Toconao is an oasis that, thanks to the purity of water, allows the cultivation of all kinds of fruits, some native species and others brought by the Spanish. In front of the town square is located the church and bell tower of San Lucas, originally from the XVIII century. Although they were rebuilt after earthquakes and fires, they kept its charm which is why they were both declared National Monument. They are currently maintained by the congregation of nuns from the order Jesus Verbo y Víctima. The activity of the town is based on the size of various volcanic stone sculptures and miniatures thereof, that are extracted from own quarry Indian Community .
Gastronomy
Within San Pedro de Atacama, there is a great variety of places to taste, like the typical Atacama food, pizzas to the stone or even different vegetarian option that use the vegetables and more typical vegetables of the zone.
How to go
Plane: Flight from Santiago – Calama (2 hours 10 minutes)
Bus: 20 hours from Santiago to Calama/From Calama to San pedro that is about 1 hour.
From San Pedro to Toconao are 38 km and you can take a tour.
Recommendations
We recommend you that you schedule your flight to Calama to arrive in the morning so you are able to participate in the scheduled activities without affecting the itinerary.
This place has a desertic weather and it’s also some meters above sea levels, which means that throughout the year there is a very large temperature oscillation between day and night. The average annual temperature is between 14° C and 3 ° C.
Many of the excursions and tours that are done include visiting 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.
There are few ATMs in San Pedro de Atacama. You have to consider that the demand for these ATMs is high, so they don’t always have money. We advise you to bring some cash with you.
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.
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