Capture the arid landscapes of the Atacama Desert. Observe the Magellanic Clouds from the darkest night sky in the world. Live the adventure of crossing the desert to Bolivia. And finally photograph one of the cleanest night skies in the world reflected on the largest mirror in existence, the Salar de Uyuni.
- 11 days
- 2 photographers specialized in landscape, night photography and astrophotography at your disposal.
- The best locations for landscape, night photography and astrophotography.
- 2 very different countries whose common point is the high quality of their night sky.
- A small group
Sounds interesting, doesn’t it? Let me tell you more:
THIS IS NOT JUST ANOTHER TRIP… IT’S AN ADVENTURE!
WHO WILL BE WITH YOU DURING THE TRIP?
Luis Miguel Azorin
Passionate about nature photography in its broadest sense. I photograph from the smallest elements, the world of macro photography, to the largest and farthest we can photograph, the Universe, without leaving aside other natural disciplines such as landscape or night photography. But in spite of the great variety of branches of photography that I touch, I could say that my true specialties are night photography and astrophotography, a discipline that I have been practicing for 20 years.
Nestor Rodan
Professional nature photographer, travel guide and trainer. Ambassador of Canon Spain. Specialist with more than 10 years of experience in travel to extreme cold places.
“Photography is a long journey, enjoyment and constant learning”. I read this phrase in some reference book and I have assimilated it almost as my own, emphasizing and emphasizing the word enjoyment, because I think it is the key to get good results in any field.
You can see more about Nestor’s work in his web page: https://www.nestorrodan.com/
WHO IS THIS TRIP FOR?
Any amateur or professional photographer, who wants to live the adventure of photographing some of the wildest places of the Atacama Desert, crossing the border between Chile and Bolivia by land and through the desert, and who wants to capture the best night sky in the world reflected on the largest mirror that exists.
With the help and advice of 2 photographers specialized in landscape photography, night photography and astrophotography, and with the company of other photographers who feel the same passion.
WHAT IS INCLUDED IN THE TOUR?
Photographic advisors Nestor Rodan and Luis Miguel Azorin
We will be at your disposal during the whole trip. We will show you how to get the best framing of the locations we visit. We will help you with your camera settings. You will learn how to capture the night and the beauty of the Universe under the clearest night skies on the planet. And you will learn about the photographic processing of this kind of images.
Acommodation
The entire group will stay at the following destinations and accommodations:
- San Pedro de Atacama: Hotel Jardin or similar with breakfast included.
- Uyuni: Hotel Casas de Sal or similar with breakfast included.
- Calama: Hotel Diego de Almagro Alto El Loa or similar with breakfast included
Single supplement: 520€
Transfers and displacements
The following trips are included:
- Transportation in vans in Atacama, with mileage included.
- Private transportation between Calama and Uyuni, and return.
- 4 days of service of 3 4×4 vehicles in Uyuni during the afternoon and night.
Entrances
The trip includes the following entrance fees:
- Entrance fees to national parks
- Entrance to Incahuasi Island
- All excursions mentioned
EXCLUSIVE ACCESS TO ATACAMA LARGE MILLIMETER ARRAY (ALMA)
The Atacama Large Milimeter/submillimeter Array is the result of an international partnership between Europe, North America and East Asia, in collaboration with the Republic of Chile. Located on the Chilean altiplano, at an altitude of 5,058 meters, it is the largest astronomical project in the world. It’s an interferometer that includes 66 radio telescopes of 7 and 12 meters in diameter that works as a single gigantic radio telescope.
We will enjoy a visit to the ALMA complex site and a session of night photography and astrophotography in the surroundings of the observatory.
WHAT IS NOT INCLUDED IN THE TOUR?
1. Flights
Each attendee must arrange his or her own flights. Transfers and displacements are included within the days of the trip.
2. Meals
The only meal included in the price will be breakfast that we will enjoy in the different hotels. The rest of the lunches and dinners will be decided as we go along, depending on the locations visited, and will be at the expense of each participant.
Atacama desert landscapes
WHAT IS THE PLANNING FOR THIS TRIP?
April 10
Early morning departure from the international flight to Santiago de Chile, landing and taking the regional flight to Calama. Arrival at the airport, pick up the rental car and transfer to our accommodation in San Pedro de Atacama.
If there is time, desire and strength we will go out to the nearby Moon Valley to photograph its amazing geological formations with the sunset.
This place has been declared a natural sanctuary and is part of the Flamingo National Reserve.
It is an amazing space, with formations of sand and salt, whimsical shapes and extremely colorful, undoubtedly one of the most famous and photographed pictures of Chile, we will stretch the sunset and night as much as possible and begin to enjoy one of the best skies in the world.
Rest at San Pedro de Atacama lodging.
April 11
After resting in the morning, and after regaining strength, we will head to the Atacama Salt Flat, where we will be able to get amazing images of snow-white plains covered with salt, with the peaks of the Andes in the background, with the Licancabur volcano standing out above all of them.
We will return to San Pedro to recharge our batteries and after dinner we have a date with the Atacama night. This area is famous for having one of the cleanest and most spectacular skies in the world, the celestial vault of the southern hemisphere will be shown in all its fullness and will give us the possibility of obtaining extraordinary images.
Blue Horsehead nebula, captured from Atacama during 2025 edition
April 12 and 13
After resting and regaining strength in the morning we will head to the geothermal area of the geysers of El Tatio and La Machuca.
In this sector we will find more than 70 active fumaroles with dozens of water wells and boiling mud that will give us the possibility to continue with our photographic activity.
It is an amazing place that together with the surrounding volcanoes reminds us that we are in a living territory in which the forces that raised the Andes Mountains to the sky are still very present.
We will spend the afternoon again in the Valley of the Moon, whose corners and diverse perspectives are difficult to encompass in a single visit.
Return to San Pedro de Atacama.
On April 13 we will visit all the corners and roads that we would have missed the previous day, with special emphasis on crevices and rock formations that will be useful for our night photographs.
April 14
Breakfast and transfer to the Uyuni Salt Flat in Bolivia, it is a long journey that will take us a good part of the day, about 6 hours, in which we will also make several stops.
We will arrive in Uyuni and stop at the Hotel to leave the luggage and rest.
In the evening we will move to the shores of the salt flat to photograph the sunset and a little later the spectacular milky way that we expect for those dates, reflected on the film of water in some sectors of the salt flat.
Return to our hotel and rest.
Tatio geysers
April 15, 16 and 17
The Uyuni salt flat is the largest extension of salt in the world and its vastness makes its limits blend with the horizon.
In those areas with water, a mirror of reflection is created as far as the eye can see, making it possible to take incredible photographs.
Where there is only salt we also find a magical landscape only if you look for some volcanoes on the horizon and with a usually blue sky that provides a great contrast.
We will stay 3 full days with our guide exploring different locations and perspectives, taking the best of the salt flat and saving it in the sensor of our camera.
In one of the days we will visit the beautiful Incahuasi Island, it is a small island in the middle of the salt flat, which has a large number of giant cactus up to 10 meters high, it has marked trails for routes around the island that we will use for new photo shoots.
After a new session of milky ways, return to the lodging and rest.
Sunset in the Uyuni Salt Flat
April 18
We will start our return from the city of Uyuni to Calama. We will do it by land, crossing the desert of the Bolivian altiplano in 4X4 vehicles, in a journey that is a real adventure, and that will take us most of the day, until we reach, again, the border between Bolivia and Chile, where we will be picked up by a transport that will take us to our hotel in Calama.
Along the way we will make stops to take pictures of the most interesting landmarks and places.
April 19
Transfer to the airport, flight to Santiago, stopover and return to Madrid.
April 20
Landing in Madrid.
WHAT EQUIPMENT WILL YOU NEED?
For landscape photography:
- One camera with bulb mode and intevalometer.
- Spare batteries.
- Lenses of wide, medium and long focal lengths.
- A set of photographic filters.
- A tripod
- A headlamp
For night photography and astrophotography:
All of the above will be enough for capturing the stunning night sky of this region of the world. But if you also have a star tracker mount you will get a lot of benefit in our night sessions.
Do you have a small telescope for deep sky astrophotography that you can carry in the plane’s cabin? You will be able to take advantage of it in one of the most privileged environments in the world for this type of photography. Depending on the number of equipments available for this type of photography, we will decide the number of sessions we will dedicate to this discipline.
And of course don’t forget about:
- Mountain footwear and clothing.
- Varied clothing, suitable for both high and low temperatures. Windbreaker, hat and gloves.
- Raincoat.
- Sunglasses and sunscreen.
Tarantula Nebula, in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Captured from the Uyuni Salt Flat during the 2025 edition.
DO YOU WANT TO BRING YOUR OWN TELESCOPE?
In the 2025 edition we brought from Spain 2 complete astrophotographic telescopes, batteries included, to the Atacama Desert in Chile and to the Uyuni Salt Flat in Bolivia.
If your dream is to set up your own telescope under the darkest skies of the planet and photograph what the night sky of the southern hemisphere has to offer, we can help you with it.