explora is an enterprise founded to encourage a new attitude towards travel, in remote regions of the Southern tip of South America.  explora has two locations: explora en Patagonia, Hotel Salto Chico, in the incredibly rugged and beautiful Torres del Paine National Park of Chile’s Patagonia region, and explora en Atacama in northern Chile’s Atacama Desert.

explora en Atacama

Between the Pacific Ocean and the Cordillera de los Andes, Atacama is an immense extension of land and mystery.  Desert and oasis have been moments of repose and change for pre-Columbian Andean cultures of South of America.  The remains of their past are landmarks in the area; their present sharing with other cultures in the maintenance of their traditions gives life to small towns.  Cordilleras, volcanoes, saltpetreses and hot springs add splendor to culture.  The Atacama culture had an important agricultural development and produced particularly beautiful textiles and metallurgy.  Its lands were crossways of commercial routes between peoples from Bolivia, Argentina and the Pacific coast.  In Atacama it is possible to appreciate multiple features of this history, expressed in archeological monuments, cemeteries, churches and villages.  Its traditions still live in religious festivities, it its crafts and in the local folklore.  

At explora we offer journeys, rather than simply lodges.  Our lodges form part of a greater experience, as each one is designed to be a central point from which you can explore the natural and cultural surroundings in detail.  Each day you can choose from a wide range of explorations. They may be on foot or horseback, or by bicycle; a couple of hours long or a full day; gentle or more physically demanding.  At the end of each exploration, our lodge is always there waiting for you: a place to enjoy and regain the energy you will need to keep on exploring.

Our lodge is located on a plain known as the Ayllu de Larache, once inhabited by an ancient Atacameño community. We have respected the original layout of the land and restored and maintained some of the buildings.  There are 50 rooms housed in three long buildings, positioned to form a central square planted with large trees for ample shade. On the fourth side of the square is the building which houses the lodge’s public spaces. The views from the lodge’s broad terraces enable you to enjoy Atacama’s vast chain of volcanic mountains.  We always favor balance and originality in both our lodge facilities and our cuisine, which travelers truly appreciate when looking for hotels in Atacama. Meals are made with the best-quality ingredients, many of them locally produced.

New Products:

Travesias explora – We are also adding a new product – Travesias explora offers four journeys organized by explora that will take guests into Bolivia, Argentina and Easter Island. 

unds will be offered to Casa Porta-bound travelers, and company will contact guests and travel agencies to assure all are accommodated.

At 8,200 feet above sea level, explora Atacama is set in an Andean landscape of volcanic peaks, salt flats and desert sand. Accompanied by excellent guides, set out into the surreal beauty on any of more than 50 imaginative explorations on foot, horseback or bicycle. Nearby Termas de Puritama, with its eight hot-springs pools, makes for a relaxing place to spend an afternoon. Dine in the restaurant, where delectable cuisine stars local ingredients such as quinoa and chañar fruit. After a day of Atacama adventures, relax in the living area of your elegantly simple guestroom (one of 50) and sink into a luxurious hydromassage bath.

explora also has lodges in Patagonia and Easter Island; choose the explora passport program to save 10% when you combine two or 15% on three lodges plus other extras!Distance from Calama Airport (CJC): 56 mi/90 km