Day 23 - Purmamarca / Humahuaca

For today we had actually planned two highlights, but decided to take it easy. From Purmamarca it is only 65km to the most famous salt lake in Argentina, which we had already seen from the bus two days before. Since the salt lake, which covers an area of about 212 square kilometers, is located at over 3,450m height, we first had to drive up a lot of switchbacks to the pass at 4,170m and then drive back down on the other side. Despite the strenuous drive, the view of the incredibly beautiful landscape compensated us and we reached the salt lake around 11 am. With a guide, we then went by car onto the crystallized surface of the lake, where we were given some information in Spanish about the salt extraction, the formation, and the characteristics of the salt lake. Everything seemed very unreal and totally impressive, similar to the Atacama Desert. A few typical tourist photos that our guide suggested were of course necessary before the tour ended after about half an hour.

We headed back and continued to Humahuaca. Here we could have visited the Mountain of the 14 Colors (Cerro de los 14 Colores), but decided against it due to our physical condition. Also, we would have needed a guide or driver again (road conditions are not particularly good here either) and the tour of about 2.5 hours was too much for us.

We strolled briefly through the village and drove to the accommodation, which was located slightly outside and therefore offered good conditions for a relaxed afternoon.

Since our stomachs (finally) started growling, we went back to Humahuaca in the evening to eat typical Spanish/Argentinian tortilla (omelette with potatoes).