A two hour drive took us to Piedras Rojas, a salt lagoon at an altitude of 4,100m overlooked by the Andes. The mountains in the region are up to almost 6,000m in height – for comparison Mount Elbrus in Russia has highest point in Europe at 5,642m, Mont Blanc is the third highest at 4,809m. The mountains are volcanic, some dormant but some active with the last eruption in December 2022 and there is currently an orange warning, one before the maximum.
The lagoon is set amongst red rocks, hence the name. Our guide, Gaspar, took us on a gentle hike around part of the lagoon wary of the high altitude. Although not freezing, the wind chill made it seem very cold even in the bright sun.
We then visited the Miscanti and Miniques lagoons before heading off for a high altitude picnic among the rocks.
During the drive we passed the foothills of the active Lascar Volcano at almost 6,000m and crossed the Tropic of Capricorn (going west the tropic of Capricorn passes through Queensland and east of south America it passes through Namibia).
Shilli-Fully Travels 