30 minutes from San Pedro de Atacama, you can access its famous salt flat where the ground seems to be composed of rhombic tiles and the horizon is infinite. The journey can be done by car to the Cejar lagoon. The road is made of a material called "vichufita", composed of clay, salt, manganese and water, and it is very compact.
The lagoon can be seen long before arrival as a large turquoise spot in the middle of nowhere. It is surrounded by grass of strong green and yellow colors. That is the first impact, since this palette gives the landscape a very special effect.
Despite being located more than 2,000 meters high, its pleasant and almost warm waters are surprising. Contact with salt is felt especially on the face and eyes, when you are out of the water, the whole body is covered in a white chalk powder that lasts until you washed with fresh water.
Saline waters do not allow the body to sink. High level salinity makes these lagoons have a greater capacity of flotation than the Dead Sea. The salt is formed by an accumulation of precipitated salts and liquid joins only where there is contribution of underground springs, rains and hot springs.
It is a relaxing experience to float with the well-known Andes fire cord in the background. It is not strange to see colonies of flamingos, one of the few species of birds that subsist in this rustic soil. Altogether, an admirable sight.
It really is a very fun and surprising tour.