Roads of the North (CNT)

 We are greeted at the Salta Airport and transferred to our accommodations. The rest of the day will be free for us to discover this unique city.

• Lodging at Hosteria double or single / Meals we provide: none

We depart early on our way to Campo Quijano, going thru the Quebrada Del Toro, and the finally arriving to the pre Hispanic city of Rosa de Tastil with its legendary ruins. Our trip continues to San Antonio de los Cobres, a typical town located at 4000 meters high. Later, we will be able to appreciate the “Salinas Grandes”; then descending over the path of the Lipan, we’ll make a stop at the town of Pumamarca and its famous Mount of the ‘Los Siete Colores’. Later we arrive to our lodge at the picturesque town of Tilcara.

• Lodging at Hosteria double or single / Meals we provide: Breakfast

During the morning, we will go towards the North in a local Bus to the small town of Iruya, a picturesque village just in the north of Salta.
We will have enough time to go around the town, discovering its beautiful cobbled streets and its typical Cappel. We will spend the night in this fascinating place.

• Simple Lodging / Meals we provide: Breakfast, box lunch, dinner

Early in the morning, we will begin the crossing from Iruya, at 2800metres high. We will go up north the river in a slow but incessant ascent, until we reach the Abra Del Colorado. From there, we will descent to the San Juan River where we have lunch. After the break, another ascent is expecting us and then the posterior descent to the Chiyayoc village, at 3100 m OSL.
Walking time: 8 to 9 hours.

• Lodging at Semi full camping / Meals we provide: Breakfast, box lunch, dinner

Our trek continues thru this amazing landscape. We descend until we reach the valley of the river Trancas. Once there we start ascending again till we arrive to the edge. From there we’ll have a fabulous view of the town of Rodeo Colorado. Later we go back descending thru the Pera River. We finally arrive to Rodeo Colorado town.
Estimated waling time: 8 to 9 hours.

• Simple Lodging / Meals we provide: Breakfast, box lunch Dinner

This day we descend our way thru a wide slope to the town of Molino, keeping always the amazing view of the valley of the river Nazareno in our back. From here we walk up to the place where we’ll put up our camp. Estimated walking time: 4 to 5 hours.

• Lodging at Semi full Camping / Meals we provide: Breakfast, box lunch, dinner

Last stage of our on-foot crossing, during which we will go upriver up to reach Nazareno village. There, we can discover this typical town and enjoy our experiences. Walking time: 5 to 6 hours.

• Simple Lodging / Meals we provide: Breakfast, box lunch, dinner

By morning we leave Nazareno heading to La Quiaca, by the border at the northernmost corner of Argentina. Once we cross the border we arrive at Villazon and head to the train station to take the service to Uyuni. Finally we arrive at Uyuni to spend the night at our accommodations.

• Lodging at Hostería double or single / Meals we provide: Breakfast

We leave Uyuni around 11:00 hs. Heading to Colchani (22 Km. to the north of Uyuni), a little village of built around the exploitation and refinery of salt. We enter the town walking through the piles and attending a demonstration of the extraction of the salt blocks. We can visit the stores, the salt hotels and the Isla Lomo Pescado, appreciating the huge cactus and an outstanding panoramic from the view point. Box lunch at the Island and continue our walk to Chuvica, where we spend the night in a rustic refuge.

• Lodging at Basic Refuge / Meals we provide: Breakfast, box lunch, dinner.

Leaving around 09:00 hs., after breakfast, to visit the altiplanic Lagoons: Cañapa, Hedionda y Ramadita, then continuing through the desert of Siloli to see the Tree of Stone. Visit to Laguna Colorada where we can appreciate the pink Flemings and major Andean fauna such as vicuña, suri or andean ñandú. We spend the night at another basic refuge.

• Lodging at Basic Refuge / Meals we provide: Breakfast, box lunch, dinner.
  

The day begins around 05:00 AM, when we leave the refuge to be able to see the Geysers (volcanic steam springs) and visit the thermal waters. Continuing our travel we find very curious rock formations produced by countless years of erosion, and finally reach Laguna Verde, a lagoon very particular and famous because of its color shift occurring between 11:00 and 12:00. We also visit Laguna Blanca and then cross the border control and customs office to Bolivia. After that, we take a new transport vehicle and continue to San Pedro de Atacama, arriving past noon.

• Lodging at Hostería double or single / Meals we provide: Breakfast

By the afternoon we will visit two lagoons located in the north sector of the Atacama salt pans, 30 km. away from San Pedro de Atacama. The first lagoon we encounter is Laguna Cejar, with its intense emerald color and borders crystallized by salt; we can get in the water and enjoy the levitating effect of the high amounts of salt making our bodies float easily and making for a very relaxing experience.

Continuing our course we reach Tebinquinche lagoon, which has characteristics similar to the Chaxa lagoon, in both cases they depend on thaws and the rains at the end of the years. Here we can see some flemings, foxes and a variety of birds in small groups. As we finish the day, we return to San Pedro de Atacama.

• Lodging at Hostería double or single / Meals we provide: Breakfast

At 09:00 hs. We begin the Trekking de las Cornisas (Cornices’ Trekking), which takes place in the highest portion of the salt mountains chain, starting at the Catarpe valley, going up to the cornice of the salt mountains chain and ending at Valle de la Muerte (Valley of the Death). We are driven in vehicle to the starting point, the old tunnel conducting to Calama, built in 1930, and once we complete the trek and reach Valle de la Muerte, the vehicle will be waiting for us to bring us back to San Pedro de Atacama. This trekking takes approximately 3 hours to be completed. From this sector it is possible to appreciate the magnitude of Salar de Atacama, San Pedro de Atacama and the Andes.
Then we have the rest of the day to enjoy San Pedro de Atacama at our leisure.

• Lodging at Hostería double or single / Meals we provide: Breakfast

Early in the morning we say goodbye to San Pedro de Atacama and take a regular bus to cross the Andes and enter Argentina in an amazing trip through Paso de Jama (at 4200 mts above sea level) until we reach the beautiful City of Salta.

• Lodging at Hostería double or single / Meals we provide: Breakfast

After breakfast we are transferred to the airport where our tour ends.

• Meals we provide: Breakfast