Itinerary Ojos del Salado Climbing Tour

Day 1: Santiago de Chile - Flight to Copiapo ( Bahia Inglesa )

You will be met at Copiapo airport and transferred to your hotel.
Briefing with the mountain guide and equipment check.

Day 2: Copiapo ( Bahia Inglesa ) - Pedernales Salt Flat. ( 295 km / 183 mi )

Pick up at your hotel in Caldera or Bahia Inglesa at 9 am. We start driving east towards the Altiplano, following narrow and dry river valleys that lie in between the desert and the high plateau. We arrive to El Salvador, a mining town at the foothill of the Andes, where we stop for lunch.   In the afternoon, we drive to our first camp next to Pedernales Salt Flat. Flat. We are now in the middle of the Chilean high plateau, the southernmost part of the Atacama Desert and home to a great diversity of wildlife such as flamingos and foxes. In the evening, we take a short walk to the nearby lagoon where we see local flora and fauna and a large variety of birds.

Day 3: Pedernales Salt Flat – Cerro Doña Ines Climb (5.095m/16.715ft) - Pedernales Salt Flat

Early transfer by 4x4 to the base of Cerro Doña Ines (4.500m/14.763ft). The climbing to the summit will take 5 to 6 hours round trip and allow for an amazing view of the surroundings. Back to the base camp.

Day 4: Pedernales Salt Flat - Laguna Verde ( 170 km / 105 mi ).

Today we will drive along Maricunga salt flat, check in the Maricunga customs for our Ojos del Salado climb, and then keep going across the high plateaus to reach Laguna Verde. We set up a base camp nearby the lake, at the hot springs site.

Day 5: Laguna Verde - Summit Vn. San Francisco (6.018m/19.744ft) - Laguna Verde.

Starting off very early in the morning, we approach the mountain with the 4x4 (4.800m/15.748ft). It is a full day climbing this beautiful mountain located at the very border between Chile and Argentina. The summit is at 6.018m/19.744ft and we will need around 6 to 8 hours to reach the top. Back to our camp.

Day 6: Laguna Verde Base Camp Additional Rest Day.

Full day to rest and get ready to move to Ojos del Salado Base Camp. This extra day at 4.350m/14.271ft is a great boost to your acclimatization process and should be fully used to recover from the San Francisco climb, hydrate and relax. Going for another hike on this day won’t be of any help to your body. We strongly recommend to bring books and music with you and just enjoy this rest day. Please note that the expedition leader may choose to skip this rest day according to the weather forecast, in case a modification of the itinerary is needed to ensure the summit.

Day 7: Laguna Verde - Atacama Hut (38 km /23 mi).

Today we leave Laguna Verde and the international road to Argentina, heading to the foothill of Ojos del Salado. We drive off road, gaining altitude very quickly as we cross sand flats and steep rocky, sometimes snow-covered, slopes. Finally, we arrive at the Atacama refuge area, where we set up our base camp.

Day 8: Atacama Hut (Base Camp) - Tejos Hut (Camp I) (5.825m/19.110ft) - Atacama Hut.

Today, we carry some equipment and food to Camp I, following the sandy and rocky slopes. We drop off our stuff in the mountain hut, take a look around and then go back down to the base camp. This hike is part of our acclimatization in order to maximizeour chances of reaching the summit.

Day 9: Atacama Refuge - Tejos Refuge (Camp I).

Today we move up to Camp I, carrying the rest of the gear we will need for the summit. It is a short day we arrive early to get hydrated, eat and rest for the summit day.

Day 10: Ojos Del Salado Summit Day (6.893m/22.614ft)

We start very early in the morning 3 to 5 am depending the wind and cold conditions, and climb 8 to 9 hours up to the summit. The terrain may be snowy or dry. The climb includes an easy climbing / scrambling step just before getting to the summit. We use harness, helmet and rope for this last part. From the top we have an amazing view over all major summits in the area, including Tres Cruces and Pissis. Going down we may stop for the night at Tejos camp or descend directly to Atacama base camp.

Day 11: Reserve Day for Summit Attempts.

Day 12: Refugio Atacama – Bahía Inglesa.

Dismantle of camp and tents, organize gear and packing, load equipment and get the cars ready to go. Then we drive back to Bahia Inglesa, where we arrive 6 hours later. Transfer to the Hotel.

Day 13: Bahía Inglesa – Out.

Transfer to Copiapo airport or Caldera bus station. End of our services.