By far, the most popular tour in San Pedro de Atacama is the tour to Moon Valley. Every tour agency will offer this tour, typically bundling it with an astronomical tour. These are a great option for seeing some of the best of the Atacama Desert, but they aren’t the only option.
I took a tour through my hostel that allowed us to combine some of the highlights of Moon Valley and the Astronomical Tour for one low price.
Here’s what that Moon Valley tour was like.
A Typical Tour of Moon Valley
Every single tour agency in San Pedro de Atacama will try to sell you a tour of Moon Valley. Typically this tour involves entering into Moon Valley. You’ll get a short, guided tour of Moon Valley before returning to the parking area. Here, you’ll get some snacks because every tour in San Pedro de Atacama includes food. While enjoying your snacks and drinks, you’ll enjoy a great view of the sunset before returning to San Pedro de Atacama.
Note that like with nearly every tour in San Pedro de Atacama, your entrance fee to Moon Valley isn’t included. This is because there are different rates for Chileans and foreigners (and plenty of Chileans will take the tours on their vacation to San Pedro de Atacama). Talk to your tour company. You may be able to pay that fee in advance when you pay for the rest of your tour.
It’s just important to realize that the price that’s being advertised is not the final price for your tour.
My Tour of Moon Valley
My tour of Moon Valley was different than most. Rather than taking a tour with one of the agencies in town, I took a tour that was offered by my hostel. EcoExplor offers a handful of unique tours of the region and if you’re traveling on a budget, some of these tours can be a great value.
At 6:00 pm, we left the hostel. Typically the only people who come on these tours are guests at the hostel, but I believe anyone would be welcome to join so long as they paid the fee. Since it’s only hostel guests, there’s no special hotel pick up and we can go straight toward Moon Valley.
Before reaching Moon Valley though, we made a stop for two things. The first was to an excellent viewpoint of the rock formations near Moon Valley. We looked back at San Pedro de Atacama and admired the view before following Victor, our guide and hostel owner, down a path.
Here, we sat among the rocks and just listened. It’s quiet here and if you are quiet too, you can hear the sounds of the rocks shifting. It is faint, but it’s there and kinda cool to actually hear.
Back in the van, we drove closer to Moon Valley. On our tour, we didn’t actually enter Moon Valley. Entering Moon Valley comes with an extra fee and since we were just here for sunset and a glimpse of the night sky, there isn’t really a point in going into Moon Valley. This is what I consider to be one of the big differences between the traditional Moon Valley tours and this Moon Valley tour put on my EcoExplor. We don’t actually go inside Moon Valley, but that doesn’t mean you can’t see it.
It’s completely free to set up on the side of the road overlooking Moon Valley, so that’s what we did. You won’t be the only ones as plenty of tourists use this area as a budget Moon Valley sunset option. According to Victor, the only big difference these tours is the cost. We still get a view of sunset, but we don’t have to pay to enter Moon Valley. And yes, we still had food and drinks (though I’m going to assume not quite as much food as a traditional Moon Valley tour).
We took photos and watched the sun set behind the mountains. It was a great sunset, but I’ve been seeing a lot of good sunsets in South America, so I’m not sure if it’s my favorite. It’ll be very hard to beat my sunset in Cabo Polonio.
After sunset, the area clears out pretty quickly. All of the budget travelers pack up and so do those on the traditional Moon Valley tour. We stayed and before we knew it, we were the only ones in the area.
So why did we stay? Because this area is also a great place for stargazing. We didn’t stay out for as long as the traditional astronomical tours and we didn’t have a powerful telescope. However, it was still worth it and you can get a great view of the night sky from here. I grew up in a rural area and it was nothing compared to the stars you can see out in the Atacama Desert.
Victor still brings a powerful laser pointer and can point out several of the constellations in the night sky. This is very helpful for people like me who can’t identify stars at all.
Once we’ve had our fill of the night sky, it’s time to pack up and head back to the van. Back to the hostel we went.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can You Visit Moon Valley on Your Own?
Yes, you can visit Moon Valley on your own. It’s easiest to go with a rental car, but it’s cheapest to go with a rental bike. Just note that there are some hills involved if you plane to bike to Moon Valley. It’s difficult, but it is possible to bike to Moon Valley from San Pedro de Atacama.
That said, if you’re going for sunset, I’d recommend a rental car over a bike.
Is it Worth Visiting Moon Valley?
I think it’s worth doing a Moon Valley Tour in some capacity. You’ll inevitably pass by Moon Valley on your other tours and travels near San Pedro de Atacama, so it’s great to really stop and appreciate the view. That said, I don’t know if you necessarily need to go into Moon Valley.
My tour overlooked Moon Valley, but never went inside. I don’t feel like I missed out on anything major by choosing this option. There’s just so much gorgeous scenery near San Pedro de Atacama that no matter what, you’ll end up having to pick and choose which scenery to visit and which to skip.
More About EcoExplor
I spent five nights at EcoExplor in San Pedro de Atacama. The owner, Victor, is amazing and always ready to help you with anything you may need. While they don’t offer every tour, Victor has put together a few unique tours that don’t exist anywhere else in San Pedro de Atacama. The only downside is that the tours have a minimum number of people required to run the tour. As a solo traveler, this can be difficult.
One of these tours is his Moon Valley and Stars Rise Tour, which I really enjoyed. Budget travelers will love it because it combines the highlights of the Moon Valley Tour with the Astronomical Tour for a much lower price.
Final Thoughts
It seems like no trip to San Pedro de Atacama would be complete without a visit to Moon Valley. While I didn’t visit in the traditional way, I don’t feel like I missed out and I’m so glad I went with my Moon Valley Tour.
Continue Your Adventure
San Pedro de Atacama: I recommend three days in San Pedro de Atacama to see the highlights. The Tatio Geysers are some of the largest in the world. For some of my favorite scenery, visit Rainbow Valley. To explore on your own, rent a bike and visit the Devil’s Throat. Continue your adventure by departing on a tour to the Uyuni Salt Flats in Bolivia.
Chile: Start planning your trip with my Chile Travel Guide. Get my best budget travel tips and a 9 day Chile itinerary.
