Puna de Atacama Tour

Our Puna de Atacama tour is the adventure you must do if you want to get really off the beaten track. This is a very specialised tour that does come at a premium but it is an experience you will never forget!

We customise all of our tours to give the very best experience to each and every customer. Below is a five-day example itinerary.

Please fill in the contact form to the right for us to put together a specially customised tour for you!

Day 1:

We will start the day by picking you up from your hotel in Salta and making our way south through the lush tobacco fields to the beautiful Quebrada de las Conchas stopping at all of the points of interest along the way including the Garganta del Diablo (Devils Throat) and the spectacular viewpoint of Tres Cruzes. We will continue to see some amazing rock structures of unbelievable colour variations along the gorge before we break into the Calchaqui valley and where the rock makes way for the beautiful green expanses of vineyards. After a quick lunch in Cafayate, we will continue south along the route 40 and visit the Quilmes ruins (the largest pre-Incan ruins in the area). From here we will continue on to the town of Hualfin in the province of Catamarca for our first night.

 

Day 2:

After a good breakfast, we will visit the small colonial church before starting to climb up into the towering Andes Mountains. We will climb a huge amount this second-day passing beautiful lagoons surrounded by snow-capped mountains and if we are lucky we may come across some of the local wildlife along the way. After a packed lunch we will go on to see the Laguna Grande known to be a great place to see flamencos in their natural habitat before going on to Vulcan Galan, the biggest volcanoes in the world. After seeing all of this breathtaking scenery you will be ready for a rest in your accommodation in El Penon.

Day 3:

Once you have had your breakfast and refuelled for the day we will make our way through the otherworldly scenes of Piedra Pomez made up of wildly carved pumice stone produced by volcanic activity in the region. From here we will carry onto the town of Antofagasta de la Sierra where we will stop for lunch. In the afternoon you can spend your time relaxing and visiting the local museum or we can take you to visit the local Incan Fortress (known locally as a Pucara) from where you will be able to appreciate the amazing views over the high plains.

Day 4:

Today we will continue north through the Puna lagoons making our way to the Salar de Antofalla and onto the awe-inspiring Cono de Arita. This small cone is the iconic image of the Puna region and you can quite understand why some think it was formed by alien beings. We will have a chance to walk around here and take photos from the surrounding salt flat before we make our way on to the small town of Tolar Grande where we will spend the night.

Day 5:

From the town of Tolar Grande, we will visit the Ojos del Mar (deep blue ponds within the salt flats) before moving on northward through the Desierto del Diablo (Devils desert) made up of strikingly red sandstone rock to the height of 4700 meters above sea level at the Abra del Gallo pass. From the pass, we will make our way down to the iconic Polvorilla Bridge which the Train to the clouds visits three times a week. From this point, we will follow the tracks of the “Tren a las Nubes” all the way down to Salta. After stopping in San Antonio de los Cobres for lunch we will make our way down to the ruins of Santa Rosa de Tastil where we will stop and explore. After wandering the dry stone walls of the ruins we will continue on to the vast colourful expanse of the Quebrada Del Toro and wind our way down to Campo Quijano known locally as the gateway to the Andes. From here we will have a short drive back to Salta where we will drop you at your hotel for a well-earned rest.

The above Itinerary is based on the five-day trip which allows for lots of time to explore but does not include everything that then Puna has to offer. If you would be interested in a longer tour please contact us for more details.

The price for the five day trip starts at US$440 per person this price does not include food, accommodation or additional activities though we are more than happy to arrange your accommodation and any additional activities for you.

Starting price is based on 4 people traveling together in a 4×4 truck. The price of the tour is per vehicle (US$350.00 per day) and does not change depending on the amount of people sharing.

 

5 day tour US$1750.00