Laguna Cejar — Local services in San Pedro de Atacama

A short drive from San Pedro, Laguna Cejar is a beautiful place. You need to book a ticket on the website in advance. You have a one hour slot. The Laguna is being carefully cared for and preserved by the indigenous people in the area; and the limited time means less impact on the beautiful environment.

There are three lagoons, we walked around the first one and then floated in the second one. We didn’t make it to the third as we wanted to spend as much time in the water as possible. We were there in August for the 11am slot and it was chilly. Mornings are for independent travelers and afternoons for guided tours. There are changing areas and showers you can use afterwards, there is a 20 second limit for the shower due to water scarcity. We went back to our Airbnb to shower which seemed easier. You cannot wear sunscreen in the Laguna due to the environmental impact, this conflicts with information on their website when translated to English.

This was a beautiful and calming experience, floating in the arid landscape of Atacama.

Please don’t be put off by other reviewers. Local people are doing all they can to share the Laguna whilst limiting human impact. It’s a must...

Let me set the scene - turned up to Lagoon Cejar without realizing you could ONLY buy a ticket online. We take responsibility for that mistake completely. However, the experience was so bad, to the point of dehumanizing, as we were instructed (rudely and dismissively) to sit on a bench outside the office while our friends went through the experience. When we asked if we could walk to a viewpoint just beyond the parking lot, we were told no. And heavily watched by the staff to ensure we didn’t leave our designated holding area. I’ve never met a manager of a tourist attraction who was so belittling, condescending, and downright nasty towards those who simply wanted to enjoy and appreciate the natural beauty of the area - and were willing to pay to do just that. The female staff showed a bit more compassion, but overall it was clear if you did not have a ticket, you were not welcome and you would be made to feel like you don’t exist.

In short, buy a ticket online but expect to meet the rudest manager you’ll come across in South America.

And if you do end up going, tell him thank you from the two travelers left to stare at dirt and play...

Not worth the money! Avoid it's a total tourist trap. It costs 18 usd for one hour to see three little lakes and to take a photo floating on the water. We were almost not allowed to visit the place. We bought our tickets without knowing it was just for an hour. We thought the time of arrival was more flexible and as the road was quite bad we arrived later and they weren't going to let us in even though there weren't that many people. We bagged for ages and finally they let us pass but we weren't allowed to swim in the lake. We hoped we could maybe have a little dip anyway but the person in charge warned the other workers that we we not allowed to swim and he was watching us with binoculars all the while making sure we wouldn't swim. We asked the guy who was watching the swimmy area if there was any chance we could just have a dip but he said he could lose his job. So we just walked around the tiny...