Best of Northern Chile: Atacama Desert, Northern Andes and Pacific Coast

Andean Flamingos © Riska Parakeet/Shutterstock

An exciting new tour to Northern Chile offers an immersive blend of birding, wildlife viewing, and historical discovery set against the dramatic backdrops of the Pacific coast, Atacama Desert, and the Andean highlands. Good photo opportunities.

VENT’s first-ever tour to Northern Chile promises a breathtaking journey to a less-visited part of the country, where remarkable landscapes are home to wonderful birds, wildlife, and ancient cultures. Birding and natural history are of highest importance, but our program incorporates touches of history and culture, and opportunities for viewing the region’s famous night skies.

Our tour begins in the Atacama Desert at San Pedro de Atacama, one of the driest places on Earth. Here, wind-sculpted rock formations and botanical wonders present landscapes of vivid beauty while hosting an array of hawks, pigeons, ground-tyrants, and finches. We’ll venture to Los Flamencos National Reserve, where Horned Coot, Andean Gull, Chilean and Andean flamingos, and Lesser Rheas thrive amid shimmering lakes, high grasslands, and snow-capped volcanoes. We’ll continue to the geysers of El Tatio, where geothermal activity sends plumes of steam into the crisp morning air, offering a dramatic start to the day. In the evening we’ll enjoy world-class stargazing under some of the clearest skies on the planet, guided by expert astronomers and high-powered telescopes.

Continuing through the Atacama Desert, we’ll arrive at Iquique on the Pacific coast. A boat trip into the Humboldt Current will produce exceptional seabirding. We should expect a wonderful collection of albatrosses, tubenoses, and other seabirds, and an assortment of marine mammals. En route to Arica, we’ll stop to marvel at the Atacama Giant geoglyph, an enormous ancient figure etched into the hillside, believed to be a pre-Columbian astronomical marker. Here we will search for the Chilean Woodstar, Chile’s most endangered bird. A visit to the Museum of San Miguel de Azapa reveals the fascinating legacy of the Chinchorro people, whose mummies predate those of Egypt. Their burial practices and artifacts offer deep insight into early human civilization in South America.

Our journey concludes with several days in the Lluta River Valley and in the wilderness of Lauca and Las Vicuñas national parks. These reserves, set high in the wilds of the altiplano, are home to vicuñas, vizcachas, and a dazzling array of birdlife that includes northern Chile specialty birds and an array of waterfowl, flamingos, gulls, cinclodes, canasteros, ground-tyrants, and more.

Whether you’re a seasoned birder or someone who seeks a multidimensional travel experience, this tour promises unforgettable encounters with birds, wildlife, and culture in one of the world’s most extraordinary regions.

Good to excellent accommodations and food; physical demands light to moderate with easy birding conditions; however, our time in the Andes does involve going to 12,000-plus feet on at least two occasions; dry weather expected.

Alpacas and geysers, El Tatio, Chile © Bogdan PV/Shutterstock