Exploring Los Flamencos National Reserve

As we continue our series of adventures in the Atacama Desert of Chile, we are reminded of our time exploring Los Flamencos National Reserve.  The Los Flamencos National Reserve is broken into seven distinct areas, each of which, provide different scenery and landscapes for your viewing pleasure.  Before our trip began, we were told that the Los Flamencos National Reserve was a great way to see flamingos.  We were also told that the Salar de Atacama  would be the best place to see the majority of flamingos that give Los Flamencos National Reserve it’s name.  If you clicked the link and read the post, you would see the beautiful landscapes and sunsets, but no flamingos!  We were disappointed, but found more areas to explore and find flamingos throughout Los Flamencos National Reserve.

We headed out on the open road to explore Los Flamencos National Reserve.  We learned that we were headed East to the salt flats that share borders with Bolivia and Argentina. First stop on this road trip… a quick picture taking opportunity of the mountains in Bolivia.

Good thing we didn’t make a run for Bolivian border or we would have had to cross back into Chile through customs.  How boring must it be to work there?  We were in the middle of no where and saw no other people or even cars.  I guess you have a great view to look forward to every day at work.

The only life we saw while pulled over on the side of the road for a period of time were llamas.  We haven’t seen any of these guys since our trip to Peru.  We watched as the llama gradually grazed through the grass, snacking as he passed by.

After a quick photo session, we were back on the road again heading to the Salar de Pujsa area of Los Flamencos National Reserve.  We finally had arrived at the Salar de Pujsa and were ready to see some flamingos!  We hopped out of the car to the smell of rotten eggs and sulfur.  As the distinct smells filled our nostrils, we couldn’t help but take in the beauty of the Salar de Pujsa.

Wait a minute… What’s that I see in the distance?

Flamingos! Finally the Los Flamencos National Reserve had some flamingos for us to see!

There were so many flamingos that Amanda chose to celebrate this momentous occasion by shouting “flamingos” at the top of her lungs!

We spent a little over an hour here exploring the area, getting close to the flamingos, snapping pictures and generally relaxing while taking in the breathtaking views the Salar de Pujsa had to offer.

As we hiked back up to our vehicle, we couldn’t help but to pause and take in one last glimpse of this spectacular place.

Have you been to Los Flamencos National Reserve?  Have you ever seen flamingos?  Let us know in the comments!