Valle de la Muerte

The Valle de la Muerte cuts into the Cordillera de la Sal just outside San Pedro, a narrow valley of red rock walls with a floor of fine sand, and its name is a long-running argument: the Belgian priest and archaeologist Gustave Le Paige is usually credited with calling it Valle de Marte, the Mars valley, for the colour and the terrain, with the name later mangled into Muerte by Spanish speakers - the version told locally, and not documented beyond that. The big dune on its western side is used for sandboarding, and the valley is close enough to San Pedro to be cycled to.

What you actually see

• Red walls and a sand floor - a narrow cut in the salt range.
• A name that may be a mishearing - Marte turning into Muerte.
• A large sandboarding dune - on the western side.
• Close enough to cycle - a few kilometres from San Pedro.

When to go

Year round, late afternoon for the light and the temperature. Half a day.

Honest expectations

Sandboarding is harder and more tiring than it looks - the climb back up the dune is the work. There is no water or shade. Access is ticketed and timed. The heat in the middle of the day is serious.

Nearby

Valle de la Luna adjoins it; San Pedro is minutes east.