ALTIPLANO TOURS AND AGENCE DE VOYAGEDESTINATIONS TOURISTIQUES AU NORD CHILI

  Mayuru Tour far exceeded our expectations, introducing us to the unforgettable landscapes around San Pedro de Atacama and in the Chilean Altiplano. Our guides were superb–translator/guide Maggie and driver/guide Mario… read more in the Altiplano, guides Felipe and Mauricio in San Pedro. They all introduced us to places we would never have encountered on our own. Highest recommendation to Mayuru Tour. They know the territory. With them, we got a real sense of what must be some of the most extraordinary places on earth.

  We booked this tour to see the Salr de Surire and the volcanoes en route, since we suspected that we did not have enough fuel to do this trip with… read more our rent-a-car (we did do Chungara on our own). Our Spanish is almost non-existent, as was our guide’s English, but this was not a hindrance to having a great time – our guide stopped the van everytime we found something interesting. Volcán Guallatiri was smoking at the time, and we got some good photos of this, we stopped at various places around the Salar itself, including the Termas de Polloquere where we had our packed lunch. Lots of flamingoes (Andean and Puna), tinamou, rhea, vicuñas and vizcachas – a brilliant day out.

  My husband and I had a hard time finding a one-day tour to Lauca National Park from Arica. Mayuru came through for us though! We were picked up at the… read more exact time they said they’d be at the hotel by an English translator (Maggie) and a Spanish-speaking driver/guide (Mario). They immediately made us feel welcomed. The vehicle was clean and well-maintained and Mario was a safe driver. We learned a lot about the towns around Lauca in addition to the park. Our tour also included breakfast and lunch. There was a lot of road construction going on up the mountain but Mario knew the time slots to keep us from having to wait an additional hour to get through the construction. We thoroughly enjoyed the private aspect of the tour and getting to learn about the culture through Maggie and Mario. Highly recommended! The company is also great with email response.

  Nous avons passé 3 jours et demi avec cette agence. Arica-Putre, -lac de Chungara-village de Parinacota- Salar de Surire- Cariquima-Humberstone-Iquique. Le voyage a été personnalisé suivant nos souhaits.
Ce voyage… read more s’est passé en mars 2019 soit moins d’un mois après les pluies exceptionnelles de février 2019.
Notre guide, Francisco originaire de Putre, a fait preuve de très grand professionnalisme, prudence et connaissance parfaite du terrain. Il a su s’adapter à nos demandes raisonnables et bien que nous parlions très peu la langue espagnole, nous avons créé des liens humains très forts.
4 jours qui resterons marqués dans nos mémoires.
Je recommande vivement l’agence Mayuru.

  We booked this tour to see the Salr de Surire and the volcanoes en route, since we suspected that we did not have enough fuel to do this trip with… read more our rent-a-car (we did do Chungara on our own). Our Spanish is almost non-existent, as was our guide's English, but this was not a hindrance to having a great time – our guide stopped the van everytime we found something interesting. Volcán Guallatiri was smoking at the time, and we got some good photos of this, we stopped at various places around the Salar itself, including the Termas de Polloquere where we had our packed lunch. Lots of flamingoes (Andean and Puna), tinamou, rhea, vicuñas and vizcachas – a brilliant day out.

  I highly recommend this agency to visit the stunning Altiplanic region around Putre. We did 3-day private tour with the wonderful guide Francisco who knows everything about the region. The… read more agency is very professional and the tour was tailored on the basis of our request with no strict times or rush. Definitely recommended!!

  Had three days two nights booked missed my flight got in late so couldn’t go on the first tour but (Maryanne?) met me and gave me a personal tour… read more of San Pedro, next day I rejoined the tour. Excellent tour in this touristy corner of Chile well worth the cost, much cheaper than getting a similar tour organised from Australia. Can recommend unreservedly.

  Une agence familiale à très fortement recommander.
Nous sommes partis d’Arica jusqu’à San Pedro de Atacama pendant 8 jours et l’organisation était vraiment parfaite. De la réservation des hôtels,… read more des repas et en passant par Alfonso notre guide chauffeur en 4X4, tout était vraiment top !
Gabriel le fils du patron de cette petite agence parle couramment le français et vous organisera un tour sur mesure simplement par e-mail.
Les prix sont tout à fait corrects par rapport aux prestations fournies et aussi par rapport à la concurrence.
En conclusion, je recommande à 200% Mayuru Tours.

  We had an amazing time thanks to our guide Juan and our driver Roberto! The scenery was beautiful and the tour was well-planned.

  Excellent! Thank you so much Mayuru. I loved this trip. The service – from first emails to the tour guide & driver – was excellent. Everyone was friendly,… read more helpful, knowledgeable, professional and efficient. I have actually done this trip twice in 3 years because the the scenery is stunning and Mayuru make it possible to see all of its beauty without large crowds or coaches.
I am a female solo traveller and I felt totally safe and very well looked after the whole time. Thank you so much. It was the perfect trip, and I would do it all again without any hesitation.

  Precioso el tour y la agencia muy responsable, el conductor muy prudente para manejar y muy instruido en toda la historia que conlleva el recorrido. Lo recomiendo al 100%.

  First the landscape from Arica-Putre-Colchane-San Pedro de Atacama is really beautiful.
Seconde the organisation and the tour self was well organized, I can really recommend it. I absolutly enjoyed and… read more was very satisfied.
Many thanks to Mayuru Team, so I could realized my plan. Muchas Gracias

  Fui con mi esposo a San Pedro de Atacama a celebrar mi cumpleaños, y gracias a Mayuru Tours ha sido el mejor cumpleaños de mi vida. La atención, desde Gabriel,… read more los guías de los tours, el hotel, la gente del hotel, la atención de María Cecilia en San Pedro fue increíble. Repetiría mi viaje con ellos y los recomendaré a amigos y gente que quieran ir. ¡Gracias! ¡Fue simplemente asombroso!

  Unsere Familie (3 Erwachsene) erlebte während einer Woche im November 2019 eine einzigartige Zeit während einer Reise von Calama über San Pedro de Atacama über Pica nach Colchane an die… read more bolivianische Grenze nach Putre ins chilenische Altiplano bis 4700m Höhe und hinüber nach Arica an die peruanische Grenze zusammen mit unseren Begleitern Helmut und Francisco von Mayurutours. Außerhalb jeglichen Massentourismus taucht man dank der Obhut des Driverguides in eine atemberaubende Natur der Pflanzen, Tiere, Berge, Vulkane und heißen Quellen der Anden dorthin ein, wo leider nur noch wenige Einheimische leben und sich keine Touristen bewegen. Helmut erklärte uns in fließender englischer Sprache alle Besonderheiten, sorgte für gute Verpflegung und beste Unterkünfte am jeweiligen Ort und erfüllte all unsere individuellen Wünsche oft bis zum Pisco sour um Mitternacht. Wir danken Helmut und Francisco für dieses grandiose Abenteuer in stets sicherer und familiärer Atmosphäre.

  We used Mayuru Tours for a 5 day/4 night trip through the Chilean Altiplano from Arica to San Pedro de Atacama. Overall the private tour was well organized, the guide/… read more driver was courteous and professional and the Altiplano beautiful.

Preplanning – For our travels through the Chilean Altiplano I was looking for a company to get us from Arica in the very far north of Chile to the popular desert gateway of San Pedro de Atacama. Not many companies service this area and it was difficult to find a company that would answer my emails. Even the folks at Mayuru Tours would take more than a week to respond. With a little persistence, however, we were able to arrange a tour that met our needs. I should also mention that the tour was one of their set itineraries with very little deviation. On the plus side, they do have numerous options to choose from.

Guide – Francisco was extremely professional and courteous. He spoke only Spanish, but spoke slowly and clearly such that even Don who speaks very little Spanish, was able to understand most things he said without my translating them by the end of the trip.

Itinerary – This was a driving tour, so there were a lot of hours in the car. The landscape is beautiful, but it’s a lot of short stops. Many of the sights are not must-sees, but if you are interested in this area of Chile it is a good way to see it. They sent us a detailed itinerary, in English, with what we would see each day. Any minor deviations in this itinerary were discussed with us beforehand. Also beware that several days are at high altitude, so it is wise to acclimate before beginning this trip.

Food and Accommodations – This is not a high-end tour. Hotels and restaurants in this region are basic. I think they arranged the best that they could, but there just isn’t much to choose from. That said, rooms were generally clean and comfortable and the food fine.

Transportation – The vehicle was a 4×4 Toyota Hilux, comfortable, in good condition and able to handle the rough roads. We had no transportation difficulties. Francisco was an excellent driver. In fact he had driven trucks for the mining companies for many years before becoming a tour driver and had an intimate knowledge of the roads, hotels and restaurants along the route.

Cost and Payment – We paid 733USD/person. This covered most everything except for a few small entry fees and dinner in Pica. The same tour with an English speaking guide would have cost 956USD/person. No deposit was required. We paid in cash when we met our guide and driver on the first morning.

Final Thought – I would definitely use Mayuru Tours again and think that overall the trip was a good value for the money.

  I guided a 13 Day Atacama tour from March 4-15 this year. I contracted a van and driver for the tour to go from San Pedro to Putre, with… read more stops in 3 national reserves, the Vicunha NR, Flamingos NR and Lauca National Park and on to Arica, with 3 more full days.

Mario, our driver, and guide excelled in every way. He really knew all the areas we went to and knew people at every stop. I have been operating tours in South America and living in Brazil for 43 years, and have had a lot of drivers. I will now insist in having him drive all our tours from Arica!