Toconao

Toconao is built from liparita, a soft white volcanic stone quarried nearby, which gives the village a completely different colour to the brown adobe of San Pedro - the walls, the church and the eighteenth century bell tower are all the same pale stone. The tower stands separate from the church of San Lucas, an arrangement found in several altiplano villages. Behind the village the Quebrada de Jere is a narrow gorge with a stream running through it, terraced and planted with figs, pomegranates, quince and pears, which is startling after an hour of driving through absolute desert. The village is Atacameño and administers its own sites.

What you actually see

• A village of white volcanic stone - quarried locally, unlike adobe San Pedro.
• A bell tower standing apart - separate from the church of San Lucas.
• The Quebrada de Jere - a planted gorge of figs and pomegranates.
• Community administration - the Atacameño village runs its own sites.

When to go

Year round; the fruit in Jere ripens in the southern summer. Half a day.

Honest expectations

The village is small and quiet - an hour covers it outside the gorge. The gorge is charged separately and has limited hours. Services are minimal. Most visits come through as part of a tour to the lagoons further south.

Nearby

Laguna Chaxa is on the salar west; Socaire and the high lagoons are south.