Balloons over Atacama, San Pedro de Atacama, Chile
Balloons over Atacama, San Pedro de Atacama, Chile
Hot air balloon ride in San Pedro de Atacama
In the desert of San Pedro de Atacama we had the amazing experience of flying in a hot air balloon.
Hot Air Balloon Ride over the Atacama Desert, Chile
Shadow of the balloon
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Valle del Arcoiris (Rainbow Valley) Atacama desert, Chile
At 3,500 meters above sea level and a few kilometers from San Pedro de Atacama is the Valle del Arcoiris.
The Rainbow Valley is used in the basin of the Rio Grande, about 90 kms from San Pedro de Atacama. The access road must be joined on the route to Calama. The valley, like the rest of the attractions of San Pedro de Ataca and its surroundings, is well above 3000 meters above sea level.
Light Awash by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (
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Hot Air Balloon Ride over Moon Valley in the Atacama Desert, Chile
Moon Valley looks like the surface of the moon. Sand dunes and rock formations are an incredible sight
Ballonfahrt über der Atacama
Hot Air Ballooning
Atherton Tableland, Australia 1992
Balloons Over Atacama drone footage
Chile's Atacama Desert: Staggeringly Beautiful And A Humbling Pleasure -
Chile's Atacama Desert: Staggeringly beautiful and a humbling pleasure - but maybe not as dry as you'd think
The Atacama is the driest desert on Earth – parts have had just 1mm of rain in 10 years and the Sahara is 50 times wetter.
Of course when we were there it tipped down.
Chances are you’ve seen the Atacama on TV. Most recently, late last year, its shuffling flamingos starred in Planet Earth II.
Or you may have caught Clarkson and pals driving across it in a Top Gear Christmas special in 2009.
But it really caught my eye when Professor Brian Cox did his Wonders of the Solar System series in 2010.
He explained that parts of the Atacama are so lacking in water, and therefore life, that they are more sterile than an operating theatre. And that some rocks haven’t seen rainfall for 20 million years. Which is why I didn’t have a raincoat.
Chile is right round the other side of the world: a mere 14 hours 40 minutes away on British Airways’ new direct flight.
On the plus side, it is only three hours behind the UK and it’s in the southern hemisphere so its seasons are opposite to ours.
So when I visited during our winter, I had high expectations of it being a warm summer there. And very dry.
The country is 2,700 miles long but just 110 miles wide on average – very long and very thin.
It means that in my guide book map the entire country was lost in the join of the pages. And it means there are terrific changes in scenery and climate.
Santiago sits in the lush central valley where a lot of the famous wine is produced, and just about every fruit and vegetable you can imagine grows in tasty abundance.
The wonderful capital is among other things a great launchpad for the beautiful icy wastes of Tierra del Fuego to the far south, the Alpine lake district or vineyard tours.
It’s also just a two-hour flight to Calama Airport, our gateway to the vast northern desert.
When we landed, it was dry.
It looks like the moon, greyish red sand as far as you can see – and you can see as far as the Andes on one side and a pretty mean-looking range of volcanos on the other, dominated by the snow-peaked Licancabur.
We stayed at the explora Hotel in San Pedro de Atacama, an oasis of desert flowers and tranquil swimming pools where you plan your next day’s expedition with super-friendly and knowledgable guides over a fine dinner.
Our first trip was to see some of the flamingos David Attenborough recently made famous out on the Salar de Atacama salt flats. We wound our way through the
salt-rock terrain to observe these beautiful pink treasures
mustering for dusk.
Whether filtering their dinner through snorted water or swooping effortlessly from pond to pond, the peculiar grace of this desert tribe would test the penmanship of the best writer.
Your humble hack could but stand slack-jawed as the sun set on the couple of hundred Instagram account holders gathered for the
occasion.
The following day we sampled other delights, stopping at an oasis village to visit a weaver making scarves, wraps and jumpers. The llama whose wool was used was in the garden.
We also hit San Pedro, a lively backpacking town with welcoming tourist shops, picturesque churches, squares and bars.
We had a 15-mile or so bike ride through the scrubby desert, taking in an ancient settlement of the
pre-Spanish Atacamenos people. Horse riding was also on offer, and we hiked through a canyon to a spectacular hot spring.
By night, the area boasts one of the best views of the constellations anywhere in the world – the ALMA radio telescope station is just up the road and the explora has its own
observatory.
Sadly we had cloudy nights so, bar the occasional glimpse of the Southern Cross, we had to make do with the delights of the restaurant and bar.
Those clouds cleared briefly in the morning for a hot-air balloon ride over the desert.
Graceful as flamingos, we rose into the fresh morning air. Tracing our shadow on the ground far below, looked over by mountains and volcanos, we spent a quiet,
otherworldly hour passing over scrub, village and vast wastes.
By midday, though, the weather was really coming in.
Responsibly, the explora gradually build up the altitude of your expeditions. San Pedro is 11,550ft above sea level and the highest hikes are a good 3,300ft more.
We were heading for our last high adventure when the black clouds closed in and fierce hyper-frequent lightning sparked ahead of us.
We turned back and headed for Moon Valley, one of those amazingly beautiful places that sees more tourists than Heathrow.
Valle de la Luna - San Pedro de Atacama, Chile.
Ruta a la Precordillera de San Pedro de Atacama, Chile.
Happy landings!
Ballooning over Atacama Desert - Pure fun!
Vlog #13 — Salt then Sand
First headed to Salt Lake City for the Everything Food Conference, then meeting Hilary for her cousin's wedding in San Diego. Pat Flynn also makes a special guest appearance.
Fat bike Dunas San Pedro Atacama (short)
Balloon Flight Over Yarra Valley, Victoria Australia
Hi its Weng, welcome to Weng’s World ????????????????
Back in 2011, i have signed my life away to experience hot air ballooning flight over Yarra Valley, a popular winery area in Victoria Australia.
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Que Rico Atacama
Paseo por Atacama. Hotel Awasi.
BALLOONS OVER ATACAMA por Karina Paz
Viajé en Globo por San Pedro de Atacama.
Valle de la luna. Atacama. Chile.