Argentina’s Remote Puna Desert Is Like Mars on Earth

Our trip starts from the Quebrada del Toro, a canyon valley that leads you to the heart of the Puna de Atacama. A tourist train, the tren a las nubes, crosses this valley and runs on very high and spectacular viaducts like the Viaducto del Toro. This dry landscape receives almost no rain. The surrounding mountains are populated by condors and we easily spot two of them flying overhead.

The Ruta Nacional 51 soon becomes a dirt road made of sand and gravel. One of its highest points is the Alto Chorrillo at 14,960 feet of altitude. The wind is very strong but we manage to get off the Jeep and pay a tribute to the Pachamama, a goddess of the indigenous people of the Andes. You are invited to leave her an offering every time you safely cross a mountain pass.

On our way through the Puna we come across an area named Las siete curvas, or “The seven curves.” We get off the Jeep and walk on foot. Walking through these mountains of red clay is disorienting. The strong wind that has shaped these mountains confuses our senses, and the landscape made up of red dunes makes you easily lose your sense of direction.

Our destination is the village of Tolar Grande, at an elevation of 11,500 feet, in the heart of Argentina. In the first half of the 19th century, Tolar Grande was home to about 5,000 residents, railway workers of a now-defunct project to link the region to Chile and miners from a nearby sulfur mine. Today, with the railway project ended and the mine closed, less than 200 people live in Tolar Grande. They are 130 miles from the nearest small city, but have two schools.

Two things that never fail in any village of Argentine Puna: a dog and a satellite dish. Stray dogs are everywhere and are often well integrated with the local population. As for television, even the most isolated and remote house in the Puna have it. As strange as it may seem, guest houses have high-speed Wi-Fi connection too.

Behind the village of Tolar Grande there is a small salt flat. The water comes from springs underground that flow from the Andean range. The vegetation in this very high and arid land is composed of shrubs and small tufts of yellow grass. Vicunas feed on them and are in turn prey for pumas.

Ojos de mar are groups of small and deep ponds just outside the village. They have blue-turquoise water and are inhabited by microorganisms and cyanobacteria like the ones that started life on Earth billions of years ago. Some of these microorganisms, mixed with salt, can corrode plastic and fabrics so our shoes are thoroughly cleaned by locals after our visit.

We can't miss the chance of climbing a sand dune to see the landscape from above — which includes clay hills flecked with white streaks of chalk and salt that come to the surface. Climbing a sand dune that’s 11,500 feet high is easier said than done: You're short of breath due to the thin air, your heart beats very fast, and a massive headache is just around the corner. Coca leaves are legal in this part of Argentina, and chewing on them helps us fight altitude sickness.

During our days in the Puna we cross the Salar de Arizaro, the sixth largest salt flat in the world, covering 600 square miles. We drive for more than an hour in a straight line, dried salt as far as the eye can see on both sides of the road. With the highest volcanoes of the Andes serving as a backdrop, the scene is spectacular.

In the middle of the Salar de Arizaro we come across one of the most enigmatic natural wonders of the world: the Cono de Arita, an almost perfect cone made by nature that’s 1,300 feet tall. Scientists believe it's a stratovolcano that never exploded. Its beauty and perfection are unbelievable.

The salt crystals on the surface of the salar have been shaped by the wind and erosion, as the softer minerals give way to hard, sharp edges. It’s hard to walk across and reaching the base of the Cono de Arita makes my feet hurt through my shoes. It is forbidden to climb the cone but unfortunately traces of ascent can be seen on its smooth surface.

The Cerro Aracar, a large stratovolcano, is nearly 20,000 feet high. The colors it assumes during sunset are unreal. It lies on the border between Argentina and Chile and is regularly climbed by people from all over the world. An Inca site has been found near its top.

If you want to see the Milky Way like you've never seen it before, just go outside the village of Tolar Grande after 10:00 PM on a moonless night — or before the moon rises. We drive just a couple of miles to find ourselves surrounded by absolute darkness, then we look up and are speechless for long minutes. Only the temperatures well below freezing convince us to go back to the Jeep.

Our trip to the Puna ended in Salta, “the capital of the north,” the colonial city that lies at the feet of the Andes, over 200 miles from Tolar Grande. Salta is a pleasant city to live in, the food is excellent, and it offers enjoyable pastimes such as the ascent to Cerro San Bernardo by cable car. From the top you can enjoy a wonderful view of the city and the Puna.