top sights in san pedro de atacama

Hey there,
Being on a budget we plan to pick two of the day/afternoon trips in the atacama desert to do.
we love hiking and seeing amazing landscapes.
will have come from uyuni across rhe salt flats so don't want to repeat sights.

what are you top two sights to see??
Thanks!

By "trips" do you mean tours? Because in my experience they aren't necessary to see some good stuff in the area. A few DIY options are:
1. Walk to the Pukara de Quitor - about 30 minutes from the village. There's a nominal fee to enter. It's not exactly Machu Picchu on the scale of ruins, but it's an interesting spot.
2. Rent bikes and bike out to the Valle de la Luna (skip the overpriced tour). Again about 30 minutes away. They provide places to lock one's bike. Best to go near sunset for beautiful colours on the rocks, but make sure you have a light because you'll be cycling back in the dark.
3. Take the local bus to Toconao to see the Quebrada de Jerez, which is a lush green gorge hidden away in the bleak desert. Very cool place.

Thanks for the great tjps! We hired bikes and went to the death and moon valleys - tough ride in the heat but we're not experience d cyclists and were fine!

Hi there, we will be going to chile with two friends and plan to spend about 10 days in Patagonia and another 5 around San Pedro de Atacama.

Question: Does it make any sense to drive from Santiago to Atacama? Will we be able to use the car to visit the sights or do we have to take tours for that? My co-travelleres REALLY wanto to turn this into a road trip.

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