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Purmamarca boasts a Mountain of Seven Colours. There are enornmous salt plains, lakes of many colours and condors against a clear blue sky.
Humahuaca is a bustling town packed with artisan shops, a dramatic town square and often live music in the streets. It provides an interesting comparison to the other towns and villages we visit as we travel.
Getting there
Bolivia and Chile
Next, it’s the the Wilderness of Southern Bolivia, Uyuni, Salt Lakes, volcanoes. From Uyuni, we head out into the vast southern desert to enjoy the starkly beautiful landscapes of this dramatic desert wilderness.
Lakes that change colour, geysers and bizarre rock formations are just some of the highlights of this enormous salt plain.
From here, it’s to Chile and San Pedro de Atacama desert. We explore the varied Atacama landscape. One day you are floating around in the salty Laguna Cejar, the next, gazing at the awesome scenery from atop a salty peak.
- By Road
- By Rail
- By Air
- By Sea
Other Insider Info.
Northern Argentina, Uyuni, Atacama Highlights
Day 1: Arrive Salta, hotel
On arrival at Salta airport you will transferred to your hotel. Depending on your arrival time, the remainder of the day may be spent exploring Salta. The main plaza is a lovely place to while away your time over a coffee, or you can visit some of the beautiful churches, head to a nearby viewpoint or the bustling market.
Day 2: Salinas Grandes - Tilcara (B)
We depart early – there’s a lot to fit in today.
En route to Campo Quijano, we drive stop at Rosa de Tastil, which has some impressive ruins. We continue to climb high into the Andes, the air becoming thinner. As we reach 4,000m above sea level, we will stop at San Antonio de los Cobres, a typical high Andean town.
This is an acclimatisation day, and you’ll need to take it slowly as we make it to the amazing Salinas Grandes, a huge salt lake from which the locals harvest the salt. Your guide explains the process and there will be chances to buy some local crafts sculpted from the salt.
Back in the van, we drive to Pumamarca and its famous rainbow coloured rocks – the mountain of seven colours. A great photo opportunity. We round the day off by heading to Tilcara and our hosteria for the night. If there is time before sunset, you can explore the ruins at the gateway to the town. (B).
Day 3: Devil’s Throat walk (B)
We have the morning free to explore the town of Tilcara. Attractions include La Plaza Grande, La Plaza Chica, the church - and the Pucará de Tilcara ruins if you didn’t have time to visit the previous evening.
In the afternoon we stretch the legs with a short walk to the Devil’s Throat. From Tilcara, we pick up a path and walking along an old Kolla path to an outstanding viewpoint. We can walk for 2-4 hours, depending on your pace and desires. We return to our hosteria for the night. (B)
Day 4: Tilcara - Iruya - Humahuaca (B,L)
As the sun rises and quickly warms Tilcara, we join the locals and hop on the bus to Iruya.
This feels like a timeless town. The small church perches at the end of tiny cobbled streets, overlooking the river and valley below. This is a quiet town, and we will help you make the most of your time here, exploring the nooks and crannies.
We push on to Humahuaca where we spend the night at a hosteria (B,L)
Day 5: Uquia - Quebrada de las Señoritas (B,L)
After breakfast in Humahuaca, we take a bus to the small town of Uquía.
We visit the church of San Francisco de Paula. Its altar was laminated in gold by the Jesuits in 1691 –the year in which the church was built – and its interior is adorned with the pictures of the brought ‘arcabuceros angels’, which were brought to La Quiaca from Cuzco.
Time for a quick leg stretch on a lovely walk through some stunningly coloured rocks. We are heading to La Quebrada de las Señoritas o Yacoraite, where the intense red rock formations form homes for some amazing fossils.
This area is well known for its historical remains. Remains of some of the last great mammals that inhabited the Earth, like milodon, a giant sloth-type creature, can be found here.
Back in Uquía, we head to a farm where vicuñas are raised and an old hydraulic mill to get an idea of how people worked and survived in this region. We return to our hosteria at Humahuaca. (B,L)
Day 6: Colorful Towns and Quebradas (B,L)
Leaving Humahuaca, we cross “Peña Blanca”, on the eastern border of the Quebrada of Humahuaca.
Here we begin our tour of the ‘colourful towns and quebradas’ of this region. The enormous plains of the Cocataca Valley were once one of the main Inca agricultural sites. After walking around the valley, we take our lunch in a homely restaurant.
The afternoon is spent walking for 2-3 hours, looking at ancient paintings on the rocks on Cerro Negro. As well as the paintings, from here the views are spectacular, looking down and over the valley.
Our explorations continue in the vehicle, as we climb to 4,200m, passing through the towns of Valiaso and Pucará, until we reach the Serrania of Santa Barbara (Santa Barbara Hills). Last stop is the viewpoint at Cerro Horconal, with beautiful views over the Abra de Zenta (plains), before we get back to our hosteria for 19.00 (approx). (B,L)
Day 7: Quebrada de Sapagua – Hornaditas Community (B,L)
This morning we climb into our minibus and head to the Quebrada de Sapagua.
After exploring the area, we continue to the small community of the Hornaditas. A local family opens the door of their home to us, and we can get a taste of life in the region. Our final destination is the hosteria in Humahuaca, where the evening is free to explore. (B,L)
Day 8: Humahuaca – La Quiaca, Villazon – Uyuni (B)
We wake early and head to the Bolivian border at La Quiaca, the northernmost corner of Argentina.
We cross the border, and head to Villazon and its train station to catch the service to Uyuni, the gateway to the Salar de Uyuni. We spend the night here, in a hosteria (B) .
Day 9: Salar de Uyuni
We leave Uyuni at about 11am and head north, 20km or so, to Colchani. This small village exists only because of the exploitation and refinery of the salt.
We walk through the town, seeing how the salt is extracted, visiting the craft stores and salt hotels.
We head to the Isla Lomo Pescado, where we can spot enormous cacti and get an outstanding panoramic. Here, we have our lunch and then continue walking to Chuvica, where we spend the night in a basic and rustic refuge. (B,L,D)
Day 10: Salar de Uyuni –Altiplanic lagoons
After breakfast we visit the amazing lagoons of the Salar: Cañapa, Hedionda and Ramadita.
We continue through the desert of Siloli to see the Tree of Stone – an enormous rock carved into an outlandish shape by the winds that can whip through the area.
Next up is Laguna Colorada where we may be lucky to see some pink flamingos and other Andean fauna such as vicuña, suri or andean ñandú.
After a great day on the Salar, we spend the night at another basic refuge. (B,L,D)
Day 11: Altiplanic lagoons – San Pedro de Atacama
An early start today – up at 05.00. We want to get to the Geysers early so we can see the impressive display of volcanic steam spewing from the earth, and see the thermal waters. The rock formations in this region are outstanding, formed by thousands of years of erosion.
The early start means we can reach Laguna Verde by 11.0. This lagoon is famed for the way it changes colour between 11.00 and 12.00, and we aim to be there for that display.
Our last sight is Laguna Blanca, after which we cross the border to Chile. We have a new vehicle waiting for us in Chile, and we had to San Pedro de Atacama, the desert town. We head to our hosteria (B)
Day 12: Laguna Cejar y Tebinquinche
Today we float in salty lakes!
We visit two lagoons in the northern sector of the Atacama salt flats, some 30 km away from San Pedro de Atacama.
The first lagoon we encounter is Laguna Cejar, with its intense emerald colour and borders crystallized by salt. Here you can jump in and enjoy the levitating effect of the salt-rich water, which makes you float easily – a very relaxing experience.
After the float-athon, we reach Tebinquinche lagoon. Here we can see some flamingos, foxes and a variety of birds. We return to our hosteria at San Pedro de Atacama. (B)
Day 13: Trekking de las Cornisas
A chance to stretch the legs today. We aim to walk up Las Cornisas (Cornices), which takes us to the highest part of the salt mountain chain.
We drive to the starting point, the old tunnel to Calama, built in 1930. We start at the Catarpe Valley, going up to the salt mountain to some outstanding viewpoints – you can appreciate the magnitude of Salar de Atacama, San Pedro de Atacama and the Andes.
After the half day trek (3-4 hours), we return to San Pedro de Atacama for some free time. Hosteria (B)
Day 14: San Pedro de Atacama – Salta
Early in the morning we say goodbye to San Pedro de Atacama and take a public bus across the Andes and enter Argentina.
This a stunning trip over Paso de Jama (at 4,200m) until we reach Salta once more, and our hosteria (B).
Day 15: Salta – Alta Airport
After breakfast you are taken to the airport / bus staion, or you can extend your trip. (B)
