Raices Andinas
Day 1. Arica – Lauca – Parinacota – Chungara – Putre National Park
Meeting with the passengers at the hotel. Departure of the Tour at 09:00 hrs. We will know the Valley of Lluta. We will appreciate the candelabra cactus and the magnetic zone, we will visit a pre-Inca fortress in Copaquilla, lunch in Zapahuira. We will visit a foothill town Socoroma 3000 meters above sea level. Putre viewpoint, to then begin to overcome the 4000 masl barrier in the Bofedal de las Cuevas where we will hike for 40 minutes. On the way we will see wild vicuñas, vizcachas and we will know bofedales, the base of the ecosystem in the altiplano (Mirador Bofedal de Parinacota). We will be able to admire a great variety of birds such as the pitios del norte, guallatas, coots, among others. We will admire the Chungara Lake and the Cotacotani Lagoons. Visit to the town of Parinacota. Return to Putre at approximately 6:00 p.m. Dinner and accommodation.
Day 2. Putre – Salar de Surire – Isluga Volcano National Park – Colchane
Departure from Putre at 08:00 hrs. approx. Breakfast Bofedal de las Cuevas (4310 masl). Later visiting Ancuta and Guallatire, two highland towns over 4000 meters above sea level at the foot of the active Guallatire volcano. Arriving at the Salar de Surire at 12:00 hrs. approx. We will visit Chilcaya making a walk of approximately one hour, to photograph the flora and fauna in this National Monument; then we go to the Polloquere Hot Springs at 4270 masl, picnic and bathing in this place. Departure towards Mulluri – Arabilla Viewpoint, Enquelga. We will visit the Isluga Volcano National Park, where we will see its church and abundance of bofedales. Arriving in Colchane at 7:00 p.m. approx. Dinner and accommodation.
Day 3. Colchane – Cariquima – Huara – Iquique
Breakfast at 08:00 a.m., we will visit the giant cacti of Río Grande, and then we will arrive at the town of Cariquima, famous for its skilled artisan weavers for centuries. We will go down towards the La Felicidad ravine and stop at the Victoria Viewpoint, a beautiful view of canyons and volcanic rocks. Visiting then the Chusmiza and Pachica Viewpoints, the latter on the edge of the Atacama Desert. Then we continue to Cerro Unitas to observe the largest Geoglyph in the area "El Gigante de Atacama". We will have lunch in Huara and then visit the Humberstone saltpeter mines, arriving in Iquique at 5:00 p.m. approx. Dinner and accommodation.
Day 4. Iquique – Pintados Geoglyphs – Quillagua – San Pedro de Atacama or Calama
From Iquique, after our breakfast we will leave towards the desert, to visit the Pintados Geoglyphs that contain approximately 400 figures in 66 panels that represent men, animals, birds and abstract drawings. We will leave from this place crossing the Pampa del Tamarugal National Reserve to later arrive at the small town of Quillagua, an oasis next to the Loa River with crops and a town, where a church and the railway station stand. Quillagua Customs. Lunch. To then cross the desert until you reach Calama or continue to San Pedro de Atacama (2438 MASL).
The tour includes:
Accommodation:
1 night in a hotel/hostel in Putre (subject to availability).
1 night at the Refuge in Colchane.
1 night in a hotel/hostel in Iquique