Valle de la Luna entrance fee, tickets and opening hours

The Valle de la Luna entrance fee is not a national park fee in the usual sense. Protected as a nature sanctuary since 1982, the valley forms part of the Los Flamencos National Reserve, and Indigenous communities manage its gate together with CONAF, the national forest service.⁵ A decree of the Ministry of Agriculture set up the wider reserve on 17 October 1990, and its rangers now work beside the community staff at the gate.^6,7

The communities behind the ticket are named on the official page. The seller named on the ticket page is the Asociacion Indigena Valle de la Luna, which groups 6 local communities: Coyo, Larache, San Pedro, Sequitor, Solor and Quitor.⁸ In the CONAF wording, the Lickanantay communities share the running of the reserve, and visitors are asked to follow their guidance when entering each sector.⁹

This arrangement is worth understanding before you arrive. It explains why the valley sells its own tickets on its own system, why Atacameno visitors enter on different terms, and why the site can close for community reasons as well as for weather. Chile Travel points out that every sector of the reserve sells its own tickets on its own timetable, so a valley ticket is good for the valley alone.¹⁰

Valle de la Luna tickets in San Pedro de Atacama are sold online, not at a booth on the road. CONAF asks visitors to buy at least a day ahead on the valledelaluna.com system, which leads to the community ticket page.³ Chile Travel goes further in its itinerary advice and suggests buying park tickets several days ahead, as capacity is limited.²⁵

The tickets are bearer tickets rather than tickets in your name, according to the official page.¹¹ That makes life easier for groups: whoever holds the ticket can use it. Visitors who come without an agency or tour operator must enter in a private vehicle and buy their ticket on the same page, and their entry window is from 8 to 16 hours on the winter timetable.²⁴

If you book a tour, read its listing for the ticket rule. Some operators collect passport details for the park entry, such as the small-group tour that asks for each guest's passport name, number and nationality plus the hotel name. Others include the fee outright, as a 9-hour day with Puritama and the valley does. Most simply ask you to arrive with your own ticket bought.

Walking in is not an option. CONAF states that the site cannot be entered on foot and that you need a vehicle, from a bicycle or motorbike to a car or pickup.⁴ The ticket page adds that buggies are refused as well, as are very heavy vehicles and large motor homes.²⁸ Motorbikes may enter between 8 and 16 hours.²⁹

Cyclists have their own window. On the winter timetable of the ticket page they enter from 9:00 to 11:00 and must leave by 15:00.²² Every rider must wear a helmet and a reflective vest, wear shoes suited to cycling and carry water.³⁰ On that timetable a sunset by bike is ruled out: the valley at sunset belongs to visitors in cars and on tours.

Tours enter in their own vehicles and handle the logistics for you. Inside, a park ranger records your details before each hike and explains the route, according to Chile Travel.¹² The interior road of the valley runs 11.8 km, and CONAF puts a full visit along it, with stops at the marked trails, at 4 hours.³¹ On a tour the driver handles the road while you keep your eyes on the ridges.