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Atacama Desert

San Pedro de Atacama

Valle de la Luna

Tatio Geysers

Salt Flats (Salares)

Calama

The Loa River

The Altiplano

The Elqui Valley

Lauca National Park

Iquique

Arica

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Information´s Area

THE ALTIPLANO

Composed of consolidated ash from hundreds of volcanoes along the Chile-Bolivia border, the Altiplano averages over 11,000 feet high and is home to a traditional community of Aymara llama and alpaca herders. This unique environment - site of massive salt flats and high-altitude lakes, home to American camels and hundreds of bird species -- separates the Atacama Desert from the Amazon Basin. The most commonly visited sectors of the Chilean Altiplano are Parque Nacional Lauca, near Arica, and the area east of San Pedro de Atacama.