Around Copiapó

East of Copiapó, the Andes divide into two separate ranges – the Cordillera de Domeyko and the Cordillera de Claudio Gay – joined by a high basin, or plateau, that stretches all the way north to Bolivia. The waters trapped in this basin form vast salt flats and lakes towered over by enormous, snowcapped volcanoes, and wild vicuña and guanaco roam the sparsely vegetated hills. This is a truly awe-inspiring landscape, conveying an acute sense of wilderness and space. It’s easier to fully appreciate it here than around San Pedro de Atacama, for instance, thanks to the general absence of tourists. The number of visitors has started to increase, however, following the creation in 1994 of the PARQUE NACIONAL NEVADO DE TRES CRUCES, which takes in a dazzling white salt flat, the Salar de Maricunga; two beautiful lakes, the Laguna Santa Rosa and Laguna del Negro Francisco; and the 6753m volcano Tres Cruces.

The bumpy road up to Parque Nacional Nevado de Tres Cruces takes you through a brief stretch of desert before twisting up narrow canyons flanked by mineral-stained rocks. As you climb higher, the colours of the scoured, bare mountains become increasingly vibrant, ranging from oranges and golds to greens and violets. Some 165km from Copiapó, at an altitude of around 3700m, the road (following the signs to Mina Marta) reaches the first sector of the park, skirting the pale-blue Laguna Santa Rosa, home to dozens of pink flamingos.

Immediately adjacent, the gleaming white Salar de Maricunga is Chile’s most southerly salt flat, covering an area of over 80 square kilometres. A two- to three-hour drive south from here, past Mina Marta, the park’s second sector is based around the large, deep-blue Laguna del Negro Francisco, some 4200m above sea level and home to abundant birdlife, including wild ducks and flamingos. Towering over the lake, the 6080-metre Volcán Copiapó was the site of an Inca sacrificial altar.

Close to but not part of Parque Nacional Nevado de Tres Cruces, by the border with Argentina, the stunning, blue-green Laguna Verde lies at the foot of the highest active volcano in the world, the 6893m Volcán Ojos del Salado. The first, sudden sight of Laguna Verde is stupendous. The intense colour of its waters – green or turquoise, depending on the time of day – almost leaps out at you from the muted browns and ochres of the surrounding landscape. The lake lies at an altitude of 4500m, about 250km from Copiapó on the international road to Argentina (follow the signs to Paso San Francisco or Tinogasta). At the western end of the lake, a small shack contains a fabulous hot-spring bath, where you can soak and take blissful refuge from the biting wind outdoors. The best place to camp is just outside the bath, where a stone wall offers some protection from the wind, and hot streams provide useful washing-up water. At the lake’s eastern end there’s a carabineros checkpoint, where you should make yourself known if you plan to camp.

Laguna Verde is surrounded by huge volcanoes: Mulas Muertas, Incahuasi and the monumental Ojos del Salado. At 6893m, this is the highest peak in Chile and the highest active volcano in the world; its last two eruptions were in 1937 and 1956. A popular climb (Oct–March), it takes up to twelve days and is not technically difficult, apart from the last 50m that border the crater. The base of the volcano is a 12km walk from the abandoned carabineros checkpoint on the main road, and there are two refugios on the way up, one at 5100m (four beds, with latrines) and another at 5750m (twelve beds with kitchen and lounge). Temperatures are low at all times of year, so take plenty of warm gear.

The beaches of Bahía Inglesa are probably the most photographed in Chile, adorning wall calendars up and down the country. More than their white, powdery sands – which, after all, you can find the length of Chile’s coast – it’s the exquisite clarity of the turquoise sea and the curious rock formations that rise out of it which set these beaches apart.

Several beaches are strung along the bay to the north of Caldera, separated by rocky outcrops: the long Playa Machas is the southernmost beach, followed by Playa La Piscina, then by Playa El Chuncho and finally Playa Blanca. Surprisingly, this resort area has not been swamped by the kind of ugly, large-scale construction that mars Viña del Mar and La Serena, and Bahía Inglesa remains a fairly compact collection of cabañas and a few hotels. While the place gets hideously crowded in the height of summer, at most other times it’s peaceful and relaxing.

South of Bahía Inglesa, beyond the little fishing village of Puerto Viejo that marks the end of the paved road, the coast is studded with a string of superb beaches lapped with crystal-clear water and backed by immense sand dunes. The scenery is particularly striking around Bahía Salada, a deserted bay indented with tiny coves some 130km south of Bahía Inglesa. You might be able to find a tour operator that arranges excursions to these beaches, but if you really want to appreciate the solitude and wilderness of this stretch of coast, you’re better off renting a jeep and doing it yourself.