The core of the Atacama or Likanantay culture was San Pedro de Atacama, plotted and built in colonial times entirely of adobe. Today it is the Archaeological Capital of Chile and center of all regional tourism. The nearby Valley of the Moon, Sanctuary of Nature, surprises with its curious natural formations while the Valley of Death impresses with its bleak reddish aridity. In the twelfth century the pukará of Quitor was built that defended the valley for four centuries, but did not resist the siege of the Spanish conquistadors. Rio Grande and Machuca, are typical Atacama villages where the ascent of the 5,400 m Soquete volcano with its characteristic rocky peak will begin. The hiker is then awaited by the Tatio Geysers, the largest geothermal field, managed by the neighboring indigenous community. All the natural force of seventy columns of steam shining in the sun will not prevent you from bathing peacefully in the nearby thermal wells. In the fertile valley of Caspana, stone village, it is worth a visit to the Desert Museum to rest at the end of the day in the calm of the salar de Carcote, now only a vestige of what was an ancient lake. The Llullaillaco volcano! (hot water in Aymara) forms a National Reserve bordering Argentina and is part of the Andean Road System. It is 6739 m high that will take three days of staged ascent and acclimatization. The first sporting ascent in 1952 found three frozen mummies there, demonstrating that ritual sacrifices were made to the Inca gods at its summit. From the border town of Ollague you will soon reach the immense Salar de Uyuni, the largest salt desert in the world, with more than 10,000 km2 of continuous area. The unique Cactus Island is undoubtedly a must-see attraction in the salt flat. The trip will then guide us to the turquoise Coipasa lagoon and the now-defunct Poopó Lake from which we will arrive in La Paz, the highest capital city in the world, guarded by the imposing Illimani. The Nevado Illampu or Sorata (6,485 meters above sea level) forms with neighboring Ancohuma one of the most representative massifs of the Cordillera Real and is considered by the Walkers a beautiful mountain for its pyramidal shape but the most difficult to climb of the Bolivian six thousand. Ascension can take up to five days, in parts with snowy slopes of 65 degrees. According to the worldview of the original peoples the Illampu is one of the greatest gods, the Water-Making, builder of the world and protector of life. There is still a need to know the Sajama National Park and the highest summit in Bolivia that justify a careful visit. Already in Chile, the beautiful Chungará lake with the bottom of the Nevados de Payachata is a spectacle of Nature and a sample of the incredible biodiversity that you climbed in the Altiplano. Descending from the mountain range towards the coast is the picturesque village of Putre, last arrest before reaching the Chilean Jewel of the North, the city of Arica.