In Chile as close as possible to the stars…

Constellations, shooting stars, Milky Way… whatever the continents or the times, the sky has always aroused the interest and fascination of young and old…

Because of its location, the Atacama Desert is one of the best places to observe the stars: it benefits from very low humidity, ideal altitude and very low light pollution.

It is no coincidence that many observatories have established themselves there, in particular the International Observatory. of Alma.

Located at more than 5 000 meters of altitude on the Andean heights, this astronomical observatory shelters the the most powerful radio telescope in the world. Opened in March 2013 but fully operational in 2015, Alma will unveil soon the secrets that surround the birth of stars… The site is open to (free) weekend visits.

The Alto Atacama Desert Lodge & Spa offers many excursions / activities to discover the region – over 35 included in the stay – including stargazing more than 250 days per year with a tour guide as well as an excursion in the Mars Valley the rest of the time.

The particularity of this excursion is that the Alto Atacama Desert Lodge & Spa is the only hotel in the region to have its own own open observatory. Everything has been thought out so that guests can constantly admire the stars : during that a traveller uses the telescope and benefits from the enlightened knowledge of the guide, the other guests – in the meantime in turn – are comfortably seated on sun loungers rotating all around the telescope and can thus admire the starry sky of the Atacama at 360°.

No doubt that the latter will reveal his secrets with the complicity of the guide and its precious laser indicating the « stars » of the Southern Hemisphere.