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Laguna Chaxa
Best time to visit
Early morning before nine o'clock gives both the most active flamingos and the softest light for reflections. December to February is also the best time, as the rains in the Andes have filled the lagoons with food.
Budget tips
Entry costs around 3,000 Chilean pesos for foreigners, about 30 kronor, and is paid in cash at the small gatehouse. Skip the expensive guided tour and drive yourself instead; with an early start you'll get ahead of most visitors and avoid the crowds.
Recommended for
Photography enthusiasts, Birdwatchers, Nature lovers, Families
Plan your visit
1-2 hours
About
Quick facts: The water holds nearly ten times the sea's salinity, yet it teems with life on the shallow bottom surfaces. Here at 2,300 meters above sea level, in the middle of the world's third-largest salt flat, up to 40,000 flamingos from three species gather when the season is at its best.
Highlights: A single flock eats itself pink: the flamingos' color comes from the tiny brine shrimp Artemia salina that swarm in the saltwater, and the more prey, the stronger the plumage. Walk out onto the crust when the wind dies down and hear how every step crunches like broken glass while mirror-still lagoons double the mountains.
Insider tips
- Put on your sunglasses already at the entrance, the salt reflections are blinding between ten and four.
- Aim for weekdays before eight o'clock, then you'll have almost the whole place to yourself.
- Walk to the far end of the boardwalk and sit still for ten minutes, then the flamingos will dare to come close.
- Bring a windbreaker, cold gusts blow in from the Andes even in the middle of summer.
Practical info
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