Ojos del Salar Tours and Activities

To understand the meaning of the words Ojos de Salar, you just need to know that a salar is a salt plain or lake and the ojo is its eye. In this case, the eyes of the salt plain are two small, perfectly round, freshwater lakes that open up seemingly in the middle of nowhere, about 20 miles from the town of San Pedro de Atacama. They are accessed from a sandy road, and these two freshwater lakes are commonly visited as part of a larger trip to two other lakes in the area, the Laguna de Cejar and Laguna Tebenquiche.

On still days, the Ojos del Salar act as perfect mirrors that reflect the desert. Tours to the area usually head out in the afternoon and stop here before moving on to other lakes, including Cejar, in which you can take a dip and enjoy the last bit of sunlight with with a cocktail in hand, if you can put down your camera for that long.