Getting to Tolar Grande is an attraction in itself, due to the number of geographical features and mountain passes that have to be crossed.

We start in the city of Salta and then cross the gateway to the Eastern Mountain Range, Campo Quijano, following the old route of the Train to the Clouds, through the Quebrada del Toro, where we will visit small towns, with their culture and charm. Later we will enter the high plateau of the Puna to stay at an average altitude of 3500 meters above sea level for the next 2 days. Lunch will be in the “puna capital”, San Antonio de Los Cobres, the largest town in the Argentine Puna and base of the Train to the Clouds. After lunch we will leave for Tolar Grande, crossing salt flats, including the Pocitos salt flat and ravines where you can see native fauna of the Puna. A little before reaching Tolar Grande, we will cross the famous Colorados or Labyrinth Desert, which are fossil dune formations, ideal for short walks and taking photographs. Around 7:00 p.m. we will arrive at Tolar Grande to check in at the accommodation and time for dinner. It is a small railway town built in the 1940s, where the main activity is mining. It is located on the shores of the Salar de Arizaro, one of the largest salt flats in the world.

The second day will be even more intense, we will cross the Arizaro salt flat, imitating the ancient muleteers who used to use this road in the 18th and 19th centuries guiding animal caravans, to head towards Antofallita, a small oasis where only two people live. But that's not all, in the middle of the Salar de Arizaro there is a strange formation known as Cono de Arita, whose origin today is difficult to explain. On our return to Tolar Grande we will visit Caipe, a station on Branch C-14, where you have a complete view of the Arizaro Salt Flats, ideal for watching the sunset.

The third day, on our way back to the Labyrinth, we will visit the Ojos de Mar: pools of navy blue water where the silhouettes of the volcanoes are reflected in the morning light. The Labyrinth Desert is a desert of fossil dunes, it is ten million years old and has thousands of clay peaks and gypsum crystals. Nowadays it is possible to cross this natural wonder, something essential for photography lovers. Then, crossing the Salar de Pocitos, which is in its final geological stage. Abra Chorrillos will be the highest climbing point of the day, where an Apacheta of great cultural importance in Andean traditions is located. We will arrive in San Antonio de los Cobres, the Capital of the Puna, our first contact with civilization, after our trip in the Andes. As often happens when traveling in the Northwest of Argentina, the narrow valley offers us different landscapes depending on the time of day you travel. The descent through the Quebrada del Toro will offer us a warm final greeting.

Main attractions you visit:

• Arita cone,
• Arizaro Salt Flats,
• Sea Eyes,
• Volcanic Mountain Range Viewpoint,
• The Colorados,
• Salar de Pocitos,
• San Antonio de Los Cobres,
• Quebrada del Toro.

ENABLED PROVIDER

• SOCOMPA ADVENTURE TRAVEL - Leg. Nº 12889 / Resolución Nº 216/17
• Dirección: Balcarce 998 1º Piso Salta, Salta A4400 Argentina
• Teléfono: +543874315974
• Email: info@socompa.com
• Web: https://www.socompa.com/es/
• Recipients: General public
• Duration: 3 days / 2 nights
• Degree of difficulty: Low (overnight at 3,500 meters above sea level, special medical considerations)
• Minimum / Maximum number of people: 1 to 4 passengers
• Observations:  The entire tour is carried out in 4x4 pick-up vehicles, equipped and enabled, with expert adventure guides in the region. Suggested accommodation: Casa Andina Municipal Hostel, Family Houses or AFAPUNA Refuge. Program without meals included (breakfast only)