Nevado Tres Cruces National Park

Nevado Tres Cruces National Park protects 60,000 hectares of high-altitude Andean terrain in the Atacama Region, centred on the massive Ojos del Salado volcano (6,893 m), the world's highest active volcano and the second-highest peak in the Americas. The park was established in 1994 and encompasses a string of salt flats, turquoise lagoons, and the jagged Tres Cruces massif.

At an average elevation of 4,500 m, the park is one of the most extreme environments on Earth — intense solar radiation, sub-zero nights year-round, and virtually no precipitation. The landscape is otherworldly: vast salt flats ringed by volcanoes, with flamingos wading in shallow, mineral-rich lagoons.

By Plane

Desierto de Atacama Airport (CPO) in Copiapó is 240 km west. A 4x4 journey from Copiapó takes 4–5 hours.

By Car / Road

From Copiapó, take Route 31 east toward the Paso San Francisco border crossing. The road is paved for the first 100 km, then gravel for the remaining 140 km. A 4x4 with high clearance is mandatory. The park entrance is 180 km from Copiapó at the CONAF ranger station. Guided 4x4 tours from Copiapó cost CLP 100,000–150,000 per person.

The park has no internal roads — travel is by 4x4 track or on foot. A CONAF guide is required for backcountry travel.

• Ojos del Salado: the world's highest active volcano, easily visible from the park highway. The mountain's flanks host the world's highest known lake (Laguna Verde, at 6,300 m).

• Laguna Verde: a stunning turquoise sulphuric lake at 4,350 m, fed by thermal springs. Spectacular reflections of the surrounding volcanoes.

• Laguna Santa Rosa: a large, shallow salt lagoon on the western edge of the park, populated year-round by Andean and Chilean flamingos.

• Salar de Maricunga: a vast white salt flat at 3,700 m at the park's western boundary.

• Flamingo watching: Laguna Santa Rosa and Laguna Verde host thousands of flamingos between November and March.

• High-altitude photography: the combination of salt flats, volcanic cones, and turquoise lakes is extraordinary.

• Ojos del Salado base camp: a 4x4 track reaches 5,800 m — the highest point reachable by vehicle in the Americas. From there, mountaineers begin the summit climb (an extreme technical expedition).

• Stargazing: at 4,500 m with zero light pollution and the driest air on earth, the night sky is incomparable.

Bring all food and a camping stove. Nothing is available inside the park.

Carry all water. Lagoons are hypersaline and undrinkable. Meltwater from snowfields on the volcanoes is drinkable after boiling.

No accommodation. Wild camping is permitted with a CONAF permit (free, obtainable in Copiapó). Temperatures drop to -20°C at night — four-season gear is essential.

No shops exist in the park. Buy all supplies in Copiapó.

• Copiapó (180 km west, 4 hr): regional capital with full services.
• Laguna Verde and Salar de Maricunga (within the park): the drive alone is a full-day excursion.
• Paso San Francisco (international border crossing to Argentina): a 4,726 m pass into the Argentine province of Catamarca.
• Copiapo Valley: pisco route and the historical mining towns of Tierra Amarilla and Alto del Carmen.