Miñiques: Our most recommended tours and activities

Piedras Rojas, Altiplanics Lagoons & Salar Full-Day Tour

1. Piedras Rojas, Altiplanics Lagoons & Salar Full-Day Tour

Be collected from your accommodation in San Pedro de Atacama around 6:30 AM. Your first stop, after an hour, will be at the Miscanti and Miñiques highland lagoons, located at 4,200 meters above sea level. In these lagoons, enjoy breakfast and admire the fauna and flora here.  The next visit is to the Salar de Talar, known as Piedras Rojas or purple stones. The beauty of this place will leave you speechless. Continue to your next stop at the Atacameño village of Socaire, where you can observe the terraces of cultivation and the village church. Then visit the Salar de Atacama, Chile's largest salt lake. Here are the national flamingo reserve and the Chaxa lagoon, which is home to three types of flamingos as well as other species. Return to San Pedro de Atacama around 5:00 PM. 

San Pedro de Atacama: 3-Day Classic Activity Combo

2. San Pedro de Atacama: 3-Day Classic Activity Combo

Delight in 3 days of activities and discover the must-sees in the Atacama Desert, from San Pedro de Atacama. The natural attractions of Atacama, the driest and highest desert in the world, are scattered around San Pedro. Get ready to find conical volcanoes, blueish lagoons, steaming geysers, and rock formations that appear to be from another planet. Llamas, vicuñas, guanacos, foxes, and graceful flamingos can also be experienced in this unique wildlife environment. The 3-day pack will be a combination of the 4 tours below. The local partner will contact you before to coordinate the days on which you will attend each one. El Tatio Geysers Tour: Visit El Tatio Geysers to be mesmerized by the largest geothermal field in the southern hemisphere and the third-largest in the world. Ride through the Putana Valley, observe flora and fauna, and stop at a lagoon to see flamingos. Red Rocks & Altiplano Lagoons Day Trip: Discover the gems of the Atacama Desert on a guided day trip from San Pedro de Atacama with a hotel pickup. See the Tropic of Capricorn, Red Rocks or Piedras Rojas, and the Miscanti and Miñiques lagoons. Valle de la Luna Sunset Tour: See sights such as the Three Sisters and the Grand Dunes before ending the day with an amazing sunset. Hidden Lagoons of Baltinache Tour: Visit the hidden lagoons of Baltinache or Seven Lagoons, one of the secret places of the Atacama Desert. This is a wonderful landscape, of which only the first and the last one can be used for bathing. Due to the high salt concentration they contain, you will experience the flotation effect like the Dead Sea.

San Pedro de Atacama: Red Rocks & Altiplano Lagoons Day Trip

3. San Pedro de Atacama: Red Rocks & Altiplano Lagoons Day Trip

Tour starts by picking everybody up in hotel to head to visit the famous Tropic of Capricorn and its amazing surrounding view. The next stop is Red Rocks, iconic and typical landscape of the desert, with a singular red color on the stones, shaped by curious geological phenomenons. Perfect chance to take great pictures. To reach them, also known as Aguas Calientes Salt Flat, we will have to go up in our vehicle to 3800 meters of altitude and walk for 1 hour and 15 minutes, to see the red-colored rocks, besides some lagoons and salt flats around. The same way, we will make a stop in the Chaxa Lagoon, place where you will be able to see flamingos. Then, we will go to the area of Altiplanic Lagoons Miscanti and Miñiques, where our guide will give us some information about the flora and fauna of the place. Continuing, we will pass by the town of Socaire, where we will make a stop to take pictures. After that, we will return to San Pedro de Atacama to end our tour. Important: The order of the visiting places is subject to changes the same day of the tour.

San Pedro de Atacama: 4-Day Magic Desert Tour

4. San Pedro de Atacama: 4-Day Magic Desert Tour

Day 1: Transfer from Calama Airport to your San Pedro de Atacama Hotel Day 2: RED STONES, HIGH PLANE LAGOONS AND SALT FLAT OF ATACAMA We will visit the Laguna Chaxa, with its flamingos in the Salar de Atacama. We can also enjoy the wonderful Altiplanic, Miscanti and little fingers We will be able to get closer to the local culture in the highland town of Socaire. We will observe the Salar de Atacama from above, and we will enjoy beautiful landscapes and broken. In turn, we will hallucinate with the impressive Red Stones. Day 3 AM: Tour Geiser del Tatio (altitude of 4,300 meters) After driving through the night, you will arrive at this spectacular sector of the Altiplano at approximately 6:45AM, normally the temperature at this time is below zero. You will begin your day by enjoying breakfast before a guided hike by the geothermal field. There you will be able to observe the impressive columns of steam (geisers), fumaroles, hundreds of pools of boiling water, and high peaks. In this sector you can see parts of the typical Andean fauna such as Vizcachas and Vicuñas. You will then move to the sector of the thermal pools with 40º water, where guests can take a rejuvenating swim. You will then begin the return to San Pedro, through the impressive landscape of the Andes mountain range. During this route you will also be able to see the Tocorpuri and Licancacabur volcanos. You will eventually arrive in San Pedro at approximately 12:00PM, where you will have free time before meeting in the office at 3:50PM. From here you will travel directly to the Salar de Atacama, where your first stop will be Laguna Cejar, a turquoise lagoon in which you can bathe. Due to this lake's great salinity, you will even be able to float on the water. Later, you will visit the eyes of the Salar, before your tour ends at the Tebinquiche Lagoon, where you will enjoy a beautiful sunset with an aperitif. You will eventually return to San Pedro de Atacama. Day 3: Pm. Moon Valley After beginning your tour, you will travel to the famous Valley of the Moon, located approximately 10 kilometers away from San Pedro de Atacama and declared a sanctuary of nature. Here you will discover a place with beautiful shapes and colors where you can walk and observe a geological show with sculptural forms, similar to the lunar surface. You can visit the salt statues "Las Tres Marías", as well as the salt caverns. You will then go up to the great dune at sunset to admire this beautiful panorama in all its splendor. Day 4: Transfer Hotel San Pedro de Atacama to Calama Airport On the final day of your tour you will be transferred to Calama Airport, or another centrally located part of Calama. The itinerary of the excursions can be modified, to be able to carry out all the excursions based on your stay in San Pedro

Other Sightseeing Options in Miñiques

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What people are saying about Miñiques

Overall rating

4.4 / 5

based on 38 reviews

Great tour combo with great guides. Each tour was unique and you could experience the versatility of the Atacama. The Vallecito Tour was awesome. A mega impressive and varied landscape. The tour of the lagoon was also an experience in itself. The water is cold, but with the bright sun from above it is a refreshing experience. And nice to see how all the salt settles on the skin like a small crust. The tour to the highlands was great. The fact that it is a little over 4,000 m can make you dizzy. But the view of the volcano, the many lakes and rock formations are unforgettable. We also saw a lot of flamingos and guanacas/llamas. The tour to the geyser field started very early, but it is an experience to see the steaming geysers at sunrise. Be careful, it's below 0 degrees up there. Don't forget a scarf, hat and gloves. All tours included breakfast/lunch :)

Guides and tours were excellent. Enjoyed the breakfasts and appreciated the expert driving on rough roads.

Really great guides. Good value for money. These sights are insanely beautiful.

Awesome guides. Great trip for a traveller on a limited time schedule!

Perfect organisation, very kind guides and stuff. Wonderfull nature.