The Ojos del Salado volcano holds the title of the highest summit in Chile, the second-highest in the Americas, and the tallest active volcano in the world. It’s a bucket-list challenge for mountaineers worldwide. With an altitude just 60 meters shy of Mt. Aconcagua, Ojos del Salado offers an extraordinary climbing experience.
Located on the border between Chile and Argentina, the volcano sits within Chile’s Atacama region, renowned for its mining activity and stark desert landscapes. This natural wonder lies in the Nevado de Tres Cruces National Park, where visitors can also marvel at the Negro Francisco Lake and the Maricunga salt flat, habitats for three species of flamingos.
The adventure begins in the nearby city of Copiapó, the main hub for logistics, supplies, and preparation before ascending this majestic peak. Whether you're drawn by its status as the highest active volcano or the breathtaking beauty of its surroundings, Ojos del Salado promises an unforgettable experience.
We recommend booking 2–3 months in advance to organize logistics. The meeting point is the hotel, and coordination is done via email, WhatsApp, or phone.
We’ll meet you at the airport and take you to your hotel where you’ll have a talk with our guide in order to crystal clear any doubt clouding your mind and to check your equipment is proper and fitted for the purposes. ✔ Max altitude: 390 m / 1280 ft ✔ Transport: 4WD ✔ Scheme: Reception at the airport, head to the hotel, equipment checking, itinerary checking, and then you’re all free to do as you see fitted.
We set out towards Valle Chico to set up our first camp. This place is perfect to start our expedition because it has the ideal altitude for starting the acclimatization process. ✔ Max altitude: 3040 m / 9970 ft ✔ Transport: 4WD ✔ Scheme: Camp set-up, cooking, acclimatization.
On this day we’ll set up the second camp around 3700 meters in order to keep on with our acclimatization process, which is crucial to our objective. We’ll do a light trekking to keep with our acclimatization process in order to get our bodies accustomed to this high altitude desert environment. This trekking is to be done around the Laguna Santa Rosa lakeside. ✔ Max altitude: 3700 m / 12140 ft ✔ Transport: 4WD ✔ Scheme: Camp take-down and up, cooking, acclimatization.
On this day we will perform our first ascension to the 7 Hermanas hill. Altitude: 4700masl. ✔ Max altitude: 4700 m / 15748 ft and back to 3700 m / 12140 ft ✔ Transport: No ✔ Scheme: Cooking, acclimatization climb.
On this day we’ll finish the first stage of our expedition. We’ll head toward Laguna Verde where we’ll set-up the base-camp, rest for the remaining day and get ready for the days to come. ✔ Max altitude: 4340 m / 14240 ft ✔ Transport: 4WD ✔ Scheme: Transport the equipment (4WD), cooking and acclimatization.
On this day we’ll put our bodies to the test. We'll see how your body is enduring the lack of oxygen in this area. We'll go up a bit higher than 5,350 meters and then go back to sleep at the Laguna Verde. ✔ Max altitude: 5350m / 18360 ft ✔ Transport: No ✔ Scheme: climb Mulas Muertas, cooking and acclimatization.
In order to go forward into our expedition, we will ascend a 6000 and so check how our body reacts when facing that kind of altitude. We can either choose between Mt. San Francisco and Barrancas Blancas, at the frontier with Argentina. Both are above the 6000 masl. ✔ Max altitude: 6100m / 20000 ft ✔ Transport: 4WD ✔ Scheme: acclimatization climb San Francisco, cooking.
This is the last day we’ll be able to use the 4WD vehicle. We’ll transport the equipment to Atacama Camp and from there we’ll have to work harder. ✔ Max altitude: 5260 m / 17260 ft ✔ Transport: 4WD ✔ Scheme: Transport the equipment (4WD), cooking and acclimatization.
Each one of us has to carry his/her personal equipment plus a piece of the common equipment towards Refuge Tejos in order to prepare our last camp (high camp) and it clearly helps with the acclimatization process. Once we get to the shelter we’ll get some rest, leave our equipment there and head back to Atacama Camp to sleep. ✔ Max altitude: 5837 m / 19150 ft ✔ Transport: No ✔ Scheme: Carry the equipment, cooking, acclimatization.
We’ll carry the remaining equipment towards Refugio Tejos. This time we’ll spend the night there. Since we’ve already carried most of the equipment the day before, we’ll be saving a lot of necessary energy for our next day, which is without doubt the most important day of our expedition. ✔ Max altitude: 5837 m / 19150 ft ✔ Transport: No ✔ Scheme: Carry the equipment, cooking, acclimatization.
We’ll set out early in the morning to reach the Ojos Del Salado summit (6,893masl). On this day we’ll see how all of our hard work flourishes. All the previous acclimatization process is to endure this SO challenging summit. No doubt about it, this is the hardest day in our expedition. We’ll be ascending 1,000 meters, crossing a glacier, rock climbing, reaching the summit, descending, and carrying the equipment back to Atacama Camp all in the same day. ✔ Max altitude: 6893 m / 22615 ft ✔ Transport: No ✔ Scheme: Carry the equipment, cooking and equipment checking.
Extra Day in Case of Bad Weather for Climbing Ojos del Salado Volcano – Extra Day Included in Our Travel Program.
This is the last day we’ll spend in the Parque Nevado de Tres Cruces area. Calmly we’ll take-down our camp and head back to Copiapó, leaving behind us this giant, the highest summit in Chile and the tallest volcano in the world ✔ Max altitude: 390 m / 1280 ft ✔ Transport:4WD ✔ Scheme: Camp take – down, transfer
The whole group will be driven to the airport. ✔ Max altitude: 390 m / 1280 ft ✔ Transport: 4WD or minivan ✔ Scheme: Airport transfer (optional) The itinerary described above is a guideline. Be aware that some changes might be done during the expedition due to weather issues. If the expedition is compromised due to a weather condition like snow storms with intense cold, or to an acclimatization difficulty from one of the members of the expedition, the chief-guide has the obligation to modify or even abort the whole expedition program if needed. The above is for you to be aware that if something goes wrong you need to understand and (fully) cooperate with the guide, since any wrong or “too-late” decision might be fatal.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
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You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
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