| San Pedro de Atacama | |
| Native Name Lang: | es |
| Settlement Type: | Town and Commune |
| Image Alt: | San Pedro de Atacama at the edge of the Salar de Atacama |
| Flag Alt: | Flag |
| Shield Alt: | Coat of arms |
| Map Alt: | Map of San Pedro de Atacama commune in Antofagasta Region |
| Pushpin Map: | Chile |
| Pushpin Map Narrow: | yes |
| Pushpin Label Position: | bottom |
| Pushpin Map Alt: | Location in Chile |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Chile |
| Coordinates: | -22.9167°N -80°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: |  Chile |
| Subdivision Type1: | Region |
| Subdivision Type2: | Province |
| Subdivision Name2: | El Loa |
| Established Title: | Founded |
| Established Date: | ≈1450 |
| Government Type: | Municipality |
| Leader Party: | DC |
| Leader Title: | Alcalde |
| Leader Name: | Sandra Berna Martínez |
| Unit Pref: | Metric |
| Area Footnotes: | [1] |
| Area Total Km2: | 23438.8 |
| Elevation M: | 2,407 |
| Elevation Ft: | 7,900 |
| Population Total: | 10,960 |
| Population As Of: | 2012 Census |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Population Blank1 Title: | Urban |
| Population Blank1: | 1938 |
| Population Blank2 Title: | Rural |
| Population Blank2: | 3031 |
| Demographics Type1: | Gender |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Male |
| Demographics1 Info1: | 2,928 |
| Demographics1 Title2: | Female |
| Demographics1 Info2: | 2,041 |
| Timezone: | CLST[2] |
| Utc Offset: | -3 |
| Area Code: | (+56) 5 |
| Website: | Municipalidad San Pedro de Atacama |
San Pedro de Atacama is a Chilean town and commune in El Loa Province, Antofagasta Region. It is located east of Antofagasta, some 106 km (60 mi) southeast of Calama and the Chuquicamata copper mine, overlooking the Licancabur volcano. It features a significant archeological museum, the R. P. Gustavo Le Paige Archaeological Museum, with a large collection of relics and artifacts from the region. Native ruins nearby attract increasing numbers of tourists interested in learning about pre-Columbian cultures.
San Pedro de Atacama grew, over centuries, around an oasis in the Puna de Atacama, an arid high plateau. Its first inhabitants were the Atacameños, who developed basketworks and ceramic pottery crafts that can be now be appreciated by tourists in the several souvenir shops as typical products of San Pedro de Atacama.[3]
It was part of Bolivia since independence from Spain until Chile claimed ownership during the War of the Pacific. During that war, the Battle of Río Grande was fought in the surroundings.
On July 18, 2024 the region suffered a 7.4 magnitude earthquake.
According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, San Pedro de Atacama had 4,969 inhabitants (2,928 males and 2,041 females). Of these, 1,938 (39%) lived in urban areas and 3,031 (61%) in rural areas. The population grew by 75.6% (2,140 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.[1]
As a commune, San Pedro de Atacama is a third-level administrative division of Chile administered by a municipal council, headed by an alcalde who is directly elected every four years. The 2008-2012 alcalde is Sandra Berna Martínez.
Within the electoral divisions of Chile, San Pedro de Atacama is represented in the Chamber of Deputies by Marcos Espinosa (PRSD) and Felipe Ward (UDI) as part of the third electoral district, (together with Tocopilla, María Elena, Calama and Ollagüe). The commune is represented in the Senate by Alejandro Guillier Álvarez (PRSD) and Pedro Araya Guerrero (Ind.) as part of the second senatorial constituency (Antofagasta Region).
The town lies at an average of 8000feet, thus visitors often experience mild altitude sickness such as dizziness, lethargy and headaches.[4] The local climate is extremely dry and mild, with daytime temperatures between 25C30C in the summer (December to February) and 18- in the winter (June to August). Nighttime temperatures routinely drop below and can reach as low as in the winter. The record high temperature of 38.3C was registered on January, 2024 in San Pedro de Atacama.[5]
Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as cold desert (BWk)[6] for an isotherm of the mean yearly temperature of lower than .
San Pedro lies on the main paved road from Argentina over the Paso de Jama, 160 km from the town. The road is paved throughout. There are frequent bus services to Calama, several buses daily to Santiago and buses on 6 days a week to Salta across the Andes in Argentina. Nearby airports are San Pedro de Atacama Airport and Salar de Atacama Airport for private aircraft, and the larger El Loa Airport/Calama 100 km away for scheduled aircraft.
San Pedro de Atacama is a popular tourist destination.[7] There are various activities for adventurers in the San Pedro de Atacama area: trekking, climbing, archaeological sightings, amateur astronomy, exploration tours in natural landscapes and even sand boarding in the desert. Because of its altitude, a brief period of acclimatization may be required.
In the town are some cultural and scientific sites:
The festivals includes typical dances, masses in the street and a little parade through the main street of San Pedro de Atacama.[3]