Valle de la Luna

4.6 (2,333 reviews)

Tourist AttractionPoint of InterestEstablishment

Best time to visit

Head out in the late afternoon, roughly two hours before sunset, when low light brings out the ochres and temperatures cool from the brutal daytime heat. Sunny days from March through October give the crispest colors and clearest air.

Budget tips

Entry runs about 4,000 Chilean pesos, a bargain next to most guided packages in town. Skip the tour company, rent a bike on your own, and you can cover the full loop for a fraction of the cost.

Recommended for

Photography enthusiasts, Budget travelers, Stargazers, Cyclists

Plan your visit

2-3 hours

About

Quick facts: Some local weather stations have gone their entire history without recording a single drop of rain, yet wind and salt still carve this terrain into spires, amphitheaters, and rippled dunes. The same cracked, bone-dry ground serves as a stand-in for Mars, where NASA has tested rovers bound for the red planet.

Highlights: Climb the soft, squeaking sand of the Great Amphitheater about 40 minutes before sunset and you'll see the entire salt range blush from rose to ember to violet in real time. NASA once parked prototype rovers in these exact gullies because the terrain is the closest earthly stand-in for the red planet's surface.

Insider tips

Ride the 11-kilometer loop on a rented bike instead of a tour to hit the quiet viewpoints at your own pace.
Bring a windbreaker even on scorching afternoons; the temperature plummets fast once the sun sinks.
Arrive about two hours before sunset to claim the dune overlook before tour vans stack in.
Pack two liters of water per person and treat the total lack of shade as a real hazard, not an inconvenience.