Indigenous Desert Experience, San Pedro de Atacama

Step into the living traditions of the Lickanantay people with an immersive cultural experience at an intercultural family home: Turi Kunza. Guided by a local host, you'll explore an ayllu (traditional community) to discover how life in the Atacama Desert has evolved while preserving ancient customs. Walk alongside llamas, learn ancestral practices, and hear stories that connect past and present. Back at Turi Kunza, you'll engage in hands-on pottery, explore the uses of desert herbs, and sample traditional products derived from local crops, like carob and quinoa.

Highlights

• Walk through a traditional ayllu with a Lickanantay guide and llamas
• Learn ancestral pottery techniques using traditional tools
• Discover the uses and meanings of native desert herbs
• Taste traditional Atacameño foods and herbal infusions
• Gain insight into daily life, history, and evolving cultural traditions
  
  

What you'll do

Your experience begins with a guided walk through an ayllu, a traditional Atacameño community where heritage and modern life intersect. Accompanied by a Lickanantay host (and llamas!), you'll follow quiet dirt trails lined with desert trees and shrubs, corn fields, and adobe or stone houses. Along the way, your guide shares personal stories and knowledge of local flora and fauna, explaining how plants are used for food, medicine, construction, and ceremonies, and how daily life has adapted over time.

The walk leads to Turi Kunza, where you'll help to preserve ancestral craftsmanship through a hands-on pottery experience. Guided by Gonzalo, grandson of renowned artisan Isidora Ayavire, you'll learn traditional techniques passed down through generations. Using tools like polishing stones and animal bones, you'll help shape and refine a clay vessel, gaining a deeper appreciation for the time and care that go into each piece.

You'll then dive into the world of desert botanicals as Gonzalo introduces you to a selection of native herbs, each with its cultural significance and practical uses. You'll explore their textures and aromas while learning how they've supported life in this arid environment for centuries. The experience concludes with a tasting of herbal infusions and traditional foods made from local ingredients like corn, chañar, carob, and quinoa, connecting you to the region's history and the families who continue to sustain it.