Born in Santiago, Chile, Marcela is a journalist and local expert on outdoor travel. She’s earned a master's degree in tourism with an emphasis on ecotourism, operated a tour company, and co-authored a Spanish-language guidebook about Chile’s national parks. Her travel career has taken her all over South America, and she has also lived in Australia, Costa Rica, and the United States.
Ojos del Salado is the world's highest active volcano and it straddles the border between Argentina and northern Chile. The full trek to the summit can take between seven to 20 days and is considered an intermediate hike but gets tricky in the last 30 metres as you climb the summit on fixed ropes. The main reason people fail to reach the peak is through not acclimatising properly.
Starting from the town of Copiapo, expeditions will typically spend nights at four shelters on the way to the summit, including the shimmering turquoise lake of Laguna Verde (4342m), before ascending to Refugio Claudio Lucero (4540m), Refugio Atacama (5100m) and Refugio Tejos (5833m).
The mountain can be climbed between December and March. During November and December, wind speeds can be a challenge while hiking. The peak season runs between late December and March and is your best chance to get good weather, but you’ll meet plenty of people who are also climbing to the summit. Be aware that climbers will need permission from Chile’s Direccion de Fronteras y Limites (DIFROL) to climb. You can get authorisation on their website.
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Atacama Desert
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Ojos del Salado trek
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