reserva nacional de flamencos

A saline lake in a flat plateau landscape with mountains in the distance -and then you see the flamingos with their heads down enjoying a good feed. An impressive sight & one that just leads to great photos.Nice information center with a lot of it in English -We did this after our walk & photo session, but may be should have had a quick look first as it would have helped on identifying the various birds in the Reserve. Good toilet facilities within information center which was an unexpected bonus! It was a last stop on a great day trip out with TurisTour. The Atacama desert offers so many possibilities -but this was worth the long day driving around on our tour which also included the Miscanti & Meniques lagoons.

There are several different parts to the reserve. This review is about the one at Laguna Chaxa. You drive south from San Pedro de Atacama and take a signposted right turn just after the village of Toconao . Then it's a 25 minute drive to the Reserve Centre. The gate opens at 8.15am and closes just after sunset at 8pm ish. You pay 2500pesos to get in. There is a shaded area with tables overlooking the lagoon as well as an interpretative film and displays. And good toilets!!!The bus tours use the shaded area for giving breakfasts etc to their clients. The lagoon held 50 Andean flamingos together with a few Chilean. There were also Andean avocets together with Bairds sandpipers, Wilsons phalaropes and Puna plovers. Great views! The best and closest for me so far!Obviously early and late are best for photography and anyway when I went at 3pm it was 33 degrees and far too hot to enjoy it. So far we have been 4 times and each time was different. Well worth a visit. Very easy terrain and the birds are very close as they are do used to people.

Take your time, walk around the lake, and always remember that this is wild fauna. It does not really seem that you are in the middle of the desert.

Another amazing trip combined with Chaxa lagoon. Drive over the salt lagoon to view the flamingos on Chaxa. Great photo opportunities flamingos, cloud reflections etc. Brought out the Monet in me !! Recommended.

Nothing not to like. Saw so many things should have written them all down. All I can say is we enjoyed every excursion. Great if you like wildlife, natural habitats and surprise oasis in the desert

If you want to see flamangos, this is definitely the place to do it. With 4 different types of species on hand you'll have a chance to photograph them all as they eat, loaf and flying around. The reserve is incredibly hot and the land around the water very desolate and bleak. The cordilleras in the background make for great backdrops for your pictures.

The Flamingo Reserve is completely worth it.If you're a fan of viewing animals in their natural habit, this is definitely worth the visit.The salt lakes create a mirror-effect below the flamboyance of flamingos about it, and the volcanoes and hills around it.

This place was the first one I visited once in Atacama and the sunset was incredible. The pictures I took there are framed in the living room and could be sent to any photo contest. Therefore, if you go there, get your best camera and have fun!

Amazing reserve of Flamencos, peaceful, please be silent. Pictures with the lagoon as a mirror are incredibles.

Easy to go with regular car. The place is totally made by salt... and you can walk around some lagoons and see some flamingos eating peacefully there.

The setting is what is impressive at the reserve. We saw about 2 dozen flamingoes, fairly closeup. After all the hype, I had expected more. Still very much worth doing as part of the overall tour you'd do that day.

This is the best place to see flamingos and make great pictures of this fascinating bird. It's hot (in summer), very hot, so bring hat, solar cream, water and everything else you need. The salt formation around is quite a sight. This is quite close from San Pedro and can be combined with the Salar.

Large flocks of flamingos (and other water fowl) at lagoons high in the mountains above the Atacama Desert in northern Chile. An unexpected finding in one of the earth's driest environments.

We were brought to different parts of this reserve on two tours by Turistours - the Cejar lagoon tour and the Miscanti and Miñiques tour. It's stunningly beautiful but don't expect the flamingoes to act tame - bring high-powered binoculars.

Went by myself and with maps it was easy to find.I was unlucky and there were just a few flamencos but fairly close.If you have your own vehicle its possible to visit lagoon Cejar and Ojos aswell on the same day!Entrance: 2500 pesos