Salar de Tara

Tara lies at about 4,300 metres on the way towards the Argentine border, a salt flat and lagoon in a bowl of the altiplano with flamingos, vicuña and Andean geese on it. What people go for is the approach: the track passes the Monjes de la Pacana, columns of pale volcanic tuff standing several metres out of the plain where a much larger ignimbrite sheet has been eroded away around them, and the Catedrales de Tara, a wall of the same rock cut into towers. It is high, remote and cold, and the day is long - most of it spent driving on rough track.

What you actually see

• A salt flat at 4,300 metres - with lagoons, flamingos and vicuña.
• The Monjes de la Pacana - tuff columns left by erosion.
• The Catedrales de Tara - a wall of the same rock cut into towers.
• A long rough approach - most of the day is driving.

When to go

Year round, though snow closes the route in winter. A full day.

Honest expectations

Altitude here affects nearly everyone and the day starts from San Pedro at 2,400 metres. The track needs four-wheel drive and local knowledge; going alone is unwise. There are no facilities of any kind on the route.

Nearby

The Jama pass to Argentina is east; San Pedro is the base.