Rainbow Valley & Yerbas Buenas Petroglyphs Tour
A 6-hour morning tour with Puka Rumi Travel Agency: an hour's drive north of San Pedro de Atacama to the mineral-striped hills of Valle del Arcoíris, then the Yerbas Buenas petroglyph field. Breakfast in the desert is included; two entrance fees of 5,000 CLP each are not.
The Rainbow Valley tour is the Atacama trip most visitors have never heard of, which is exactly its appeal — while every van in town is queuing for Valle de la Luna at sunset, this one drives north into the Domeyko range at 7 AM and finds hills striped green, red, white and ochre by copper, iron and salt in the rock. The second half is older still: Yerbas Buenas, a scatter of boulders covered in petroglyphs carved by people who crossed this desert with llama caravans, including animals that do not live here and never did, which tells you how far those caravans went. Six hours door to door, back in San Pedro by early afternoon. Among the San Pedro de Atacama day tours it is the one to book when you have a free morning and have already done the headline sights, and it is one of 26 tours in our Atacama Desert tours catalog.
- Mineral-striped hills of Valle del Arcoíris, about an hour north of San Pedro
- Yerbas Buenas petroglyph field, carved by llama-caravan traders
- Breakfast in the desert included
- Morning tour — back in town by early afternoon
- No altitude problem: the route tops out around 2,400 m
Rainbow Valley Tour: Quick Facts
Read from the tour's Viator listing on 6 August 2026. Fields the listing does not state are marked unconfirmed.
- Starting price
- $51 per person
- Duration
- 6 hours
- Departure
- 7:00 AM, fixed departure
- Hotel pickup
- Pickup offered; if your hotel is outside the pickup area the meeting point is Plaza Turistur
- Meeting point
- Plazoleta La Apacheta, San Pedro de Atacama
- Languages
- English, Spanish
- Group size
- Maximum 18 travelers
- Physical difficulty
- Easy — short walks at the two stops
- Entrance fees
- NOT included — Rainbow Valley 5,000 CLP and Yerbas Buenas 5,000 CLP, paid on the day
- Food and drinks
- Breakfast included
- Cancellation
- Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start time; If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
- Minimum age
- Infant seats available; not recommended for pregnant travellers
- Operator
- Puka Rumi Travel Agency
- Booked through
- Viator
- Stops
- Valle Arcoíris (about 3 hours) and Yerbas Buenas petroglyphs (about 3 hours)
- Wheelchair access
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Infants
- Infant seats available; not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Recommended by
- 96% of travelers who reviewed it on Viator
Prices, availability and terms are set by the operator and confirmed at checkout. How we source these fields: editorial methodology.
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Why Choose the Rainbow Valley Tour
It is the Atacama trip without the crowd
Valle de la Luna takes thousands of people a week. Rainbow Valley takes a van. It sits about an hour north of San Pedro in the Cordillera de Domeyko, well off the standard circuit, and the colour is real geology rather than a trick of the light: copper turns the rock green, iron turns it red and rust, and salt and gypsum leave the white bands between them.
Because it runs in the morning rather than at sunset, it also does not compete with anything else you have booked. You are back in San Pedro by early afternoon with the evening free.
Yerbas Buenas is the reason to take the guide
The petroglyph field is a scatter of boulders you could walk past without noticing, and without someone pointing them out you will see a fraction of what is there. The carvings include llamas, foxes, birds, human figures — and animals from outside the desert, left by caravans that traded between the coast, the altiplano and the Amazon side of the Andes.
This is also where guide quality shows. Reviews of this tour praise named guides — Chris, Christóbal, Daniel, Lorena — by name and at length. One two-star review says the opposite: that the group was mixed across languages and the guide spoke mostly Spanish despite an English listing. Both are on the record below.
Budget for the entrance fees, and check the listing's own numbers
Two fees are excluded and paid on the day: 5,000 CLP for Rainbow Valley and 5,000 CLP for Yerbas Buenas — roughly $5 each at current rates, so about $10 per person on top of the $51 fare.
Worth knowing: the Viator listing writes these as "$6,250 USD ($5,000 CLP)", which is a currency-conversion error on the platform, not a real price. Nobody is charging $6,250 to see a petroglyph. Bring Chilean pesos in cash for both.
How the 6 Hours Break Down
The operator's own stop list and dwell times; timings are subject to change.
-
7:00 AM
Fixed departure from San Pedro
Pickup is offered. If your accommodation is outside the pickup area, the meeting point is Plaza Turistur; all tours end at Plaza Touristur.
-
About 1 hour
Drive north into the Domeyko range
Out of the oasis and into the ranges north of San Pedro, away from the standard tourist circuit.
-
About 3 hours
Valle Arcoíris
The striped hills themselves — copper green, iron red, gypsum white — with time to walk and photograph. Entrance 5,000 CLP, paid here.
-
About 3 hours
Yerbas Buenas petroglyphs
The carved boulder field, with the guide working through what the figures are and who left them. Entrance 5,000 CLP, paid here.
-
Return
Back to Plazoleta La Apacheta
Roughly an hour's drive back to San Pedro de Atacama.
Who This Tour Suits
Good fit
Travellers on their second or third day who have done the headline sights, anyone interested in archaeology, and people who cannot or should not go high.
- You want a morning tour that leaves the rest of the day open
- Altitude is a problem for you — this route stays around 2,400 m
- You are interested in rock art and pre-Hispanic trade routes
- You want somewhere that is not full of other tours
Look elsewhere if
This is a landscape-and-history morning, not a spectacle.
- You have one day only — do Valle de la Luna or El Tatio first
- You want lagoons and flamingos — see the lagoon tours
- You need a guaranteed English-only group; reviews report mixed-language departures
- You are pregnant, or need wheelchair access — the operator excludes both
Who Runs and Sells This Tour
- Operated by
- Puka Rumi Travel Agency
- Booking handled by
- Viator
- Payment taken by
- Viator
- Cancellation terms set by
- The operator, through Viator
Puka Rumi runs several of the tours we list, including the Piedras Rojas full-day trip and the Ruta de los Salares. It is a high-volume San Pedro agency, and its reviews reflect that: mostly strong, with a recurring note about mixed-language groups. We have not travelled with the operator or verified any registration beyond what it publishes on its listing.
One thing to know about this particular link: the product code behind it used to sell a different tour — a stargazing trip — and the operator has since reassigned it. What you book today is the Rainbow Valley morning described on this page.
We do not sell this tour, take payment for it, or set its terms. We list it, check its published details, and link to the platform that handles the booking. If you book through that link we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
Traveler Rating and Our Editorial View
Traveler rating
4.8/5
from 120 Viator reviews · checked 2026-08-06
4.8 from 120 Viator reviews, with 96% of reviewers recommending it. The praise is consistently about the guides and the scenery; the strongest criticism, a two-star review, is about mixed-language groups on a tour sold in English.
- Value for money7/10$51 plus about $10 in fees for a 6-hour guided morning with breakfast.
- Itinerary quality8/10Two substantial stops of roughly three hours each — no rushing between photo points.
- Operator transparency6/10Fees are declared, but the listing prints them with a currency error, and the language mix is not mentioned.
- Cancellation flexibility9/10Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start.
- Group size5/10Up to 18 travelers — a full van.
- Altitude accessibility10/10About 2,400 m, so it works on your first day or with altitude problems.
- Uniqueness9/10The only tour we list that covers rock art, and one of the few off the standard circuit.
What to Bring
Cash first, then sun
The two entrance fees are the thing people arrive without.
- 10,000 CLP in cash per person for the two entrances
- SPF 50+, sunglasses, a wide-brim hat — the morning sun at this altitude is brutal even when the air is cool
- A layer for the 7 AM start; it warms up fast
- Closed shoes for the walk at both stops
- Water — there is nowhere to buy any on the route
Similar Day Tours
Other half- and full-day trips from San Pedro that need no acclimatisation.
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Questions About the Rainbow Valley Tour
How much are the Rainbow Valley entrance fees?
5,000 CLP for Rainbow Valley and 5,000 CLP for Yerbas Buenas, both paid in cash on the day — roughly $10 per person in total. Neither is included in the $51 fare. The Viator listing prints them as "$6,250 USD", which is a conversion error on the platform rather than the real price.
How high does the Rainbow Valley tour go?
Around 2,400 m, barely above San Pedro itself. That makes it one of the few tours here you can safely do on your first day, unlike El Tatio at 4,300 m or the altiplano lagoons at 4,200 m.
Is the tour in English?
It is sold in English and Spanish, and the guides are bilingual. One reviewer reports being placed in a mixed-language group where the guide spoke mostly Spanish and translated occasionally. If a fully English departure matters to you, ask the operator to confirm before booking.
What are the Yerbas Buenas petroglyphs?
A field of carved boulders left by people moving llama caravans across the desert. The figures include llamas, foxes, birds and human forms, plus animals from outside the Atacama — evidence of how far those trade routes ran. It is one of the larger accessible rock-art sites in northern Chile.
Can I combine this with another tour the same day?
Yes. It leaves at 7 AM and returns by early afternoon, which leaves the evening free for a Valle de la Luna sunset tour or a stargazing session. It is one of the easiest tours here to stack.
What Travelers Say
Amazing scenery and Chris our guide was so knowledgeable and enthusiastic. Highly recommend if you have a morning free in San Pedro de Atacama. Great breakfast and music too.
Views were stunning, petroglyphs fascinating. Christobal was very knowledgeable and terrific. This trip was a highlight for me. Would recommend to anyone.
I joined 5 tours in Atacama through Viator and 3 were under this same company Pukarumi. I was very disappointed with 2 of the tours and this is one of them. While the description says tour is in English, be prepared that they mix you with other people and 90% of the time the guide was speaking in Spanish.
Reviews published on Viator, read on 6 August 2026. We do not collect or moderate them, and we include the critical ones.
Page last reviewed 2026-08-06. Price, rating and review count read from the listing on 2026-08-06. Prices, availability and terms are set by the operator and confirmed at checkout.
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