During our round the world trip we made a brief stop in San Pedro de Atacama, Chile, a town near the Argentine border. San Pedro de Atacama is the entry point to the massive Atacama desert. It sits at an altitude of over 8,000 feet and boasts gigantic sand dunes that are ideal for sand boarding.
We decided to skip a pricey tour and explore the dunes by ourselves. We rented a couple of cheap mountain bikes and a “sand board,” which is essentially a block of wood with straps, and followed some sketchy directions up into a canyon.
Words cannot really do justice to what we found, so let’s skip straight to the photos!
After biking for several miles on a paved highway we reached the rocky, winding road that led to the sand dunes. A pack of friendly stray dogs followed us all the way from town.
I tried to look cool while peddling towards the dunes with all of our gear.
The dunes were massive, and involved a long hike to the top.
We were afforded tremendous views of the rock and sand formations that stretched for miles.
Leslie wasn’t afraid!
We felt like explorers on Mars, with the trippy landscape and lack of people.
It took me several tries to make it all the way down the dune on the sand board!
And now for the long trek back to the top…
I admit, it was frustrating to stay upright!
In every direction there were different types of rock and sand formations, for as far as the eye could see.
Leslie was a natural on the sand board!
At an altitude of almost 9,000 feet, each climb back to the top was exhausting. We took off our shoes when they started to fill with sand.
Once I got comfortable on the sand board, I ventured down the steeper slope (on the back side of the dune).
The view from the top of the dune was spectacular.
We had the dunes entirely to ourselves, aside from a tour group that packed up and left the moment we arrived.
We were surrounded by a stunning landscape.
The walk back up the sand dune after each run was grueling, but it was worth it. We had an amazing experience and it only cost us $14 to rent the bikes and the board.
For more info
Check out the San Pedro de Atacama Wikipedia page for the town’s location and links to popular attractions.
Browse the carousel to find helpful books on Chile travel:
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Interesting guest post. Looks so dry and hot… but beautiful pictures.
The temperature was actually perfect! Not too hot. It was a workout biking up there and sandboarding though 🙂
This is something I TOTALLY want to do when we’re out that way. My family and I used to go to White Sands National Park and sandboard almost every weekend as a kid – I want to give it another go even though I fail miserably at snowboarding.
Go for it! We were struggling until we realized the key is waxing up the board like crazy. They had given us a chunk of a white candle to wax it with and we went to town!
Yeah fortunately our board was so crappy it limited how fast we would go unless we waxed it like crazy!
Cool post, we loved doing this in San Pedro de Atacama, definitely one of the highlights of our stay there. Thanks for sharing and bringing back these memories!
No problem! I just checked out your site and it seems like we have a lot in common, as couples who have traveled the world together.
Now this is something that looks like something I can do. Love the desert, and this looks like you don’t break too many bones trying it out! 🙂
Yeah fortunately the sand is (relatively) soft when you wipe out so there isn’t too much danger in it
Incredibly beautiful – a real once in a lifetime experience!
It was a fun (and physically demanding) experience. Thanks for the comment!
So amazing you had the entire place to yourself, rock on!!!
That looks like a lot of fun! I’ve never tried it but always wanted to. I failed at snowboarding something awful, so I’d imagine that I would suck at this too. But it looks so awesome!!
Well i tried snowboarding once and sucked horribly at it but was able to handle the sandboarding ok, there’s definitely a steeper learning curve with snowboarding.
There are great dunes to try this on in SE CA, Can’t remember at the moment what they are called- but they are very cool!
I’d love to try it again and see if I can perfect my technique 🙂 Maybe I’ll check out the California dunes!
arrrrggg — I so should have done this! Could have in a couple spots. Sounds like an excuse to go back….
Definitely worth a return visit! 🙂
Aw, it’s just toooooo awesome!!! You look natural girl! 🙂 I have a thing for a desert.. this make my heart flutter… 😀
Wow… that looks like a blast. Especially since I’m freezing my butt off in -30°c here. I just added the Atacama desert to my list of places that i must see. Thanks!
I did a tiny bit of sandboarding in Egypt, but on a very small scale. This looks like a lot of fun!
Amazing photos. Looks like so much fun and not as slippery as snowboarding!
no its a lot easier than snowboarding! in fact you have to wax the hell out of the board to get going. this was good since i suck so bad at snowboarding…
Albeit challenging, sandboarding seems to be so much fun!
Leslie! sexiest chick i’ve ever seen on a sand dune! MWUAHAHAHAHA~
Thanks Ciki! That was my Angeline Jolie/ Tomb Raider pose 😉
I love that you did this on your own rather than with a tour. I know how torturous it is to climb those sand dunes but it’s definitely worth it!
Thanks Laura! It was a tough climb up, but you are right… it was worth it 🙂
I reckon the locals must think we’re mad.
But how much fun is it? So, so good…your post brought back hilarious (and exhausting…and sandy) memories
Tip: If you’re ever passing Huacachina (Peru), grab a board from the Moron hermanos at the kiosk by the oasis.
Recommended.
I was just there a month ago and while we hiked several days we never tried sand-boarding. Looks like I should have made the effort.
It’s worth a return visit! 😉
Love this post! makes me wanna sandboard.. now!!!
Sandboarding is so much fun! I’d highly recommend it.
where did you rent the bikes and board from? any area hints, tips for 2 travelers going in feruary for a 5 day trip to the area?
We rented the bikes and board from a shop right in San Pedro de Atacama. It’s a small town bursting with tourist shops and restaurants. You don’t need to reserve in advance; just make arrangements when you arrive. Have fun!
I’d also love to try that, looks pretty cool. I will gladly go see that shop and do the same.