The village sits at
an altitude of 2400 m at the banks of the Rio San Pedro that feeds the age-old terraced farm fields where the locals grow their
corn and vegetables.
People have lived here for thousands of years and around 500 AD developed the Atacameno Culture, still practiced today by their descendants, the Atacamenos.
The Padre Le Paige Museum, dedicated to the Atacameno history, had several prehistoric artifacts like mummies, skulls and pottery on display but now seems to be closed permanently.
San Pedro's main sight is the Catholic church from the 17th century, build in Spanish colonial style.
After harsh economic times, today San Pedro thrives as a base for the 200.000+ tourists per annum that visit the nearby attractions like the lagunes in the Salar de Atacama, the colorfull Valle de la Luna, the historic Pukara de Quitor and the steam plumes of the El Tatio Geyser.
We spent a few days in San Pedro de Atacama in August 2011.
