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Rainbow Valley Tour: Discover Incredible Geological Formations near San Pedro de Atacama
4.7
23 Ratings
San Pedro de Atacama
Embark on a captivating Rainbow Valley Tour near San Pedro de Atacama. Explore stunning geological formations, vibrant colors, and ancient petroglyphs for a unique historical and archaeological experience.
Duration:
6 hours
Cancellation:
1 day
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Highlights
- San Pedro de Atacama - Your day trip from San Pedro de Atacama begins with hotel pickup starting at 08:00 a.m. Remember that the Hotel pick up and drop off is included only on Hotels located nearby San Pedro de Atacama urban zone. If your Hotel is located on Ayllus far away from the downtown, please let us know to arrange a meeting point for being picked up.
- Yerbas Buenas Petroglyphs - We will travel to the west of San Pedro de Atacama to meet the Cordillera de Domeyko, a spectacular formation that coexists in parallel to Los Andes. First we will visit the sector of Yerbas Buenas, of great historical relevance for its rock art, since it has one of the most important groups of petroglyphs in the region. The tour will transport us to the time of the indigenous caravans, adding historical and cultural value to the experience.
- Valle Arcoiris - Then, and crossing Matancilla, a sector rich in flora and fauna, we will find the Valley of the Rainbow, named for the variety of tonalities that can be seen in the surrounding hills: earth, reddish, brown, green, white and yellow colors , which combined with the white salts and the blue sky, make up a unique place.Then we will visit the viewpoint where we will contemplate the Rainbow Canyon where we will enjoy the landscapes that the desert gives to us, includying the cultural and geographic history behind of these places
- San Pedro de Atacama - After our incredible experience in between the geographic and cultural history of Atacama, we will return our trip back to San Pedro de Atacama. The drop off will be at the same point as where you were picked up (meeting point or Hotels from the list)
What's Included
- Guidance from a local expert
- Comfortable transport in an air-conditioned minivan/bus
- Convenient city center drop-off
- Complimentary hotel pickup service
What's Not Included
- Entrance fee to Rainbow Valley (10.000 clp)
- Food and drinks (you may bring your own)
Additional Information
We will travel to the west of San Pedro de Atacama to meet the Cordillera de Domeyko, a spectacular formation that coexists in parallel to Los Andes. The Rainbow Valley tour is a tour that invites you to discover incredible geological formations, compositions of different colors and peculiarities. We will start with a good breakfast in the heart of the Rainbow Valley, to then make a circuit of approximately 1 hr, walking through this incredible place, and then visit Yerbas Buenas, a small local town that practices agriculture and llamas grazing, and in whose area there is a concentration of petroglyphs and pictographs dating back hundreds of years, thus internalizing the history and archeology that underlies these territories. For lovers of history and archeology this is the ideal tour
After our incredible experience in between the geographic and cultural history of Atacama, we will return our trip back to San Pedro de Atacama. The drop off will be at the city centre.
- A minimum of 2 people per booking is required
- It is recommended that you wear comfortable clothes including trekking pants, shoes and a windbreaker or warm jacket
- It is recommended that you bring water, sunblock and sunglasses
- Note: Please bring cash to pay for the entrance fees and any additional expenses
- Meals or drinks not specified aren’t included
- Remember that the Hotel pick up and drop off is included only on Hotels located nearby San Pedro de Atacama urban zone. If your Hotel is located on Ayllus far away from the downtown, please let us know to arrange a meeting point for being picked up. Please reconfirm the pick up information (time and location) 1 day before!
Location
San Pedro de Atacama
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.7
(23 Ratings)
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Remi_m
Mar 5, 2024
This tour was one of my... - This tour was one of my favorites of my trip. The guide Mauricio was really knowledgeable and gave us time to wander and explore. He also was a great photographer. Hierbas Buenas was also really cool to explore. Would definitely recommend!
Review provided by Viator
Calwin29
Aug 29, 2023
Beautiful and Very Informative! - Absolutely gorgeous locations and so much wonderful information (with a very fluent bilingual guide) about the petroglyphs, Indigenous culture and symbolism, and geology of the Rainbow Valley. It was fascinating and the guide was incredibly attentive, even with us as the only English speaking couple on the tour (and me walking slower with a cane).
He was also an incredible photographer and knew all the spots to get perfect photos with the sunlight at a gorgeous angle through the rocks. Overall, this far exceeding our expectations and we would highly recommend it!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Colleen
Jun 21, 2023
Igor is the best! - Communication was clear and expectations were set! The people are awesome. Igor did a fantastic job explaining the history, culture and overall geography of the region! Definitely recommend!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Elysee221
Jun 19, 2023
Awesome tour guide - The tour guide, Rafael, was amazing. Very knowledgeable, friendly, and helped tourist take the best pictures. The views were really lovely and it was definitely worth the visit. I paired this morning tour with another shorter evening tour and it was a great way to see lots of different parts of Atacama. The petroglyphs were interesting to see but of course arcoíris was the real showstopper. Photos don’t do justice to the colors!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Renata_p
Nov 16, 2022
Amazing tour and fantastic guide - Excellent tour! Ths giude Ivan is one of the best guides I've ever done tour with. He gives excellent explanations, has an amazing knowledge of the fauna and flora, also the origin of the formations. Also, the breakfast served is delicious. I fully recomend it.
Review provided by Viator
Devendramishra
Apr 13, 2019
Magical Wonder of the Seven Colors in the Valley - Excellent English-speaking guide who was interesting and very considerate. One of the most beautiful strolls of my life where there was no climbing. The sanctuary in the cave was like a Cathedral. A home-made breakfast was served to everyone's satisfaction.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Douglas
Apr 8, 2018
Must see - If you do not do anything else in San Pedro, do this. The primitive rock art is amazing and the scenery spectacular. The guide Simon is very knowledgeable, and not just about this tour. I have a walking disability and without his help and encouragement I would not have been able to manage.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jayme_d
Oct 31, 2023
Loved hearing the history of the area and all about the mineral deposts. - This tour was great ! We got to see lots of ancient petroglyphs and hear about the history of the first people in the area, as well as all about the surrounding landscapes. It was cool to learn what mineral deposits created the colours in this valley. The only thing I was a little disappointed in is that the tour said we would visit a local handicraft town, and we did not do that.
Review provided by Viator
Paul_r
Oct 6, 2022
Rainbow valley - Stunning Rick formations and ancient writings on rocks. Helped by knowledgeable guide on Maurizio. Well worth a visit
Review provided by Viator
Kimfromsandiego
Nov 13, 2023
DO NOT BOOK YOUR TOUR THROUGH VIATOR! - While the tour itself and what we saw was excellent I strongly recommend that you never never ever book through viator. They have ruined my vacation with a complete lack of communication and a total failure on logistics. The website says this tour is 4 hours so I made plans accordingly. It was over 5 hours and I missed my 2nd tour completely. Now Viator is pointing the finger at the tour operator and they are pointing the finger at Viator. I booked with Viator. Viator took my money. So Viator has a legal responsibility to fix this but all they have sent me are ridiculous emails about how much they care, but they have actually done NOTHING. And after I told the tour guide about the scheduling issue, he made no effort to help, place a phone call for me......NOTHING. Then the tour agency tried to rewrite history and made up even more excuses as to why they have no responsibility but they are equally at fault when they did nothing to mitigate the situation. There are many tour companies in San Pedro where you can book direct and not have to deal with Viator making endless excuses for failures while claiming they are SOOOO concerned. Take advantage of those and stay away from Viator! But there is one thing that Viator does really well - hit you with endless spam, emails and pop-ups trying to sell you more tours after the ones they booked failed. That is the only part of their service that is absolutely guaranteed.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
