South America Tours - Chile

Adventure Overland - Overland

14 Days / 13 Nights (Easy)

Season: All Year Round

This overland begins in the heart of the Atacama Desert and continues across the Andes into the colored valleys of Northern Argentina. Slowly, and only for a brief moment, we make our way into the jungle and its lush vegetation. We then return to Chile through the San Francisco pass, the same one that conquistador Diego de Almagro borrowed in the XVITth century. The area chosen for this program, which includes the province of Catamarca in Argentina and the Atacama region in Chile, stands out for its vastness and its colors which seem to sprout from a painter’s palette. Some of the world’s highest volcanoes are hidden in this area: Ojos del Salado (6893m) is the guardian of them all. The trip ends on the Pacific coast.
A journey into huge spaces and contrasts. A journey high above, close to the clouds.....

We invite you to a magical meetring with Inca history...

DAY 1:      (SANTIAGO) -CALAMA-CASPANA

Reception at Calama airport. Drive into the Atacama Desert, visiting Chiu-Chiu and Lasana. This will be our first contact with the Andean communities. We continue our road towards Caspana village and camp in the surroundings. (L,D)

DAY 2:      CASPANA - TATIO -SAN PEDRO DE ATACAMA

Early departure to watch the geological thermal activities of the geysers as the sun rises. We drive down to Puritama hot springs for a relaxing bath. Lunch and transfer to San Pedro de Atacama. Excursion to the Moon valley at sunset. Hotel. (B,L)

DAY 3:      SAN PEDRO DE ATACAMA - LAGUNA MISCANTI – SALAR OF CAPUR

Trekking in the Salty Mountain range. Visit of the archeological museum. In the afternoon we drive into the high plateau, to Laguna Miscanti. Camp near Salar de Capur. (B,L,D)

DAY 4:      LAGUNA MISCANTI - CACHAURI SALT LAKE

Short trekking in the morning. We continue our road through colored land till we reach the argentinian border. Camp at Cachauri Salt lake. (B,L,D)

DAY 5:      CACHAURI SALT LAKE - SALTA

We drive to the colonial town of Salta. Hotel. (B,L)

DAY 6:      SALTA - TILKARA - PURMAMARCA

We continue our trip towards Purmamarca. On the way we visit Tilkara, its museum anf Pukará (fortress). We then head to the Mountain of seven colors. We set our camp in the surroundings of Purmamarca. (B,L,D)

DAY 7:      PURMAMARCA - SALINAS GRANDES - SALTA

Excursion to Salinas grande, a beautiful salt lake. Drive back to Salta. Hotel. (B,L)

DAY 8:      SALTA - CACHI - LAS FLECHAS

Departure to Cachi, in the heart of the Calchaqui valley. We drive through lush valleys which contrast dramatically with the red-colored mountains. The landscape soon changes colors and turns blue..... We camp in the surroundings of Las Flechas pass. Camp. (B,L,D)

DAY 9:    LAS FLECHAS - QUILMES - TAFI DEL VALLE

We drive through more amazing landscapes until we reach Quilmes fort. We stop at this archeological site before continuing to Tafi del Valle. Hotel. (B,L)

DAY 10:         TAFI DEL VALLE - AGUAS DE LAS PALOMAS

Excursion to the Menhir park, an ancient site for worship located by a lake. Our trip continues and in a matter of miles we see how the desert disappears into the Tucuman jungle with its trees, lichens and orchids. The sight is amazing! We soon leave the jungle behind and take the Clavillo pass back to the higher plateaus. We camp in the surroundings of ancient Inca ruins called Agua de los Palomos. (B,L,D)   

DAY 11:         AGUAS DE LAS PALOMAS - FIAMBALA

Early departure to Fiambala where we will enjoy a well deserved barbecue by the hot springs. Camp. (B,L,D)

DAY 12:         FIAMBALA - LAGUNA VERDE

We cross the Andes a second time and return to Chile via the San Francisco (4700m) pass located at the feet of Incahuasi volcano (6620m). Camp by the emerald colored Laguna Verde. (B,L,D)

DAY 13:         LAGUNA VERDE - COPIAPO - BAHIA INGLESA

We drive down towards the Pacific coast. On the way we will see Ojos del Salado (6893m), the highest volcano in the world, and its towering neighbor, volcano Tres Cruces (6753m). We drive through the Maricunga Salt lake and Laguna Santa Rosa before arriving to Copiapó. We continue to Bahía Inglesa, a small town by the sea. Hotel. (B,L)

DAY 14:         BAHIA INGLESA- COPIAPO - (SANTIAGO)

Transfer to Copiapó airport and flight back to Santiago. (B)

SERVICE DETAILS

Included Services

13 nights in Hotel, Pousada (Inn), camping. Standard Room, including room and government taxes 
13 breakfasts

13 Lunches

08 Dinners

Land transfers as detailed in the itinerary
Guided Tours as detailed, including National park taxes. Tours can change due to operational, safety or weather condition.

Not Included  

Flights 

Optional Tours  

Travel Insurance

Meals not included in the itinerary. 

Drinks, Laundry, Tips, Telephone calls, and any other personal expenses etc…. 

Meals
Meals included in the program are detailed in the following chart.

Accommodation:

Double rooms can have separate beds or not. A third person depending on the hotel has the possibility of using a sofa bed. Consult for children policy.  

Payment:

Deposit of 30% to guarantee your reservation. The remaining amount must be paid a minimum 30 days before start of the tour. If reservation is made within 30 days of the tour full payment required to make a reservation.   

Cancellation:

Up to 30 days before full refund is given unless the flight tickets have been emitted. In this case there will be a penalty due to the cancellation of the tickets. This depends on the rules of the airline used.  No refund is given when a cancellation is made within 30 days of departure.  

Operation of tour:

Minimum of 1 pax to operate. 

Responsability:

Brasil Travel / Melchior & Hodson Ltda and/or agencies involved with the packages, flights and tours shall act only as agents of the tour members in making arrangements for hotels and any other services and do not assume any liability what so ever for any injury, damage, death, loss, accident or delay to persons or property due to an act of God, default by any hotel, company or person rendering any of services included on the tours or flights. Furthermore, no responsability is accepted for quarentine, government restrains, weather or other causes beyond control. No responsability is accepted for any additional expenses, omissions, delays, re-routing or acts of government authority.

Insurance:

Not included (optional)