Explora Atacama

The Atacama Desert stretches from the rugged Pacific coast of northern Chile to the steep Andean slopes of southwestern Bolivia. Famous for its aridity, Atacama is proof of how life can flourish even in the harshest of conditions.

Explora Atacama is located in the oasis of San Pedro de Atacama, on the beautiful Ayllu de Larache, once inhabited by ancient Atacameño families. San Pedro is a beautiful adobe town surrounded by the desert’s most dramatic features: salt-flats, volcanoes, geysers, hot springs, windswept sand dunes and many others.

Designed to take full advantage of the silence, privacy, and spaciousness of the surrounding landscape, ensuring deep rest after a long day of exploration. Our base is a lodge built for linking man to temporary space- present and past- and the mysteries of nature.

The 17-hectare (42-acre) grounds comprise 20 indigenous parcels, some with timeworn pathways and buildings that explora is committed to preserving out of a profound respect for the area’s original inhabitants.

TULUR ROOM
19 Tulur rooms measuring 33m² (355 feet²), 8 of them are interconnected rooms, ideal for families. Views to the hotel’s grounds. Non-smoking rooms. Designed to take full advantage of the silence, privacy, and spaciousness of the surrounding landscape, ensuring deep rest after a long day of exploration.

YALI ROOM
27 Yali rooms measuring 33m² (355 feet²). Views of the desert landscape. Designed to take full advantage of the silence, privacy, and spaciousness of the surrounding landscape, ensuring deep rest after a long day of exploration.

SUITE CATUR
4 Catur suites measuring 50m² (538 feet²). With balconies and views of the countryside. Designed to take full advantage of the silence, privacy, and spaciousness of the surrounding landscape, ensuring deep rest after a long day of exploration.

DINING
Our dishes have been designed to enable guests to perform various explorations and still feel light, agile, and healthy. Furthermore, based on our luxury of the essential, we seek to offer pure flavors from quality ingredients.

Bringing out the best of each product is our motto. Our dishes are always accompanied by a superb Chilean wine. We also carry a menu of Premium wines for those that would like to try other alternatives.

THE SPA
Surrounded by pampas grass and other local flora, our four pools are the perfect place to relax and enjoy the quiet of the desert after a demanding exploration. The temperature of one of the pools ranges from 25°C to 28° C / 77°F to 82°F. In the nearby area are the sauna, steam baths, and outdoor hot tubs.

THE OBSERVATORY
San Pedro de Atacama boasts some of the world’s clearest skies and is, therefore, one of the best places to practice astronomy. For that reason, in 2008 we inaugurated Explora’s observatory, which has become one of the best private Chilean observatories.

Its dome houses a potent and advanced optics telescope, the Meade 16” f/10 LX200R Advanced RD, and a main mirror of 40 cm in diameter with extraordinary resolution and sharpness.

EXPLORATIONS
Some of the sectors we explore in are closed until further notice because of the pandemic, which is why we have sought other exploration options. Our explorations in Atacama are divided into five different altitude zones, each with a set of unique geographic, cultural and biospheric characteristics.

All explorations have been designed in order to gradually unveil the territory’s essence – either on foot, bicycle or from within the Explora observatory. Our travelers have the possibility of choosing different explorations every day. These explorations have different lengths and difficulty levels.

THE AREAS WE EXPLORE
Our explorations in Atacama are divided into five different altitude zones, each with a set of unique geographic, cultural and biospheric characteristics. All explorations have been designed in order to gradually unveil the territory’s essence – either on foot, bicycle or from within the Explora observatory.

We recommend starting with explorations in the Salt Flat Basin zone where our lodge is located, continuing with explorations in the Intermediate Ravine zone, the Altiplano zone and, finally, the Mountain zone.

CUENCA DEL SALAR
Geometric and seemingly infinite, the Atacama salt flat abruptly interrupts the desert’s chromatic continuum. The crunch of salt under every footstep is swept into silence by the wind, and all that’s left is to go deeper into the territory around you.

The lowest part of this area corresponds to the Atacama Salt Flat (2350 m.a.s.l.) itself, an endorheic basin that once accumulated the waters and sediments from volcanoes and mountains over millions of years. Today it hosts a complex ecosystem, including half of the world’s flamingo species.

Also within this Exploration zone, the Salt Mountain range rises to the west of the salt flat in a geological spectacle, as crusts of sediments crown the rugged mountains that frame the desert. Finally, we recommend exploring the Oasis of San Pedro, which stands as a beacon of life and local traditions kept alive by its people

QUEBRADAS INTERMEDIAS
As if sliced off from the desert’s mantle, the ravines in this zone were created over millions of years by the forces of water and wind. Plunging into the abyss, they are sculptures that only time could shape.

Numerous ravines connect the Altiplano and Salt Flat Basin zones, crisscrossing the ascent while volcanic stonewalls and brooks lined with wild grass species modestly irrigate the surrounding land, making room for medicinal plants and flowers which have been used by local shepherding communities for centuries.

The Domeyko Mountain Range, located in this zone, hosts wildlife and cultural heritage alike, with guanacos and ancient petroglyphs doting certain hillsides. The ravines offer a cradle for life to flourish in, as is the case of the Puritama Natural Reserve, where a series of hot springs irrigate and sustain a series of ecosystems within.

ALTIPLANO
The Altiplano exists up there, somewhere between the mountains and the sky. Within, a whole new world silently awaits the intrepid explorers that venture its way. For us, this is a territory that words simply fall short of.

The Altiplano zone –or Puna as it is known locally– stretches between 3800 and 4300 m.a.s.l. It is an elevated plateau, crowned by imposing mountains, volcanoes and geysers. Lack of oxygen, intense sunlight and extreme temperatures keep this unique territory safe, calling only those who are drawn to unusual beauty.

CIELO
Atacama’s night skies are a constant spectacle. When night falls, the sky becomes alive with the infinite powder of the Milky Way or Celestial River, as it is known in Atacama.

Star-gazing has been a pastime of humanity since the dawn of time, as our forefathers often looked to the skies for divine answers.  Atacama’s night skies’ sheer definition allows gazers to draw their own constellations and meaning from beyond our planet and even our galaxy.

At the center of the Milky Way lies the Yakana or constellation of the Llama, seen breastfeeding its newborn calf. To its right are the Partridge, the Frog and the Serpent constellations, which guide the Andean shepherds and farmers, protecting them seasonal floods.

MONTAÑA
These colossal massifs not only hoard minerals, but also encompass cultural expressions of people past and present. Axes of mystery, Atacama’s mountains frame its territory, remaining vigilant of all whom explore it.

The best views of Atacama can be found by reaching the peaks of the Licancabur Volcano along with the Kimal, Toco, Láscar, Corona, Soquete, Sairecabur and Colorado mountains – summits that scrape the skies at over 5000 m.a.s.l.

Though spectacular, this altitude level requires physical stamina and preparation, and is therefore not for the faint of heart. The rewards, however, are worth the patience and dedication: a unique encounter with the world from above.

HIKE
We hike throughout our locations. Walking at your own, committed pace, allows you to immerse in the natural and cultural landscapes we explore, varying in intensity –beginner or advanced– and duration – half day to full day.

CUCHABRACHE
We take a van up to the Catarpe Valley, where we begin ascending the Salt Mountain Range. On the way, we’ll see petroglyphs and from the top, we can admire the green valley landscapes contrasting with the colors of Salt and Andes Mountain Ranges. This is an ideal introduction to the Atacama region. We return by van.

OVERLAND
These are van-led explorations interrupted by short-duration hikes along the way. The combination allows travelers to access areas of particular beauty and ecological significance.

CKAUSAMA
We take a van to the Tatio Geysers. Along the way, an important part of the Andean Plateau fauna –including vicuñas, flamingos, foxes, and others– can be appreciated. We walk across the reserve feeling the inner activity of the land with views to the Andes Mountain Range and the hot water springs from where steam rises. We return by van.

BIKE
Biking allows us to explore and discover greater distances, feeling how the elements change throughout the day, varying in intensity –beginner or advanced– and duration – half day to full day.

SAN ISIDRO
We ride our bicycles to the Catarpe Valley in the Salt Ridge. We pedal through switch paths between canyons made of reddish soil in a place known as Garganta del Diablo (Devil’s Throat). We visit the San Isidro church into a historic area.

HORSEBACK RIDE
On horseback, exploration takes on a whole new perspective, reframing the landscape around us while enjoying the company of specially trained horses.

VALLE DE LA LUNA
We travel to the Salt Mountain Range, going through different dunes and rock formations. As we go along, among trots and gallops, we ride into the Moon Valley, a site whose lunar landscapes have given Atacama its worldwide fame. During this ride, we explore pristine and solitary landscapes.

For experienced and advanced riders only. This exploration is only available for advanced riders who have mastered rising trot and canter over uneven terrain in open spaces and on all types of horses. A test in the hotel is required before going out into the desert.

SKY
Exploring the night skies is peaking through a window into the Universe, drawing constellations and grasping the importance which astronomy had for these remote territories’ first settlers.

ASTRONOMIA ANDINA
It takes place almost every day at Explora. We begin with a briefing of basic concepts under the open sky. We then learn about orientation, distances, and local culture under one the world’s clearest skies.

In our own observatory, we get to watch stellar objects in the solar system and deep space. Ask our guides for availability. Spaces are limited, so please book in advance.

EXPEDITION
Through our expeditions we are able to access remote locations of great beauty and ecological significance, setting up a temporary camp away from our base lodge for one to two nights.

LICANCABUR
After having conducted several explorations at more than 4,000 m.a.s.l. (13,123 f.a.s.l) and gradually acclimatizing our body, we leave by van from explora to a remote camp in Bolivia on the sixth day. Once settled in the camp, we take a walk across the areas of the Verde and Blanca lagoons, from where we have a good view of the Licancabur Volcano.

The next day we wake up early to begin walking before dawn. We use headlamps to light a well-marked trail. Halfway along the ascent we watch the dawn over the Blanca and Verde lagoons.

We reach the summit after walking for several hours. From here, we have a view to the crater and the world’s highest lagoon. Descent can be challenging due to steep slopes and unstable terrain. We cross oldInca ruins on the way back.

HIGH MOUNTAIN ASCENT
We strive to introduce our travelers to truly remote locations – and mountains are one of them. Each one has its own different demands and rewards, yet they all guarantee a revitalizing experience for mind and body alike.

KIMAL
We ride a van for two hours to the Domeyko Mountain Range, until we reach the Kimal hill, the source of one of the most iconic Atacameño legends. We walk up a steep trail to the summit with panoramic views to the salt field and the mythical Licancabur and Juriques volcanoes. We descend and return to the hotel.

Rooms: 50

Price: from 1.380 EUR per night

Source: www.explora.com