Five-day road trip through the high Atacama plains (Puna de Atacama)
Approximate driving distance: 1,500 km
IMPORTANT: This trip can start in Salta airport (Argentina) or in Calama airport (Chile)
This trip could start in Salta (Argentina), or San Pedro de Atacama (Chile) covering the same distance every day.
5 day/6 nights | Argentina / optionally Chile
At a glance
The feeling of being in an extraterrestrial environment is recurrent.
A guided and expeditionary road trip of four nights, to the highest desert landscapes in the world, strange as the surface of Mars and almost the same surface of the U.K.
This expedition allows you to explore a unique region in the world.
The plateau of the High Andes called, Puna de Atacama, stretches across Argentina and Chile (and then continues also into Bolivia), it is as inaccessible as the Amazon or the Antarctica.
Few destinations have affected us so much; it is a vast and desolate landscape of extreme climates, an absolute and primitive place, of a strange beauty, where the silence is so extraordinary that it amazes.
The region has almost none population in the past: some Inca ruins hanging from the volcanic peaks. Today a bunch of villages only populates it.
This trip can be done all year round, although it is advisable to avoid the winter months in the Southern Hemisphere (June-September) when the international passage sometimes could be closed.
Salta - Tolar Grande – (or San Pedro de Atacama – Tolar Grande)
The path ascends to the highlands of the Andes, above 3,500 meters above sea level, continuing through gorges and conical volcanoes and rounded zeros.
You will feel the strong sensation of traveling on Mars as you cross some rust red gorges and exceptional red formations.
In the impressive desert El Mal y Los Rojos (Desierto del Diablo and Los Colorados), you will feel eager to return to see these extraterrestrial sites again.
In the afternoon, will arriving at the hamlet of Tolar Grande, a small railway town, 3,500 meters over see level and spend two nights in a modest but cozy hotel.
Today's tour, partially paved and gravel road, will take 6 to 8 hours, depending on your stops, as you will be tempted to get out of the vehicle at the many scenic spots along the way.
Driving distance: From Salta: 350 km (170 on paved road) / From San Pedro de Atacama: 390 km (95 on paved road.
Exploring the Puna from Tolar Grande
Go through a giant depression, the "Salar de Arizaro" towards the "Cordillera del Límite".
We will drive along a road surrounded by a desert salt flat, as large as the surface of Luxembourg, where only a few bacteria can live.
In front, raises the mountain range that divides Argentina from Chile, an infinite horizon of volcanoes of more than 6,000 meters.
At the end of the trail, at 4,200 meters above sea level, surrounded by volcanoes and salt lakes, the scenery is amazing, believe us, it will feel as if you were being moved to Mars.
In that desolation, a unique ghost town, an abandoned mine amidst sulphuric mountains is a surreal place.
In that desolation, a unique ghost town, an abandoned mine between sulfuric mountains is a surrealistic spot.
Driving distance: 250km (gravel road).
Crossing the Puna: Tolar Grande - El Peñon
Surprise yourself with a black basalt pyramid, emerging from a white salt desert: the "Cone of Arita".
The object is so perfect that it’s hard to believe it’s an exclusive product of nature.
The footprint goes up and down and the views are so amazing that you forget where you’re going and where you’re coming from. Small herds of vicuñas, llamas and donkeys cross us along the way.
We will arrive at an oasis in the middle of nowhere populated by just 50 people, where a few hundred-year-old adobe dwellings line up on the dusty streets.
Here some local family will offer us a picnic.
Later the road climbs abruptly to extreme heights to descend again between volcanic basalt cones.
We will end the day in “El Peñón”, a quiet village where 300 people live, at 3,400 meters above sea level with traditional adobe houses and a small square.
Accommodation in a boutique hotel.
Driving distance: 300km.
Leaving the Puna: El Peñon - Tafi del Valle
We will continue to a vast desert of twisted pumice stone where you will stroll through silent canyons and wind-eroded cracks.
Then we descend from the heights of the altiplano and start to circulate along the mythical Route 40 through small villages with a rich folklore tradition, Inca ruins, wineries and wild landscapes.
Finally, we will reach “Tafi del Valle”, a strategic point between the forests of the lowlands and the mountainous valleys.
Accommodation in a rural establishment.
Distance distance: 350km.
Crossing the Puna: Tafi del Valle - Tucuman
This day we definitely left the heights.
A scenic ledge road to descend 1,700 meters in just 45 km. through the sub-Andean jungle.
The tour ends in the city of Tucumán.
Driving distance: 150km.
The price includes:
Two drivers during the entire trip, all their expenses such as accommodation, food, beverages, etc, gasoline up to 1.600 km and all car or van expenses. Maximum 5 people.
It is not included
Meals during the expedition
Accommodation
National Park entrance fee
Excursions (boats, horse ridings, etc)
Other personal expenses.
