Near Toconao lies one of the most visited lagoons of San Pedro de Atacama, the Chaxa Lagoon. This lagoon is formed by a large amount of salt that provides a home to a special flora on the edges, which adapted to the saline and desert climate. Thanks to the effects of the sun and the flora, the landscape is covered in a golden color that is most fascinating at dusk and dawn. One of the main attractions of the lagoon is the sight of the colonies of protected flamingos which inhabit the region, and that at certain times of the day fly over the area in a beautiful display of color.

   

The Chaxa Lagoon is located at a central point of the Atacama Desert. It is located just 7 km. from Toconao and a little less than 50 km. from San Pedro de Atacama. It belongs to the Protection System of wild areas of CONAF, being part of the Flamingos National Reserve. It is probably one of the best places in Chile to see flamingos, along with the Salar de Surire in the Arica and Parinacota Region.

The Chaxa Lagoon is a high plateau lagoon of muddy strata and is not very deep. The lagoon allows the proliferation of microscopic forms and microinvertebrates, the basis of the diet of the flamingo family and other birds that live or pass through Chaxa.

 

There is not a great amount of flora and fauna surrounding Chaxa, due to the reigning heat, the great fluctuations of temperature at day and at night, and the salt of the place. Only some grasses grow at the edge of the salt flat. Laguna Chaxa is located in a desert climate. Rainfall in summer is a little more frequent and the average maximum is 3 mm.

There is a very valuable avifauna, this is the reason for the existence of the unit that protects Chaxa: to conserve the diversity, to protect the habitat and food chain of the birds. Among the main birds that can be seen in Chaxa are the Caiti, the Andean Gull, the Puna Plover, the Harrier, and the Baird's Sandpiper.

 

There are other species besides birds, such as the culpeo fox, tuco-tuco mouse, olivaceous mouse, and two species of reptiles endemic to the Salar de Atacama.