The Atacama is the driest non polar desert on earth. Some weather stations in it have never recorded rain, parts of it are used as Mars analogues by space agencies, and the combination of altitude, latitude and cloudless air gives it the highest surface ultraviolet levels measured anywhere on the planet. The base for visiting is San Pedro de Atacama, an adobe village at about 2,400 metres, from which every excursion goes either higher or considerably higher.
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Almost everything that goes wrong for visitors here comes from underestimating three numbers: the ultraviolet index, the temperature drop between afternoon and dawn, and the altitude of the excursions rather than of the village. El Tatio, the geyser field everyone visits, sits at about 4,320 metres and is visited at five in the morning, when it is routinely minus 10°C. People arrive at it in a fleece. The night sky, incidentally, is the other reason to come: this is among the best places on earth for stargazing, which is why the ALMA array is here.
What Makes the Atacama Different to Pack For
The daily temperature swing is enormous
San Pedro runs 22°C to 28°C by day for much of the year and drops to around 0°C to 5°C overnight, with winter nights from June to August going to minus 5°C or lower. Go up to the altiplano lagoons at 4,200 metres or El Tatio at 4,320 and the dawn temperature is between minus 5°C and minus 15°C with wind.
That range in a single day is why a merino wool base layer for women is the most useful single item to bring here: it is the layer you put on at four in the morning and are still comfortable in at two in the afternoon, and it does not chill you when you sweat on a climb.
The ultraviolet is the highest on earth, and it does not feel like it
Thin dry air, high altitude, tropical latitude, no cloud, and reflective salt and pale rock. Index readings above 15 are routine and readings over 20 have been recorded in this region, which is beyond the top of the standard scale. You can burn badly in twenty minutes at 22°C in a dry breeze that feels pleasant. This is not a comfort matter, it is the most likely thing to damage you here.
Altitude, and it increases every day you are here
San Pedro at 2,400 metres is mild. The excursions are not: the Piedras Rojas and altiplano lagoon circuit reaches about 4,200 metres, El Tatio about 4,320, and the road to Bolivia crosses higher. Do the low excursions first, leave El Tatio and the lagoons for day three or later, drink far more water than usual, and do not drink alcohol on your first night.
It is the driest place you will ever be
Humidity is often in single figures. Lips crack, noses bleed, skin splits, contact lenses dry out, and you dehydrate without sweating visibly because sweat evaporates instantly.
The nights are for the sky
Stargazing tours run most nights and involve standing still outdoors in the cold for two hours, away from any building.
Recommended Tours and Experiences
The Atacama Packing List
Footwear
Closed waterproof hiking shoes with grip, which handle the salt crust, the loose volcanic gravel and the cold. Waterproofing matters less for rain, of which there is none, than for the shallow water crossings at some lagoons and the mud at the geysers.
Warm socks, and a spare pair, because cold feet at El Tatio at dawn are the commonest complaint on that excursion. Sandals for the village, which is warm and dusty. Nothing open toed for the excursions, because the ground is sharp volcanic rock and salt.
Clothing
A genuine layering system, the kind you would take to a mountain rather than to a desert. Base layer, fleece or mid layer, and an insulated waterproof jacket for the dawn excursions and the stargazing. Thermal leggings under trousers for El Tatio, which most people wish they had brought.
A warm hat, gloves and a neck tube, all three of which you will use at dawn and on a night tour and none of which you will use at midday. Long trousers and long sleeved light shirts for the day, which are sun protection rather than warmth. A swimsuit, for the Laguna Cejar salt lagoon and the Puritama hot springs.
San Pedro is a dusty adobe village where everyone is in outdoor clothing and nothing smart is needed or wanted.
For sun
This is the most important section on this page. A wide brim sun hat with a chin strap, because the altiplano wind removes hats and the brim needs to be wide. Sunglasses with full ultraviolet protection, and ideally wraparound, since light comes off the salt from below as well. High factor sunscreen, applied every morning and reapplied every two hours, including under the chin, on the nose and on the ears. Lip balm with sun protection, which you will use constantly.
Practical
A refillable bottle, two litres of capacity, and the discipline to keep drinking, because dehydration at altitude in single figure humidity is invisible until it is a headache. Rehydration sachets. A heavy moisturiser and a lip balm, and saline nasal spray if you are prone to nosebleeds, which are common here.
Painkillers for altitude headache and, if you have a history of altitude trouble, a conversation with a travel doctor about acetazolamide before you leave. Glasses rather than contact lenses if you can, because lenses dry out badly in this air.
Cash in Chilean pesos, because San Pedro's ATMs are few and do run out, particularly at weekends and in high season, and several tour operators and small restaurants prefer cash. A head torch for the stargazing and the pre dawn starts. A power bank. A dust cover or bag for the camera, because fine dust gets into everything. And a red filter or red cellophane for a torch if you care about the astronomy, since white light ruins everyone's dark adaptation.
What to Wear at Key Sites
Valle de la Luna
A salt and clay landscape of ridges and caverns fifteen minutes from the village, visited in the late afternoon for the sunset.
Practically: closed shoes for the salt crust and the dune ridge, a hat and sunscreen for the walk, and a warm layer for after sunset, because the temperature falls very fast the moment the sun goes behind the Cordillera de la Sal. There is an entrance fee and set routes; walking off them is prohibited because the crust is fragile.
El Tatio geysers
The largest geyser field in the southern hemisphere at about 4,320 metres, visited at dawn because the steam columns are most dramatic in the cold.
Practically: this is the coldest place you will be on the whole trip. Departures are around four in the morning, temperatures at the field are typically minus 5°C to minus 15°C with wind, and the combination of that, 4,320 metres and no sleep is what makes people ill. Wear everything: base layer, thermal leggings, fleece, insulated jacket, hat, gloves, neck tube, warm socks. Take water and something to eat. The ground around the vents is thin crust over boiling water and people have been badly burned stepping off the marked paths, so stay on them. The swimming pool there is tepid at best and undressing at that temperature is a poor trade.
The altiplano lagoons and Piedras Rojas
Miscanti, Miniques and the red rocks of Salar de Aguas Calientes, at around 4,000 to 4,200 metres, a long day out.
Practically: the highest sustained altitude of any standard excursion, so leave it until you are acclimatised. Full sun protection plus a warm layer and a windproof shell, because it is cold and exposed at that height even in sunshine. Water. Move slowly on any walk.
Laguna Cejar and the salt lagoons
Hypersaline lagoons in the Salar de Atacama where you float without effort.
Practically: swimwear, a towel, and flip flops for the salt, which is sharp. Rinse thoroughly at the showers afterwards, because dried salt on skin in this sun is an irritation, and do not go in with a fresh cut or a shave. Do not take jewellery in. Full sun protection, since the water reflects everything.
Stargazing
Small group astronomy tours with telescopes, run on moonless nights.
Practically: you stand still outdoors in the dark for two hours at 2,400 metres, so dress as you would for the geysers rather than for the village: insulated jacket, hat, gloves, warm socks. Tours provide blankets and hot drinks. No white light, no flash, and no phone screens at full brightness. Tours cancel around the full moon.
Puritama hot springs
A series of warm pools in a canyon half an hour from the village.
Practically: swimwear, towel, flip flops, and a warm layer for the walk between pools and afterwards. Limited numbers and timed entry, so book.
Crossing to Bolivia
San Pedro is the standard start for the three day jeep crossing to Uyuni over passes above 4,600 metres.
Practically: everything warm you own, because the refuges on that route are unheated and the nights are far colder than anything in San Pedro. This is a much more serious altitude undertaking than a day tour.
What Not to Bring
Leave the idea that a desert is hot, which is the mistake that defines this destination. It is hot for six hours and cold for eighteen.
Leave a thin summer sun hat with no chin strap. Leave contact lenses as your only option. Leave sandals for the excursions. Leave an umbrella, which has no function in a place with no rain. Leave alcohol for the first night. Leave the plan that does El Tatio on day one. Leave a reliance on ATMs. Leave anything that must stay dust free. And leave the expectation of heating in a cheaper guesthouse, because adobe holds the day's heat only until about midnight.
Essential Resources for Women in the Atacama
Emergency numbers in Chile: 131 reaches the ambulance service, 132 the fire service and 133 the Carabineros police. Chile's emergency system is competent and 131 is the number for an altitude emergency. Note that mobile signal disappears on most excursion routes, including at El Tatio and the altiplano lagoons, so your tour operator's radio is the practical emergency service on any day trip.
Tourist support: Chile has no dedicated tourist police, but San Pedro has a Carabineros post and a Sernatur tourist information office on the main square, which is the place to check which operators are registered. Book excursions with a Sernatur registered operator rather than the cheapest board on the street: vehicle standards, oxygen on board and guide training vary considerably, and altitude excursions are where that difference matters. A theft is reported at the Carabineros post for the constancia your insurer needs.
US Embassy: the Embassy is in Santiago at cl.usembassy.gov, about two hours by air from Calama plus an hour and a half by road, and there is no consular presence in the north. Enrol in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program at step.state.gov before you travel.
Main hospital or clinic: San Pedro has a small public health post, the Posta de Salud, which handles altitude sickness, dehydration and minor injuries and can supply oxygen. Anything serious means Calama, about an hour and a half away, where the Hospital Carlos Cisternas and private clinics are, and anything major means Antofagasta or Santiago. Travel insurance that explicitly covers activities above 4,000 metres and medical evacuation is important here, because the standard excursions exceed the altitude limit written into some cheaper policies.
Official health authority: the Ministerio de Salud at minsal.cl. Altitude is the dominant health consideration and it is worth reading the official guidance on acute mountain sickness before you travel, because the excursion profile here takes you from 2,400 to 4,320 metres within a day. There is no malaria, no yellow fever requirement and no mosquito borne disease of note in the Atacama. Tap water in San Pedro is drinkable but is high in minerals and arsenic naturally, and most visitors and many locals drink bottled, which is the sensible default for a short stay. The other genuine risks are ultraviolet injury, dehydration and, uniquely here, burns from geothermal ground at El Tatio.
US State Department travel advisory for Chile: current advisory level and detail. Chile sits among the lower risk countries in South America and the advisory is driven by urban crime in Santiago and Valparaiso rather than anything in the north. Read it directly rather than relying on this page.
UK FCDO travel advice for Chile: entry requirements, safety and health guidance, including the altitude section and the guidance on driving in remote areas, both of which apply here.
Official tourism authority: Sernatur's visitor site at chile.travel, with conaf.cl for the protected areas including the Los Flamencos national reserve, which covers Valle de la Luna and the salt lagoons, and for opening hours and entrance fees.
Solo women safety assessment: San Pedro de Atacama is a comfortable and easy destination for a woman travelling alone, and one of the safest in South America. It is a small village of a few thousand people whose entire economy is tourism, it is full of independent travellers joining the same excursions, and the social pattern of booking a tour and meeting people on it makes solo travel here effortless. Violent crime is rare. Walking around the village in the evening is completely normal, though it is genuinely dark since San Pedro deliberately restricts street lighting to protect the night sky, so carry a torch. The crime that exists is opportunistic theft: from hostel dorms, from bags left in a tour van, and occasionally from a room, so use a locker and keep your passport and cash on you. Street harassment is minimal. Chilean police are professional and approachable. The risks that will actually affect you here are environmental and they are more serious than the crime risk. Altitude is the first: the standard excursion set takes you to 4,320 metres, often before dawn and often on your second or third day, and acute mountain sickness affects fit people as readily as anyone. Ascend gradually, keep the high excursions for later in your stay, drink constantly, skip alcohol early on, and treat worsening headache, breathlessness at rest, confusion or vomiting as a reason to descend rather than push on. Ultraviolet is the second and is the thing most likely to cause you actual injury, because the highest levels on earth are recorded in this region and they do not feel dangerous at 22°C. Cover up, reapply, wear the sunglasses. Dehydration is the third and compounds both of the above, in air often below ten per cent humidity. Fourth is the geothermal ground at El Tatio, where the crust over boiling water is thin and visitors have been seriously scalded stepping off marked paths. Fifth is cold: minus 15°C at dawn at altitude, in a group standing around, is genuinely hazardous if you have dressed for a desert. Finally, if you self drive, distances are enormous, fuel stations are far apart, there is no signal, and the roads to the lagoons are rough; most people quite reasonably use operators instead.
Reading On
San Pedro de Atacama is an hour and a half by road from Calama airport, two hours by air from Santiago, and it is the standard overland gateway to Bolivia. The Chile travel guide for women is the parent for the country and the Chile packing list for women covers a trip across it. South, the Santiago packing list for women covers the capital, the Valparaiso packing list for women the coast, the Puerto Varas packing list for women the lakes district and the Torres del Paine packing list for women and Patagonia packing list for women the far south. Offshore, the Easter Island packing list for women covers Rapa Nui. Across the border, the Uyuni packing list for women covers the salt flat this route connects to and the La Paz packing list for women the Bolivian capital. The travel packing guide for women is the parent for all destinations. For why a thin wool layer is the answer to a 35 degree daily range, the best merino wool base layers for women explains the fibre, the merino wool for women who run cold covers the freezing dawns, and the Roman Trail collection is where the tops themselves live.
If the outer journey is calling you, the inner one usually is too. Explore SoulMap at romantrail.com/blogs/soulmap.
