Playa La Virgen
Bahía Inglesa, Atacama Region, Chile
Playa La Virgen curves into a sheltered, horseshoe shaped bay on Chile's Atacama coast, about forty minutes south of Bahía Inglesa, and the shape of the bay is what makes it special. It blocks enough wind and current that the turquoise water stays calm even when the open coast nearby is choppy, and Navy certified lifeguards work the beach in summer, a rarity on this stretch of desert coastline.
The calm, sheltered water is genuinely rare for this coastline, but rising popularity has brought parking complaints and a beach that no longer feels like the well kept secret locals once had to themselves.
How we score beachesGo on a weekday if you can. Word has spread fast in the last couple of years, and January weekends now bring crowds and parking headaches that didn't exist here a few summers ago.
The final stretch in on road C-302 from Bahía Inglesa is unpaved, about thirty five kilometers and forty minutes by car. There's a managed camping area with a shaded lot, and it's worth knowing ahead that public transit doesn't really reach this far, a car is close to essential.
The developed camping area includes concrete grills and lighting at each site, along with a shaded parking area close to the sand, a step up from the rougher access at some nearby Atacama beaches.
Only small dogs on leashes have been allowed here since 2018, a rule put in place to protect the foxes, chinchillas, and other wildlife that live around the bay.
The Atacama coast stays mild and dry nearly all year, but January and February are when the crowds show up, young groups early in January and families by February. Outside those two months you'll likely have the bay closer to yourself.
More South America beaches
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Baía do Sancho
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Praia do Satu
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