Τα 6 καλύτερα φυσικά μνημεία Αρίκα και Παρινακότα

Hello Life in Travel :) I am travelling with my friend next week to north of Chile and will be passing close by...we will stay on a main road basically from Arica to bolivian border. I was wondering if you could share where exactly are those colourful sand dunes located on picture 1?

On the northeastern corner of Lauca National Park sits Lago Chungará. It offers fantastic views of the dormant stratovolcano, Parinacota (6,380 MASL / 20,930 ft above sea level). It is frequented by Chilean flamingos.

Parinacota is a stratovolcano with a height of 6,348 m on the border between Chile and Bolivia in the Atacama Desert area. It is located in the Lauca National Park, 145 kilometers east of Arica in the Cordillera Occidental of the central Andes. Together with the neighboring Pomerape volcano, which lies northeast of it, it forms the Payachata complex. At its feet lies Lake Chungará. His current activity is limited to fumarole activity. More general information can be found on Wikipedia. The normal route from the Bolivian side starts between the two volcanoes Parinacota and Pomerape and can only be reached with off-road vehicles. The climb goes quite directly towards the summit, although the path is usually not visible because it is covered by snow or snow. However, that's not a problem, you just go straight up until you reach the highest point. You won't be confronted with any major technical difficulties, but the climb will take longer due to the high altitude and the quite a few meters in altitude that have to be covered. Acclimatization in advance is definitely recommended. Breaking into the frozen snow cover on the surface also doesn't make the climb any easier. However, the gigantic view of the enormous crater, of the Parinacota and the Sajama, as well as the Altiplano, Acotango and much more, rewards all the effort.

At this point the Glaciar del Acotango forms a so-called penitential ice, which, however, does not have to be crossed during the ascent. The icy peaks here are sometimes up to 2 m high. Looks very impressive

At 6052, the Acotango is a fairly easy 6000m on the border of Chile and Bolivia. The normal route leads from the Bolivian side through the huge crater of the extinct volcano and offers hardly any technical difficulties, but the altitude should not be underestimated. The view of the southern Altiplano and the neighboring mountains of the Cordillera Occidental such as the Sajama, Parinacota and Pomerape, as well as Gullatiri and much more on the Chilean side are very impressive.

We did the Cerro Acotango from the Bolivian side. A great tour, both alone and above all for acclimatization for another 6000m peaks in Sajama National Park. Sajama can take you to the trailhead. At this time of year (end of April) crampons are essential.

Pass at an altitude of 4800 m, at the foot of the Tapaaca volcano

The Chungará lagoon is the environmental jewel of the Lauca National Park, a mirror of the great summits of six thousand meters of altitude in this sector of the Andes of Chile and Bolivia. The road passes along the shore of the lagoon and could take your eyes off the white pyramids of Parinacota, Sajama, Acotango and the rest of the peaks that mark the Andean border of the two countries.