San Pedro de Atacama is the main hub for tours in the Atacama Desert so it’s likely you’ll spend a bit of time here between your excursions.
The town has a bit of a Wild West feel, with dusty streets lined with single-storey buildings and Chilean flags hanging from every one. Hawkers stand at each doorway, calling for your attention, be it for drinks, meals or tours. Many of the doors of the tour agencies display colourful and enticing pictures of the tours on offer.
San Pedro has a range of restaurants offering anything from steak to sushi. It also has lots of bars and a focus on live music, with perhaps two or three different performances each evening.
San Pedro’s main square has a nice charm, with its market stalls playing Brazilian samba music and its old colonial white church with a baked earth roof and crooked rafters. The Volcán Licancábur is visible through the desert dust, watching over the town.
The activity around the bars and restaurants in the half light of the early evening, when people have returned from their day’s excursions, makes for an exciting atmosphere.
