There are numerous impressive natural attractions in Chile, from the long and steep Andes mountains to massive glaciers and alpine lakes, to waterfalls such as Salto del Laja and islands such as the Juan Fernandez archipelago. One of the more unusual natural attractions in Chile is the Valle de la Luna. This famous site is a great addition to any Chile vacation, and it presents a unique experience and an impressive foreign landscape.

After seeing miles of mountains, a trip to Valle de la Luna, with its strange landscape, will be a refreshing change. Valle de la Luna, which is Spanish for Valley of the Moon, is located in the Atacama desert, eight miles west of San Pedro. The well-known Atacama desert is a popular destination in Chile and is widely considered the driest desert in the world.

Valle de la Luna itself is also considered one of the driest places on Earth, with some areas having gone without rain for hundreds of years. The dry, difficult terrain even led scientists to test a prototype for a Mars rover here. Valle de la Luna is also part of the Reserva Nacional los Flamencos, a large nature reserve to the south and east of San Pedro the contains everything from salt flats to volcanoes to lakes. Moon Valley in Chile was declared a Nature Sanctuary for its natural beauty and strange lunar-like landscape, from which the site derived its name.

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The attraction of Valle de la Luna Chile is the unique landscape. The valley is filled with mountainous sand dunes, sand and stone formations, caverns, dry lakes, colorful escarpments, and saline outcrops, all of which contribute to the eerie moon-like landscape. The sand and stone formations are the result of hundreds of years of erosion by the wind, and the escarpments vary in color as the sunlight changes throughout the day. A great time to visit the Moon Valley in Chile is at sunset. Then, from atop a high sand dune, you can see the whole valley bathed in pinks and golds.

If you want to tour Valle de la Luna, you can book a tour in nearby San Pedro, but be sure to select one that arrives well before sunset. In this way, you can have time to explore the area and then relax on the large sand dunes as you watch a beautiful sunset. Many tours will be timed in this way to arrive before sunset. Hotels in San Pedro may offer packages that include a tour to the Moon Valley in Chile, so if you're already planning to visit the Valle de la Luna Chile, this could be an easy and affordable way to do so.

Visiting Valle de la Luna Chile is a good way to add variety to your Chile vacation. The strange landscape of the area is quite different from the natural environment in many other parts of the country—and the world—and a visit to this unique destination is guaranteed to be a memorable segment of any trip to Chile.