Francisca
Marketing · Vivencias Travel
The highest trip sold out of San Pedro, 164 km each way with stops above 4,000 metres. Why it should never be your first day, what you actually see, and how your body warns you before it complains.
This trip heads south from San Pedro on the CH-23, towards Paso Sico on the Argentine border. It is the longest and the highest of everything leaving town, which makes it the one that most needs thinking about before you book.
What you see, in the order it appears
- Salar de Atacama, with the Chaxa lagoon and its flamingos. Still at low altitude, around 2,300 metres.
- Toconao and Socaire, villages of volcanic stone houses and adobe churches, usually the breakfast stop.
- Miscanti and Miñiques lagoons, at 4,200 metres. Two deep blue lakes set among volcanoes inside the Los Flamencos National Reserve.
- Piedras Rojas, on the Salar de Talar, at nearly 4,000 metres and 164 kilometres from San Pedro. The red rocks against white salt and turquoise water are the reason this trip exists.
It is a full day, and most departures include breakfast and lunch, because there is nowhere to eat along the way.
Why the order of your days matters more here than anywhere else
San Pedro sits at 2,450 metres. This trip climbs to 4,200. That is nearly two thousand metres of difference in one morning, and the body has no way to adjust in that time.
The rule every serious operator applies: this is never the first-day trip. Nor the second, if you flew in directly from Santiago or Brazil, which is almost everyone.
The order that works:
1. First days, low trips: Laguna Cejar (2,300 m) and Valle de la Luna (2,500 m) 2. Then mid altitude: Termas de Puritama (3,500 m) 3. Only then the high ones: this route (4,200 m) and the Tatio geysers (4,320 m)
How your body warns you
It is not fainting. It is subtler and therefore easier to ignore: a headache building slowly, breathlessness after a hundred flat metres, mild nausea, strange sleep.
What genuinely helps, and is not folklore:
- Drink water constantly, two to three litres over the day. Dehydration makes everything worse.
- Do not eat heavily at breakfast that day.
- No alcohol the night before. This is the most common mistake.
- Walk slowly at the stops. The urge to rush to the lagoon's edge for the photo is exactly what triggers the sickness.
- Coca leaves or coca tea, available in San Pedro, help plenty of people.
If symptoms go from uncomfortable to severe, the answer is to descend. There is no other cure, which is why the guides know the timings.
What to bring
Layers, no argument: at Piedras Rojas you can get strong sun and freezing wind at the same time. Proper sunglasses, because the glare off salt at 4,000 metres is brutal. Sunscreen. Water, more than you think. And pesos in cash for entry fees, if they are not included.
If you are planning your days in San Pedro, the guide on when to go and what to do sets out the full itinerary.
Frequently asked questions
How high does the Salt Flats Route go?
The Miscanti and Miñiques lagoons sit at 4,200 metres and Piedras Rojas, on the Salar de Talar, at nearly 4,000. San Pedro is at 2,450, so the trip climbs almost two thousand metres in one morning.
Can it be a first-day trip?
No. It is the highest trip leaving San Pedro and the body cannot adjust to two thousand metres of difference in a few hours. Leave it for the third or fourth day, after doing the low trips such as Laguna Cejar and Valle de la Luna.
How long is it and what is included?
A full day, with 164 kilometres each way to Piedras Rojas. Most departures include breakfast and lunch, because there is nowhere to eat along the route. The classic stops are the Salar de Atacama with the Chaxa lagoon, the villages of Toconao and Socaire, the Miscanti and Miñiques lagoons, and Piedras Rojas.
How do I avoid altitude sickness on this trip?
Drink two to three litres of water over the day, eat light at breakfast, avoid alcohol the night before and walk slowly at the stops. The urge to rush to the lagoon's edge for a photo is exactly what triggers it. If symptoms turn severe, descending is what resolves it.
