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The Moon Valley in Atacama Desert

What is the Moon Valley? Well, it is one of the most visited places in San Pedro de Atacama and is located 17 kilometers from the center of the town which is the gate to visit the incredible Atacama desert, in the area of the Cordillera de la Sal. It is an interesting area of stone and sand formations that for millennia floods and Winds have given a series of colors and texture to the desert, it presents an extraordinary attraction due to its similarity with the lunar surface and large natural coliseum. From a large dune it is possible to appreciate the wonderful and surprising environment of this area. This wonderful natural phenomenon is due to the encounter of the Atacama desert with the Andes mountain range, which is produced by gentle changes of slopes, made up of cones of boulders from the mountain streams.

The Valley of the Moon has dry lakes, where their salt composition covers a beautiful whitish mantle; escarpments of all colors green, blue, red, yellow surprising with the most diverse and surprising shapes and which the sun makes its tones vary in a thousand different ways during the day, especially in the twilight hours when it reaches its maximum beauty. On nights with a full moon, the valley also presents an indescribable aspect, full of majesty and silence, coldly beautiful and imposing. Declared a nature sanctuary for its great natural beauty and strange lunar appearance to which it owes its name. It is visited by hundreds of tourists every year for being one of the best known places in Chile.

Together with the so-called Death Valley, this place is unique within the environment that surrounds the Sierra Orbate at 2,500 meters above sea level, it is a depression of relative size of 440 km² of the so-called Cordillera de la Sal in the basin of the Salar de Atacama surrounded by ridges of 500 m elevation. Its extension includes from the west by the Domeyko mountain range, by the east by Toconao and Peine by the south.

The Moon Valley: Origins

Recent geological studies indicate that there was a large lake or perimeter inland sea in the El Tambo sector between Toconao and Peine at the end of the Tertiary Era formed by the hydrographic basin of the Licancabur volcano whose alluvial drags and debris deposits formed the base of the Cordillera de Salt, which were deposited from a tectonic fault in the Domeyko Mountain Range, which is the base of such a peculiar landscape. It is made up of a series of transversal valleys and raised outcrops in the northwest direction in the form of ridges of layers of siltstone, gypsum, and salt (sodium chloride), clay and sand, forming sedimentary rocks of Paleozoic origin.

This amazing place was modeled over millennia by river and wind erosion, which have carved its soil into shapes such as: pointed ridges, hollows, gray and ocher colored mounds, which give it that characteristic lunar appearance. The Valley of the Moon is a place characterized by the steepness of the scenic break, the scenic beauty of its earthy colors, the absolute silence, the lack of humidity, flora and fauna, with only a few specimens of Fabián’s lizard being found.

Weather in the Moon Valley, Atacama Desert

And what about weather in this area? Well, the climate is high-altitude desert, with a great thermal oscillation between day and night, of approximately 18 ° C. The climate in Valle de la Luna is a high-altitude marginal desert, with a marked thermal oscillation between day and night. With an average annual temperature where the maximum is 24.5ºC and the minimum is 17.1ºC.

Due to its strange climate you must be prepared if you are going to be both day and night, since the cold can have serious consequences and during the day the heat is the same, you have to stock up with plenty of water, to be hydrated, and sunscreen, If you are traveling with children, you must take the necessary precautions.

Altitude in the Moon Valley, Atacama Desert

We have this beautiful valley in the depression surrounding Sierra Orbate, which is approximately two thousand five hundred and fifty meters above sea level. Its beauty is due to wind erosion, which has been the cause of such a sculpted landscape with sharp ridges, hollows and mounds. It has a large amount of sedimentary rocks with minerals such as salt, clay, and gypsum among others. As we mentioned previously, there are studies that indicate that there was a lake in this sector, but that due to volcanic activity it dried up, thus forming the Domeyko mountain range. And forming the valleys and hills of salt, rock and sand.

The huge dunes characterize this valley, among them the amphitheater that is about forty meters high of rock, salt and sand stands out. During the tour you will be able to climb large dunes, walk on a mixture of earth and salt, appreciate very strange rocks that seem from another world. If you stay until dusk see the effects first of the sun’s rays as it sets over the ground and then the spectacular dusk when the moon illuminates the valley floor. When it is a full moon, the place lights up, the reflections of the moon on the salt lakes give a spectacle of a majesty, a silence, coldly beautiful and imposing, unique and unforgettable

The Moon Valley: location

This beautiful place can be found in the town of San Pedro de Atacama in Chile, it is a town with a unique charm. Being the Valley of the Moon one of the main tourist places in the region, which is visited by a large number of people throughout the year. The Atacama desert is known as the driest in the world, the valley is located just thirteen kilometers from there.

In Argentina we can also find a place with the name of Valle de la Luna, this is within the Ischigualasto Provincial Natural Park, which was created in 1971 and was declared a Natural World Heritage Site by UNESCO in November 2000. But where is exactly located? The Moon Valley is located it in the Antofagasta region, in the north of Chile, it is in the Domeyko mountain range, in the town of San Pedro de Atacama about thirteen kilometers from the Atacama desert. This small town has approximately five thousand inhabitants, it is very close to Bolivia, although it is a small town it is very well armed for tourism, it has good places to visit with a unique charm, which greatly attracts tourists.

The Moon Valley in Atacama Desert: location map

What to see in the Moon Valley?

The Salt Cavern or “Caverna de Sal” in spanish, is the first milestone in the tour of the visit to the Valley of the Moon in the Atacama Desert. It is the first stop, and to enter you must have a flashlight (with the cell phone is enough) and not be claustrophobic. You can walk through the caves in a circuit that will make you exit the same way you entered, so it is impossible to get lost. You will go through narrow ravines, tunnels, some steep climbs and trails. Here you can see how the rain and the wind have eroded the rocks forming these streams and nature trails. These caves are not recommended for very young children, pregnant women and people with reduced mobility. There are some difficult sections to pass.

The Main Dune, or Major Dune is is usually the stop that takes the most time for visitors, as it is also the one that will attract your attention the most due to the viewpoints of the valley and a huge road that crowns the place. You walk along a path that takes about 15 to 20 minutes to reach the top of the dune, where you cannot enter. From here there are two paths, one that borders the precipice that overlooks the valley and the other that goes into the ravine with a privileged view of the Cordillera de la Sal. Both have their own charm, so we recommend doing both.

La Duna Mayor in spanish, is the most recommended place to watch the sunset, one of the greatest charms of the place. Due to the salt present in the rocks, you will see how with the lowering of the sun the colors of the rocks and the landscape go from reddish, to purple to gray. If you are interested in seeing it, we recommend arriving at least 45 minutes before to achieve a good position.

This viewpoint is on the other side of the ravine that can be seen from the Duna Mayor, so it is possible to see the Cordillera de la Sal from a different position. The landscape is just as beautiful as the Duna Mayor, and with significantly fewer people walking the trail to the top. The climb is more difficult and takes about 25 minutes at a steady and relaxed pace.

Nowadays it is not possible to stop or walk through the amphitheater, so you can see it from the same path as the cars or from other viewpoints, such as the Duna Mayor or the Mirador Achaches.

Formerly, the exploitation of salt in this area was carried out by different families, who were professionalizing their work until in the twentieth century they took on an enormous relevance for Chilean mining. Companies and mines settled in the Valley of the Moon, of which today we see vestiges such as some machines and constructions. It is possible to travel the area by a marked path, and appreciate areas where you can see how the extraction worked.

The Three Marias, are rock formations formed over the years through erosion. They are also known as “the watchers.” Nowadays it is forbidden to approach it, because a few years ago a tourist got on one and broke it in half.

Book an excursion to enjoy the Moon Valley from San Pedro de Atacama

If you´re visiting the area of San Pedro de Atacama, you can book the excursion to the incredible Moon Valley in the Atacama Desert

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