconce River until we get to a little slope that take us to the bottom of the canyon. Following the river we cross the bridge to take ta trail to Caspana, between giant cactuses and local vegetation.
Town visit. Camping.

Day 7
Caspana - Lari
(3.305 mts. altitude) (Horse ride: 7 hours)
We start travelling along the Camino del Inca, leaving towns far behind we will now ride along this Camino (Inca Trail) until we reach our final destination, San Pedro de Atacama.
From Caspana, we continue the Camino del Inca which crosses pampas through several little canyons until we reach the little ranch of Incahuasi, where we will find water for the horses. We continue on via the Camino del Inca till we reach some black and light grey rock passes where Lari is located; there drinkable water is found under the sand. Sleep out in the open.

Day 8
Lari - Turcapo
(Horse ride: 4 hours)
We start the road to the highest part of the plateau exceeding the 4.000 meters of altitude; there we will ride with a marvellous view of peaks and volcanoes. We start descending by a long slope that drives us to the bottom of a big rough canyon with little SALARES. We visit one of the few local inhabitants that live in a natural cave. We sleep outdoor close to the ranches and houses of the villagers. Camping.

Day 9
Turcapo - Rio Grande
(Horse ride: 4 hrs.)
We cross big areas of Cortadera (local vegetation), visiting fruit orchards and general agriculture, and then our ride takes us through a stone slope till we get to a plateau full of wild donkeys. We cross this plateau straight through on the Camino del Inca to descend by the other side in direction to Rio Grande from where we see sown fields.

Day 10
Rio Grande - Catarpe
(2.438 mts. altitude) (Horse ride: 6 hrs.)
Today we set off from Rio Grande taking a dirt road to get into the pampas before following the Camino del Inca (Inca Trail) again which we follow all the way to San Pedro de Atacama. Today is a long descent via little slopes and hillocks with sweeping views of the volcanoes and hills and far in the distance we can make out the vegetation of San Pedro de Atacama. This is where agriculture sowing begins too, this place is known as the Inca Centre of Catarpe.

Day 11
Catarpe - San Pedro de Atacama (Horse ride: 6hrs.)
We continue descending until we get to the point where the rivers Salado and Grande merge, a place of petroglyphs which we spend some time admiring. From this point on the vegetation begins to be more and more abundant until it becomes Chañar forests and others…Following the descent of the Rio Grande River we arrive to the Pucará of Quitor, and then we will ride on to “La piedra de la Coca” and finally we'll ride into and across Moon Valley to arrive to San Pedro de Atacama. Hotel and hot showers tonight! Videos of riding in Moon Valley below.

Day 12
San Pedro de Atacama
Tour of San Pedro de Atacama town that was the principal centre of the ATACAMEÑA culture.
Visit of Padre le Paige Museum. Final dinner. Hotel.

Day 13
San Pedro de Atacama - Calama
Transfer to Calama ready for your domestic flight to Chilean capital and then an international flight to Europe

Please note: All itineraries are for guidance only and may be altered due to weather or other unforeseen circumstances.

NOTES - ATACAMA DESERT TRAIL

More videos on You Tube, search for Unicorn Trails Atacama.

The weight limit for this ride is 14 st/198 lb/90 kg, please enquire if you are an experienced rider exceeding this weight.

FURTHER DETAILS
As we are specialists in our field we have extensive knowledge of all our products from details of accommodation and meals to number/size/type of horses to pace of riding ... and much more.
Should you wish to receive further details of this ride please click here.

WHAT IS INCLUDED
All transfers from the meeting point, meals, accommodation in twin or triple rooms with shared bathroom, riding, horses, tack, English speaking guide, luggage transport and excursions described in itinerary.

WHAT IS NOT INCLUDED
International and local flights, airport taxes, insurance, drinks, single room supplement, items of a personal nature and gratuities.

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Reading List
We're avid readers here at Unicorn Trails and have selected several books connected to this ride. If you're interested in reading more about the area before you travel, or want to get into the cultural background, here are some suggestions that may inspire you. Click on the links for more information.

 

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