Serene mountains and lakes — Nevado Tres Cruces
This is an awesome high-altitude national park near the Argentine border with Chile. As much as we prefer to backpack, there was no way we were missing out on this National Park and its beautiful lakes due to lack of public transport. With Vicky (a fellow volunteer), Paulina and Claudio (our local amigos), we got together a good group of 5 to go on a guided tour. It was arranged by Carlos from Chillitrip, who turned out to be a great guide.
From sea level to the highest Andean volcanoes
We went from 380m (Copiapo) to 4700m in a few hours — the first time I’ve experienced such a quick altitude change. Altitude sickness was very much a possibility but we got lucky. The weather also turned out to be good as it was a very sunny day. The night temperature at these heights touch -18 degrees Celsius during this time of the year.
Laguna Santa Rosa: A beautiful lake at 3800 m. Saw a few Vicunas (endangered Andean camelids) in the wild and a couple of flamingos.
Ojos del Salado: We crossed the base camp of Ojos del Salado (which means “salty eyes”, the highest active volcano in the world at 6800-ish metres. Going to its peak is a 9 or 10 day trek and the climb is not technical.
Laguna Verde: Standing at 4300 m, this lake was pristine. Unlike Santa Rosa, it was very windy when we reached there. Right next to the lake were a couple of hot water springs where we took a bath.
Salar de Maricunga
The national park also has the salt flats of Maricunga, which we visited on our way back. They are smaller than the more popular ones up in North (near San Pedro de Atacama and in Bolivia).
Can’t ask for more than this in a single day! In love with the raw beauty of Andes.
