Our lodge provided half day and full day excursions in the desert, of varying levels of physical difficulty and altitude. Most of the excursions are between 2,400m and 3,400m but two are above 4,000m. Our initial plans were disrupted by the weather as roads were either flooded or blocked by snow and ice. To manage the altitude we planned the higher trips after a couple of days of acclimatisation as well as taking other advice, including no alcohol !
On our first day we visited Vallecito, which is a quiet part of Moon Valley. We then visited Salar de Atacama, the largest salt flat in Chile. We discovered that the mornings would be bright and sunny with clouds developing in the afternoon to give high winds and thunderstorms by late afternoon. At the salt flat we experienced rain and a sandstorm. The salt lake is home to flamingos feeding on 1cm long shrimps that inhabit the salty lagoon, giving the flamingos their pink colour.
Shilli-Fully Travels 