San Pedro de Atacama Sports & Outdoors Tips by Glospi Top 5 Page for this destination

Climbing Licancabur volcano

This 5920 mt./19,418 ft. volcano overlooks the entire San Pedro oasis and is an ever-present sight for every visitor. It's perfect conical shape is an alluring temptation for high-altitude mountaineers, and it's good to fall for it.
It has also plenty of pre-Columbian ruins, both in their hillsides and inside the volcano as well, used by pilgrims coming to ceremonies held there, although those on the summit rim are sacred kunza shrines; there's also an emerald-blue lagoon inside the crater, which is most likely reached through the Bolivian side, as the route is better and there are inexpensive guide and transport services (compulsory in Bolivia).
It takes 4 days -5 if going relaxedly- to get to the top and back to San Pedro.
No technical mountaineering skills are needed.
The NW side of the cone is said to have antitank/antipersonal landmines.

Equipment: High-altitude clothing and gloves, ski/walking poles, hiking boots (not necessarily plastic), expedition-grade tent and sleeping bag, MSR-type stove, glacier sunglasses, water for the 3 first days, GPS, compass.
A VHF/GPRS radio is useful if going in a group.
Passport is required for everybody.

Altitude sickness hits hard up there (see my San Pedro's "Warnings and dangers" section on this issue.

Some tour agencies, both in San Pedro and Santiago, provide all the equipment and guidance to get there, but for a price...

Address: Chilean-Bolivian border, near Sico pass

Directions: Some 50 kilometres east of San Pedro de Atacama, on the road to Uyuni (Bolivia).
Summit fixes (WGS 84): S 22º49'05,4" / W 67º52'57,3"

Photo: Nikon F4s, Nikkor 80-200 f.2,8, 1/60 sec., f.4-5,6, POL filter

Theme: Climbing

Sandboarding

Sandboarding in the dunes of either the Moon Valley or the Death (Mars) Valley has become a quite popular activity amid San Pedro's visitors.
The preferred places are the Great Dune on Valle de la Luna (Moon Valley) or the huge dune on the E area of the Valle de la Muerte (Death Valley), to where the picture illustrating this tip belongs.

It is (still) free, so take advantage while you can...

Equipment: Sandboarding boards, o'course....
And sneakers (sandals or open shoes aren't recommendable, as the sand is very abrasive) or hiking boots, plus drinking water.
Sandboards can be rented in San Pedro for about US$ 8 a day.

Taken with Nikon F4s, Zoom-Nikkor 80-200 f.2,8 @ f.4-5,6, 1/500 sec., POL filter

Directions: The nearest end of Death Valley, and the Great Dune at Moon Valley.

Theme: Other