Plaza de San Pedro de Atacama
The shady village square with pepper trees is the center of San Pedro. The Adobe church stands on its west side; around it are craft stalls, cafes, and tour operators. Early in the morning, it's still quiet here.
Chile
San Pedro de Atacama Village
VillageCulture
San Pedro de Atacama is an adobe oasis village at approx. 2,450 meters in the Atacama Desert, northern Chile.
by Felix Gillen
San Pedro de Atacama is an adobe oasis village at approx. 2,450 meters in the Atacama Desert, northern Chile. Stay here to experience geysers, salt flats, highland lagoons, and the desert's starry sky: Most regional excursions depart from the Plaza and Calle Caracoles.
Sehenswürdigkeiten
Discover the most important sights and attractions
Iglesia San Pedro
The white-washed adobe church on the plaza has walls from 1744 and a roof structure of carob wood beams and cactus wood, held together with llama leather straps. It has been a historical monument since 1951 and is used as a community church.
Calle Caracoles
The village's unpaved main street is lined with low adobe houses. It features restaurants, tour operators, exchange offices, and shops, becoming the evening hub.
Pukará de Quitor
The ruins of the 12th-century Atacameño fortress stretch about three kilometers northwest of the village, up a slope above the Río San Pedro. From the upper viewpoint, you overlook the oasis and the Valle de la Muerte. Easily accessible on foot or by bike.
Essen & Trinken
Small restaurant with Peruvian cuisine on Calle Licancabur, one block north of San Pedro's Plaza.
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Kusa
Restaurant with Chilean cuisine on Calle Caracoles, San Pedro's main street in the town center, just west of the Plaza.
Restaurant with Chilean cuisine on Calle Licancabur, one block north of the Plaza of San Pedro.
Restaurant in a restored building, a former school, at the western end of Caracoles. The cuisine combines ingredients and recipes from the Altiplano with Mediterranean influences, known for its homemade pasta.
Restaurant on Caracoles with a high dining room, dark wood paneling, and a central Adobe fireplace. The menu focuses on Chilean cuisine, and the place is especially known for grilled platters and fish in sharing portions.
Restaurant on Caracoles, in town since 1997, with rustic decor, rock art motifs as decoration, and a large fire in the open dining area. The menu features Chilean meat dishes, fish, pasta, salads, and pizza.
Restaurant at Calle Calama 419, a side street north of Caracoles in the town center of San Pedro.
Restaurant on Calle Domingo Atienza in the town center, a little off the Caracoles. The cuisine combines modern techniques with regional ingredients such as quinoa, desert herbs, guanaco meat, and fish; the setting is rather formal.
Restaurant on Calle Domingo Atienza, a few minutes' walk southwest of the Plaza.
Food & Drink in San Pedro
For a desert village, the selection is surprisingly large, because practically every visitor eats here. For this, you pay significantly more than elsewhere in Chile.
Spicy Rabbit Stew
Rabbit from the surrounding valleys is slow-braised until the meat falls off the bone, and served in a thick, spicy chili sauce. It is served with rice or potatoes.
Quinoa from the Highlands
The large-grained quinoa from the highlands features on many menus as soup, risotto-style Quinoto, or a dessert. Accompanied by local corn, pumpkin, and potatoes.
Llama meat
The lean, mild-tasting meat is available as Carpaccio, grilled fillet or as Anticuchos, small skewers.
Rica-Rica and Airampo
The wild herb Rica-Rica smells of mint, rosemary, and citrus and flavors the Rica-Rica Sour, a local variant of the Pisco Sour. The seeds of the Airampo cactus color drinks, liqueurs, and sauces violet and taste slightly tart.
Drinking at altitude
The dry air and altitude dehydrate you more than you realize. Drink water regularly; alcohol affects you more strongly at altitude than usual.
Culture in San Pedro
Church and Adobe ArchitectureThe San Pedro Church on the Plaza is the town's most famous building: whitewashed adobe walls, a roof structure of algarrobo beams and cactus wood planks, held together with llama leather straps. Its current walls date back to 1744, and since 1951 it has been protected as a historical monument, still serving as a parish church today.Traces of the Atacameño CultureThe archaeological museum, based on the collection of the Belgian Jesuit Gustavo Le Paige, has been closed for about ten years. A new building has been planned for a long time, but it is delayed, and an opening date has not been set.In the surroundings are two more testaments to this culture: the 12th-century fortress Pukará de Quitor on a slope above the Río San Pedro valley, and the adobe settlement Aldea de Tulor, whose round houses were inhabited from around 400 BC. Tulor is managed by the local Atacameño community, and the entrance fee directly benefits them.
Exploring locally
Within the village itself, you'll get around on foot. The alleys are unpaved and dusty, sometimes unlit in the evenings, so a flashlight is handy.For the surrounding area, you have three options: tours from agencies on Caracoles with pick-up at your accommodation, a rental car from Calama, or a rented bicycle for nearby destinations like Valle de la Luna, Pukará de Quitor, and Aldea de Tulor. For many destinations, tickets are now purchased online in advance, which applies to places such as Valle de la Luna, the Miscanti and Miñiques Lagoons, and Laguna Chaxa.Arrival is almost always via El Loa Airport in Calama, about 100 kilometers and an hour and a half away, by transfer, bus, or rental car. Bring enough cash in Pesos, as smaller entrance fees, such as in Tulor, are collected in cash.The Ministry of Foreign Affairs points out pickpocketing and robberies in Calama and San Pedro de Atacama in its travel and safety advisories; read them before your trip. Due to the altitude, consult a doctor in advance.
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