22nd December 2024

We were picked up at 6am alongside four others who would become our mobile family for the next three days. We began driving towards the mountain range, north of San Pedro. These mountains were silhouetted by the rising sun, dusty yellows, reds and pinks layered the sky behind them.

An hour later we arrived at the Chilean boarder control which casually sat at the base of Volcán Licancabur. We had ascended 2,200m to reach an altitude of 4,600m. I felt somewhat dizzy but otherwise just hungry. Luckily, our driver assembled a breakfast of fresh baguettes filled with smashed avocado and cheese, yoghurt cake, almond cookies, yoghurts, an assortment of hot drinks and juice. The sun continued to rise and the dark volcano lightened to reveal shades of red varying from copper to merlot, sand coloured yellows and dark greys.

Once through the Chilean-Bolivian boarder control we entered Reserva Nacional de Fauna Andina Eduardo Avaroa. During the day we drove and stopped at some of the most unbelievable sites. The park is known for its geothermic activity with plenty of active volcanoes in the area. We saw lakes with water so still you could see the creases of the mountains reflected in the waters below, and when the flamingoes took flight you saw double. Geysers that spewed hot molten mud from the ground, issuing steam which, if you walked into, felt like you were in an eggy steam room. Rainbow-coloured mountains with distinct layers of different minerals and sediment with reds, yellows, greens and greys. Vicuñas (a type of llama), several species of flamingos and ostriches graced the landscapes throughout. 

We stopped for lunch after dipping into natural hot springs, which welcomed us in with warm arms and was so relaxing especially after three nights of cold showers!

A combination of the warm rocking car and altitude caused us all to sleep (despite our best efforts as there was so much to see) between viewpoints. None of us became particularly unwell with the altitude, but we all felt its presence. Laguna Colorada was perhaps the most spectacular lake we saw, which stood at 4,800m and displayed a stunning contrast of reds, greens, white and blue.

At around 5:30pm we reached a tiny town called Mallcu. The accommodation was a home stay owned by a family who cooked us dinner, after which we all quickly retreated to bed.