The Vilama River is the main water source for San Pedro de Atacama. We hiked to a hidden waterfall via steep rocky slopes at altitudes up to 3,400m. While not a long hike, this was the most strenuous and technically demanding hike we undertook due to the terrain and slope, but it was worth it for the scenery, waterfall and cacti.
The cacti are now protected, but were used by the locals as a source of wood as there were no trees and they have a hard wood centre. They grow very slowly, only 1m every 50 years, with deep roots searching for water. On our trip to the salt flats we had stopped at a small village where there was a church with a roof made from this type of cactus.
Shilli-Fully Travels 