Salar de Surire National Monument Basic Information
Location: Región de Tarapacá, 270 Km (169 MI) northeast of Iquique. Colchane is 79 Km (49 MI) south.
When to go: Year round
Climate: There is a large fluctuation in temperature during the winter months ranging between -15°C (5ºF) during the night and 5°C (41ºF) during the day. The average annual rain infex is 250 mm (10 in) and the average annual temperature is between 5°C and -5°C.
Services: Accommodation, hiking trails, camping, hot springs.
Attractions in Salar de Surire National Monument
What to see:
Polloquere Hot Springs: These water springs have created a lagoon that surrounds the Surire Salt Flat, at 4245 mts msl. In them, you can enjoy a relaxing bath in their thermal pools or bath tubs, mud baths, and steam baths. The water is at 66°C. They are recommended for therapeutical uses related to reumatism, lumbar spine injuries, and others. There are also camping and picknicking sites.
Trails
Surire Natural Monument does not have excursion or interpretive trails. There is only one main road and a camp site near the Polloquere Hot Springs. The monument's most important attraction is the wildlife and the bird fauna.
Salar de Surire National Monument Natural Heritage
Flora: The most common flora species are the Tola, found between 3.000 and 4500 mts ms, and the paja brava and bofedal, found at 4000 mts and above.
Fauna: The protection of fauna is one of the main objectives of this natural monument, for in Surire Salt Flat you can find three of world's six flamingo species. The species are protected in different categories, for which there are specific protection plans for each one of them. The objective of these plans is to raise awareness in the local communities and to develop environmental impact mitigation plans.
Gastronomy
The cuisine in the North of Chile is characterized by a variety of legumes and cereals, due to the arid climate. Within the most common ingredients are quinoa, a staple in the Inca culture, also is the potato, carrot and various tropical fruits like mango, passion fruit and guava.
Among typical dishes are roast alpaca cooked on firewood, chuño which is a soup-based Popes alpaca, onion, wheat and other vegetables. Also you can find al types of seafood and fishes to make differents dishes.
Further to the North, a typical sweet is the chumbeque this fact of flour, lard and layers of Orange, mango, passion fruit jams. There are also the pululos, which are a kind of very common puffed rice in the north end.
How to go
- Plane: From Santiago to Iquique.
- Bus: From Santiago to Iquique.
- Tour: From Iquique to Salar de Surire Natural Monument.
For more information about prices press the next link: http://www.conaf.cl/parques/monumento-natural-salar-de-surire/
Recommendations
Since this traveling destinations is a coastal zone, the weather is desertic and very dry. There aren’t any extremes temperatures in the coastal area during the day or night. The average annual temperature is 18 ° C.
Many of the excursions and tours that are done here take you to visit places that are in the Chilean plateau, 3,500 above sea levels. This means that people may experience altitude sickness. It is important that people drink lots of water so they keep their body well hydrated. People shouldn’t make sudden or harsh movements, and let their body get used to the heights and the altitude.
Stores in rural areas are open all day, but they close between 13.00 and 15.00. We advise you to carry local currency (Chilean pesos), since it isn’t possible to pay with debit or credit cards in kiosks and rural stores.
Do not throw garbage on the beaches, parks or streets. To take care of our environment is everyone's responsibility. Avoid fines by following the rules.
+56 (9) 6309 1076
