Tulor Village

In addition to beautiful lagoons and valleys, Los Flamencos National Reserve is also home to the Tulor Village, one of the first agricultural settlements in northern Chile, which was discovered in 1958 by Jesuit researcher Gustavo Le Paige, after two thousand years of sleep under the desert sands.

So, motivated by curiosity, we decided to visit this emblematic place located only 10 kilometres southwest of San Pedro de Atacama, and take a trip back in time to the year 800 B.C., when this village was born under the protection of the salt mountain range and its infinite dunes.

The tour begins inside an exact replica of the mud, straw and llama hide huts that once dominated the landscape. According to what the guide, a member of the Ayllú de Coyo who manages this attraction, tells us, the village was made up of 30 circular structures similar to the one we visited, which were connected to each other to fulfil different functions within the community. In addition to pottery, the villagers also developed a rich agricultural activity thanks to the waters of the San Pedro River that used to flow through the area.

After the talk, we are led along a wooden path that allows us to get a closer look at the remains of the village. Direct contact with the ruins is absolutely forbidden and on our visit we do not intend to break this rule. From the viewpoint at the end of the path, we take some beautiful photos and try to imagine what life must have been like for the inhabitants 2800 years ago.