Day 1

We depart from Salta in the morning from the hotel where you are staying, heading towards Cafayate through the incredible Quebrada del Río Las Conchas, stopping at all the geological formations that make this scenic route a wonder. Brief visit to the downtown area of Cafayate, then we continue our journey along Route 40, passing through a short stretch of the province of Tucumán (Colalao del Valle - Quilmes), and entering into Catamarca province. Here, we will visit the main square of the city of Santa María del Valle de Yocavil and continue southward until we reach the town of Hualfín, where we will refuel the vehicle and continue to the village of Corral Quemado, where we will stay at the municipal hostel. If there is no availability for accommodation there, we will stay at the hostel in Hualfín.

Day 2

After breakfast (either in Hualfín or Corral Quemado), we begin the ascent along the route towards the Puna de Atacama region, a beautiful journey where we will start to see sand dunes, large groups of vicuñas, small lakes, dry salt flats, and often snow-capped mountains. The average altitude above sea level from this day onward will be around 3,800 meters.

We will arrive at the town of El Peñón where we will spend the night, but we will continue our journey off-road, only through a mining trail (for 40 km) through the desert to visit the Grand Sand Dune, then the incredible Pumice Stone Field, and the fantastic red lagoon of the Carachi volcano, usually populated by typical high-Andean birds such as pink flamingos, geese, ducks, and coots. On this day, we will need to have a picnic at noon wherever we are. We will return to El Peñón late in the afternoon to stay at lodging (Don Carmelo or similar) facing the main square of the town.

Day 3

After breakfast, we leave behind the town of El Peñon and after about 50 km we will reach Antofagasta de La Sierra, where the view of the lagoon with flamingos and the two dominating volcanoes, Antofagasta and Alumbrera, provide a spectacular backdrop to the landscape. Passing the town, we will once again start a mining road through the Calalaste Ravine, ascending to the Antofalla Pass at 4,630 meters above sea level, from where we will have a panoramic view of the entire Antofalla salt flat from its viewpoint, along with many extinct volcanoes around. We will descend to the level of the salt flat and from there to the small town of Antofalla, where about 15 families live. We can have lunch at one of the diners in the town that provide services to the miners exploring lithium in the salt flat. After lunch, we will continue through the salt flat visiting the Green Lagoon and its spectacular display of colors alongside the salt, volcanic mountains, and surely an intense blue sky as is often the case in the Puna de Atacama. From there, we will finish crossing the salt flat, crossing the provincial border back into the province of Salta and immediately entering the vast Arizaro Salt Flat, with its icon, the Arita Cone, which from afar looks like a solitary pyramid on the white surface. We will cross the vast salt flat for approximately 1 hour to end our day in the town of Tolar Grande, where we will stay at any available lodging in the town.

Day 4

We depart early from Tolar Grande, after breakfast, making sure that the diesel fuel in the 4x4 vehicles is not frozen from the cold of the previous night. In the next 50 km, we will travel through a spectacular landscape known as the Red Desert and the Diablo Salt Flat, with formations of reddish sedimentary rock that give the landscape a mysterious and special charm, alternating with flat areas where salt blends with red sandstone.

Leaving the red desert, we will see another salt flat: Pocitos, which used to be a very important railway station in its time and now, although very sporadically a train formation passes through, it has become an important hub of roads towards mining projects throughout the Puna. Passing Pocitos and after 2 hours, we will reach the town of San Antonio de Los Cobres, where we will have lunch at a typical food diner, and then continue the last 160 km descending through the spectacular Toro Gorge until we reach our final destination: the city of Salta.