Chile / Bolivia – Part I
Land of the Atacama
On September 20th, we crossed the border near Arica and officially entered Chile, marking the beginning of another exciting chapter of our South American journey. The border crossing was pleasantly smooth and efficient—quite a relief after some of the more chaotic ones we had experienced before. Our main goal was to reach the city of Antofagasta, where an Iveco dealer could hopefully fix the mechanical issue that had recently appeared on our motorhome.
We spent two relaxing nights in Arica to recover from the previous driving days and to explore a bit of this coastal border town. With its dramatic cliffs and views over the Pacific Ocean, Arica had a laid-back charm that made it easy to slow down for a moment. From there, we continued our route south along the desert coast, making stops at Playa Pabellón de Pica and Playa Norte Hornitos. Both beaches offered the kind of wild, untouched beauty that makes overlanding in Chile so rewarding—vast stretches of sand, the sound of the waves, and endless horizons. We enjoyed peaceful nights of wild camping right by the ocean, with star-filled skies and the soothing rhythm of the sea as our soundtrack.
Once we reached Antofagasta, we decided to rent an Airbnb while our Iveco was undergoing repairs. The process took longer than expected, as we needed not only to replace the cracked windshield but also to complete a full 70,000-kilometer service on the motorhome. It turned out to be a good opportunity to rest, catch up on some work, and explore the area. During our stay, we visited the famous Paranal Observatory—one of the most important astronomical sites in the world—and the iconic “Mano del Desierto,” the giant hand sculpture rising from the Atacama sands. Both visits were fascinating in their own way: one connecting us with the universe above, the other with human creativity in the middle of a vast desert.
After a week in Antofagasta, our motorhome was finally ready, and we continued our journey inland, driving through Calama and on to San Pedro de Atacama. This small desert town, surrounded by surreal landscapes, served as the perfect base for our next adventure. Instead of tackling the rugged Laguna Route ourselves with the motorhome, we decided to join a guided tour from San Pedro to Uyuni and back.
Before heading into the high altitudes again, we explored the stunning high-Andean lakes of Laguna Miscanti and Laguna Miñiques, as well as the striking red landscapes of Piedras Rojas. The beauty of these places was simply beyond words.
From San Pedro de Atacama, we embarked on a 3-day (4-day return) tour to the Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia—an adventure that turned out to be one of the most breathtaking experiences of our South American journey. Since the Laguna Route is extremely rough and reaches altitudes well above 4,800 meters, we decided to leave our motorhome safely in San Pedro and join a guided 4x4 tour instead.
Early in the morning, after passing Bolivian immigration at Hito Cajón (4,400 m), our small group transferred into a rugged Toyota Land Cruiser, loaded with supplies. The first day took us through a chain of surreal high-altitude lagoons—Laguna Blanca and Laguna Verde, set beneath the towering volcano Licancabur. We then crossed geothermal fields at Sol de Mañana, where boiling mud pools and steaming fumaroles painted the air with sulfur mist, before reaching Laguna Colorada, famous for its red waters and countless pink flamingos. The night was spent in a simple refuge at over 4,300 m, where the thin air reminded us that we were deep in the Andes.
The second day brought an ever-changing palette of landscapes—endless deserts of rock and sand, strange wind-carved formations like the Arbol de Piedra, and high mountain passes surrounded by volcanoes. We stopped at Laguna Hedionda and Laguna Cañapa, each alive with flamingos feeding in shallow waters under a brilliant blue sky. In the evening, we reached the small village of Colcha K, where we stayed in a salt hotel, with walls, floors, and even beds made entirely of blocks of salt.
The third day was the grand finale: sunrise on the Salar de Uyuni, the world’s largest salt flat. As the first light spread across the white expanse, the horizon seemed to vanish, blending sky and earth into a single infinite mirror. We took dozens of photos with fun perspective tricks, visited Isla Incahuasi with its giant cacti, and even drove to the Dakar monument and the abandoned train cemetery near Uyuni town.
After spending a short time in Uyuni itself, we began the return trip to Chile, retracing part of the route but seeing the landscapes in a new light. By the time we reached San Pedro again, dusty and exhilarated, we felt we had traveled across another planet.
This tour was more than just a sightseeing trip—it was a deep immersion into one of the most remote and stunning regions on Earth, where nature’s extremes meet silence, solitude, and beauty on a truly cosmic scale.
Our journey through northern Chile and into Bolivia became one of the highlights of our entire expedition. On October 14th, after almost a month in Chile, we crossed the Paso de Jama into Argentina—another spectacular drive through the Andes. As we left, we both agreed: Chile had captivated us with its mix of desert, ocean, and stars, and we would definitely return to explore even more of its wonders.
