A quick guide to sandboarding in the Atacama desert in Chile

Do you love winter and the smell of fresh snow? You are crazy about snowboarding and can’t wait every year for the first white fluff, so you can take your beloved board for a ride? But what do you do when you happen to be in the middle of a desert in January melting in the sun while the peaks of Aspen or the Alps shine bright white?

According to the saying “If you don’t have what you like, you like what you have”, I have found an equally excellent alternative to enjoy boarding down a hill. And I must admit that this saying is not valid anymore, because SANDBOARDING in Atacama can be as great as snowboarding. Well, maybe just a little bit more exhausting when you have you climb back that oh! so mighty dune.

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Where to go sandboarding in the Atacama

So, where you can do something as crazy as that in Chile? Although the Atacama desert is not as sandy as the Sahara (where by the way you can discover a brand new dimension of boarding), you still can find some amazing spots with dunes. One of those places is just outside of Antofagasta, where the locals sport sandboarding.

In this place, you need to bear in mind, you won’t find any first aid points or teachers and you will be the only one responsible for yourself. Just so you know. You can still enjoy it even if you don’t board while watching the sun hiding in the Pacific. This is an amazing place where the desert meets the ocean.

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