Located just outside the town of San Pedro de Atacama, in the heart of the Atacama Desert, Moon Valley (Valle de la Luna) is one of Chile’s most surreal and breathtaking natural landscapes. The valley’s otherworldly terrain, with its striking rock formations, towering dunes, and unique salt flats, makes it feel like you’ve stepped onto the surface of the moon, which is how the valley earned its name.
The landscape is the result of millions of years of geological activity, with erosion from wind and water carving out stunning features such as the Tres Marías, a group of towering rock formations, and the salt caves that glow under the sunset’s warm light. Visitors can explore the rugged terrain through a variety of trails, often accompanied by the breathtaking views of the surrounding desert and mountains.
Whether you’re looking to hike, take photographs, or simply marvel at one of nature’s most striking displays, the Moon Valley provides an experience like no other, especially during the evening when the valley is bathed in the soft, golden hues of sunset. It’s a must-visit destination for anyone traveling to the Atacama Desert!
Let’s dive into this Moon Valley Travel Guide.
Table of Contents
How to visit the Moon Valley,
There are two ways to do visit the Moon Valley, on a tour or by renting a bike. We opted for the Moon Valley sunset tour option and booked it through our hostel as they had preferential price if we reserved by them. We booked the same days around 3 hours prior to the departure.
The Moon Valley sunset tour starts at 2:45pm and return at 7:00pm. The cost of it was 15 000cu instead of 16 000cu.
We were going with our friend Patricia from Uyuni’s tour and we could also book for her with the preferential price from our hostel.
If you want to organise your tour beforehand, we would recommend Valle de la Luna Sunset Tour or the Etno-Stargazing Tour with Transfer
Map of the Moon valley sunset tour
The Moon Valley sunset tour takes place in the Moon valley located 13km west of San Pedro de Atacama in the desert. Most of its itinerary is along the main road followed by a dirt road. They are no off-road to be done to reach the site.
Where to stay in San Petro de Atacama
If you are looking for an accommodation in SPDA, we would recommend the following (we personally stayed at Hostel Montepardo):
- (€): Casa Voyage Hostel
- (€€) Hostal Montepardo
- (€€€) Hotel Desertica
Salar de atacama
We first met with Patricia in town and headed to the tour company office. We then picked up people in town until we reached the bus terminal where we boarded a 23 seater van. It took approx. 10min. The ride was confortable yet we would recommend to avoid the last row of seat.
First stop was the Likan Antay mirador, the Atacama salt flats viewpoint. As we opted for the tour, there was a guide and it was time to learn in Spanish and English.
The salt flats of Atacama is the 3rd biggest on earth after Salar de Uyuni (Bolivia) and Salinas Grande (Argentina). Its color is not pure white like Uyuni salt flats. This is the result of evaporation and ephemeral surface water, unlike most of the other salt flats, there isn’t enough water and rain water in it. The weather is also warmer and dryer than other salt flats and another point was the tectonic plate under the salt flats.
We stayed a couple of minutes there, listening to the guide and then admiring the landscape.
Moon Valley sunset tour
Then, we hopped on the van and onto the moon valley which was a few minute ride away. It was declared a sacred natural sanctuary in 1982 and part of the National reserve of Flamingo. It is also believe to be a holy place and its name would come from because a Spanish priest that was using this valley as an observatory.
First “The three Marias Valley of the Moon” is a rock formation with a human-like shaped believe to be praying Marias. (One is broken due to tourist so you cannot get close but can still see the rock formation).
Again, after some explanation, we strolled around to get most of the stunning place. Especially that it wasn’t too crowded. Later, we walked back along the road and hiked one of the mountains to admire sunset. We roughly stayed 30min with the sunset and then headed back to the van and returned to the city.
end of the tour
The tour was nice, and the places were amazing but if felt like we just went from on point to another with a guide telling you some fact. If you have the time, we would recommend renting a bike and go there biking by yourself.
dinner recommendation
We finished our day by diner at “Inti” where the food was super-duper yummy but where we also discover that here you must tips at restaurant. Coming from Bolivia, Chilean restaurant are pretty expensive.
We recommend the burritos that was delicious!
“To my mind, the greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted.” – Bill Bryson
