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Sleeping here the first night
Putre is the town where you sleep before going up, and the order is the point of the visit. Lauca, Las Vicuñas and Surire are higher than the town, hence the order.
If you go up on your own, sleep in Putre first and only go up on the second day. The full-day tour from Arica is the other way: a glimpse of the lake without changing beds. If you have doubts about the altitude, that is a question for your doctor before you book.
Lauca, with a gate that closes one day
Lauca National Park is the first thing you go up to. The trails are short. The park does not open every day, so confirm the day with the operator before booking the Cotacotani trek.
Inside the park there is nowhere to fill up on fuel.
The village of Parinacota is uninhabited most of the year and the church may be closed. The Fiesta de Santiago is held once a year.
Las Vicuñas and Surire have no public transport
Both are on dirt roads and neither has a bus. Las Vicuñas is entered by route A-235, which leaves from the 11-CH, and a high vehicle is recommended. For Surire, private vehicles must be four-wheel drive, and the road along the A-31 is in poor condition and passable only at certain times of year: ask the agency whether it is passable on your date. It is not a road to improvise on with a car that does not meet this.
The alternative is a tour from Putre, such as the one by Aventura PutreYork to the salt flat, which includes Guallatire and the Polloquere hot springs. If you are travelling alone, first ask whether there is already a group for your date. The same agency runs the trek to the Cotacotani lagoons, inside Lauca.
The winter that arrives in summer
The Altiplano winter runs from December to March, and December already counts: summer rains and lightning on the Lauca trails. In those months roads and parks can close, so leave a day of margin and confirm before going up. If your dates are flexible, choose them outside those months. Do not go if the forecast is bad.
How to get there
From Santiago you fly to Arica, and from there you go up by route 11-CH. Ask at the Arica terminal whether a bus runs to Putre and which days it leaves. With your own car or a tour, the climb is sorted.
The place
Facts
- Where it is
- Parinacota
- Official site
- imputre.cl
- Full entry
- Putre
Source: wikidata.org · Checked on November 1, 2026
When to go
- Temperature
- Rainfall
- Best time
- Good
- Mixed
- Poor
- High
- 14°
- Low
- 4°
- Rainfall
- 95 mm
Itineraries
5-day route Arica - Parinacota
From Arica to Putre, Lauca and Surire in five days, ordered by altitude: low first, and the night in Putre before any park.
What the route costs
Prices checked on Oct 5, 2026. They may contain errors, so confirm them at the source before you pay.
- Putre – Salar de Surire – Putre tour (Aventura PutreYork)
Per person, from the Putre hotel at 9:00, with shared transport, driver guide and box lunch. Includes Guallatire and the Polloquere hot springs; salt flat at 4,245 m.
Minimum 2 and maximum 6 passengers
CLP 131,000
- Cotacotani Lagoons trek from Putre (Aventura PutreYork)
Per person, with pickup at the Putre hotel at 8:00 and a snack on the way. The lagoons are at 4,350 m, inside Lauca.
Minimum 2 and maximum 6 passengers
CLP 92,000
- Lauca National Park
Open Tuesday to Sunday. Confirm the time before going up.
Entry free of charge. Trails: Chungará 600 m, Parinacota 3.2 km, Las Cuevas 1 km. Lightning from December to March.
Pets and drones are not allowed, and lighting fires is prohibited. There are no petrol stations on the way.
CLP 0
- Salar de Surire Natural Monument
No trails; only the main road and a camping area next to the Polloquere hot springs.
No public transport; private vehicles must be four-wheel drive. Route A-31 is in poor condition and passable only in certain seasons.
Price not published
- Las Vicuñas National Reserve
Entered by route A-235, which leaves from 11-CH.
No public transport; dirt road, a high vehicle is recommended. Reach Putre first and go up only on the second day.
Price not published
- Parinacota Church (Historic Monument)
Calle Atacama 98, in the village of Parinacota, within the Lauca area.
The village is uninhabited most of the year; Santiago de Parinacota is celebrated only once a year, at the saint's feast. There is no guarantee the church is open.
Price not published
Total of the confirmed pricesCLP 223,000
CLP 111,500 a night if you stay as long as the page suggests
Keep exploring
See all the destinations
Arica, the coast before the altiplano
The home of the Chinchorro culture: mummies in situ, the Morro and three beaches with lifeguards before the climb to the altiplano.
Iquique and the nitrate works
Beaches, a street of nitrate-era houses, and Humberstone and Santa Laura 47 km away: the coast from which you climb to the pampa.
Calama, the gateway to San Pedro
It is the gateway to San Pedro, with the Chuquicamata mine as the main reason to stay.
San Pedro de Atacama
What to book before you leave, why you fly to Calama and who is not let into El Tatio.
Antofagasta and the Paranal Saturday
The city that the Saturday visit to Paranal, the Hand of the Desert, La Portada and the beaches of Mejillones all start from.
La Serena
A seven-kilometre seafront, Coquimbo and a cloud forest: what to do in La Serena and when to go to Fray Jorge.
