During this trip we visit places at very high altitudes up to 5.000m (16,400ft) above sea level. As we start our trip in Iquique at sea level we need to climb 5km (3.1 miles) up! The only way to enjoy trip to such heights and avoid altitude sickness is to acclimatize slowly. Therefore minimal length of the trip is five days. First two to three days we spend on medium altitudes of 2.000m to 3.000m (6,500ft to 9,800ft) visiting ancient villages and natural attractions in the Atacama Desert and mountains of Andean Precordillera allowing our bodies to acclimatize to high altitudes. Then we move to the main highlight of the trip - Altiplano with an average altitude of 4.600m (15,100ft) where daily temperature amplitudes often exceed 30 degrees Celsius (54°F). Trekking at high altitudes of Altiplano is more strenuous than normal but offers great rewards. We will trek to a volcanic island on white expanses of Salar Coipasa located in a bowl of sky reaching volcanoes of Tata Sabaya, Cabaray, Isluga and Coipasa. Well acclimatized trekkers can test their lungs ascending slopes of active Guallatiri volcano from where one can enjoy the best panoramic views of plains, lakes, and mountains of Altiplano.

Every night of the trip we will camp at an interesting area with extra time in the evenings and mornings allotted for exploration of the surroundings. The first night is spent camping on a rim of the upper reaches of a deep desert canyon of Quebrada Camarones where you can sleep outside looking straight into millions of stars. Atacama Desert is famous for its clear skies and we carry with us a laptop computer with astronomical software to help us locate celestial objects. Another night we spent camping at natural hot springs of Termas Polloquere at Salar Surire where watching the sun rising above volcanoes of high Andes while taking a hot bath is a truly remarkable experience.