Rainbow Valley Tour, Yerbas Buenas Petroglyphs - Half Day Tour
- 4–5 hours
- Free cancellation up to 24h before
- 5 languages
- Instant confirmation
Highlights
A short but intense tour. Stopping in the Rainbow Valley is synonym of being at the feet of big rocks and multicolor hills. Red, white and green are the colors that paint these stone giants formed by erosion, giving a unique visual sensation that will make you want to see everything closer and closer. Then the course continues, with even more surprises. A tour in the simple and secret town of Río Grande (Big River), hidden in the hills’ slopes, painted of red for the color of its houses, and green on the outside for its colorful crops. To close this tour, you will visit the Yerbas Buenas Petroglyphs to follow the traces that the ancient Atacama people have left over the rocks during the thousands of years they have been inhabiting this desert.
Inclusions
What's included
- Private transportation
- Bottled water
- Air-conditioned vehicle
- Breakfast
What's not
- Landing and facility fees
- Gratuities
Itinerary
A wonder in the middle of the Chilean desert Close to San Pedro de Atacama it is located one of the biggest gifts from nature, among giant stony walls in the Río Grande basin. The colorful hills that paint the Chilean desert are the result of a different minerals mix that show themselves on top of one another in different layers, telling the geologic history of the Rainbow Valley. These sculptures —carved with naturals tools such as wind an oxygen during thousands of years— decorate with green and white the clayey red stones that cover most of this place. These big walls made of minerals, salt, and rock formations also have some other trails that form a magic path where the contact with years of geologic history makes you understand that there are things much bigger than us.
The intense red color of the streets, the agriculture and the impressive sunshine are part of the landscape of Río Grande —a town with unique customs and traditions. Located at 90 km from San Pedro de Atacama, this town conserves a beautiful legacy among its hills. Its inhabitants know the importance of keeping the architecture of the region, as it is seen in their houses with walls made of cut stone and roofs made of mud with cactus and carob wood beams. This is an important part of the charm of this place that tourists admire, who, when visiting, live a unique archeological experience in contact with nature. Río Grande is described by the visitors as a close, working, and kind community that searches for preserving its history, beliefs, and customs for future generations.
The biggest rock art spot of the area, called Yerbas Buenas, was a resting place for merchant caravans, nomadic travelers, and also the Atacama people who moved during days through the desert. In this travel in time you will learn about taira, the carving technique used by this people to illustrate llamas, alpacas, and other animals directly in the reddish stone that characterizes this zone. Human figures, faces and bodies in meditation positions —representing Yatiris— complete this open-air museum charged with history that the Atacama people carry from their ancestors with pride. In this tour through the same place where the ancient inhabitants of this valley rested and left their mark, today we can share those experiences that go beyond people, travels and generations, and that keep the magic of this site in the rocks that surround your gaze.
Cancellation
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.
Reviews
3.7
- 52
- 40
- 30
- 20
- 11
Ratings come from 3 reviews collected by our booking partner. They are travellers' own words, in the order they were written — never reordered to flatter the experience.
Know before you go
- Meeting point
- Near Cocineria La Huerta
- Pickup
- Pickup is offered, or you can meet at the starting point.
- Ticket type
- Mobile or paper ticket accepted
- Operated by
- Capricornio Expediciones
- Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
How it compares in San Pedro de Atacama
- Its from-price is 25% above the median of the 289 experiences we list in San Pedro de Atacama.
- Its length is typical for the group.
- By number of reviews it ranks 141 of 289.
- The operator lists free cancellation on it.
About San Pedro de Atacama
San Pedro de Atacama is an adobe oasis town in northern Chile, ringed by salt flats, volcanoes, geysers and some of the driest desert on earth.
San Pedro de Atacama is a village of low whitewashed adobe houses and dusty streets in an oasis of the Atacama Desert, at about 2,400 metres. Its adobe church goes back to the 17th century and has a roof of cactus wood, and the small Museo Arqueológico Gustavo Le Paige displays mummies and pottery from the desert's early peoples. The cone of Licancabur volcano stands over the town to the east.
Top-ranked sights in San Pedro de Atacama: El Tatio Geysers, Moon Valley (Valle de la Luna), Chaxa Lagoon (Laguna Chaxa).
Special offers in San Pedro de Atacama
Was/now prices come from the operator, never from us.
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