This is a spectacular and blinding walk where the landscape is entirely unusual and it is worthwhile the effort.

It is a tract of 260 km until Antofagasta of the Sierra for a good consolidated road. In the road there are modest lodgings and hostel in Burnt Corral and Villavil. Take food and load fuel in Hualfín.

Leave Nativity (km 0) for the RN40 until The Axis (km 50), where will find a bus inn and a small warehouse with sale of drinks and homemade bread. There, in the south tip of the mountain of Hualfín, the road forks to surround it: to the right, the RN40 goes to Hualfín ( 9 km ) and Santa María, heading for the valleys Calchaquíes, Tucumán, Salta and Jujuy; to the left, the RP43 goes to Door of Burnt Corral and Antofagasta of the Sierra. Take this last one.

The first town in the km 60 are a valley with small vineyards, acacias and poplars, from where it leaves a consolidated road of 12 km until village of Burnt Corral .

The RP43 rotates toward the north, traveling a narrow valley among the arid mountains until Villavil located in the km 75. There, the road crosses the river (without bridge) that usually brings strong growing summery. In the place there is a small one flowing thermal and a modest village with corrals, where it highlights a telluric ranchón, built to the ancestral way, with stones taken with mud.

Immediately later you goes up the hill of Indalecio Pachado, nice name that, in accordance with the habit, it is taken from a neighboring acquaintance to who is given like reference to locate the place. The road goes next to the river Villavil that has a jump of water of 10 m of high in this hill and then it is channeled in a refined natural channel of stone. In the summit the wide perspective opens up to the first floor of The Bolsón.

The river Villavil reflects forming the green vegas of the stay Long Ravine, where they pasture mules and sheep gently. On the route there is a very good dining room.

In the km 95 will arrive to San Antonio 's Births, to the foot of the imposing Hill of Randolfo

In this hill it is ascended by a road in impressive zigzag up to 4.800 meters , from where they highlight spectacular panoramas of the mountain of the Drawer, to the south, and the mountain Lagoon Blanca, as well as the distant horizon at the distance.

The descent is carried out for closed curved toward an arid depression, with saline blanquísima that the route crosses in a long straight line in the km 130.

In the road will see a poster that indicates « Reserves Natural of Life Silvestre. Forbidden the Hunt» that here begins an ecological reservation of vast territories that you/they extend until the counties of The Rioja and San Juan , for the flora preservation and autochthonous fauna. In the place the graceful vicuñas is plentiful, the leggy suris (or ñandúes) - whose name in native voice means «god that runs» - and the parsimonious flames, meek and curious, that you/they don't hesitate in moving away from their flocks to inspect the visitor.

Then, the route describes a wide curve, takes west and it undertakes a long voyage of soft and sustained ascent for a homogeneous landscape toward the mountain Lagoon Blanca that finishes in the hill Gallant, of 6.600 of meters, (volcano) that has the biggest crater in the world, of 40 km of diameter.

In the km 140 an opens up in route to the right toward the lagoon Blanca that is a mirror of water fed by a basin endorreica whose main course is the river Laughs. Here teros, wild ducks and flamingos are plentiful in the picturesque lacustrine pajonales.

The route continues the ascent until Grass Happiness, pampas to about 4.000 meters , with extensive pastizales.

Then it descends deviously until fertile vegas, where sheep, donkeys and domesticated flames pasture - adorned with red specks in the coat -, to ascend another time for a rough and sheer hill until the portezuelo of Grass Happiness (km 180). It will see a «apacheta», stone ofrendatorio to the Pachamama that testifies the I root from the villager to their traditions.

The step opens the one in route to the high plateau altiplanica

From the portezuelo an arid, volcanic and stony plateau is sighted, subdivided in smaller environments by cords and depressions. When descending, the hill will arrive to a plain desértica of about 15 kms until reaching the following serranía, to the foot of which is in the km 195 The Crag that is an adobe village in a small oasis with an unsuspected boulevard.

There is a lagoon of salted water to the west of the road, before the town.

Continuing the trip a new panorama appears and it is the extensive Valley of Carachipampa

This valley arrives toward Antofagasta of the Sierra, to the north. and is prolonged to the south for pumice stone fields until the mountain range of San Good fortune, where it descends for portezuelos toward the valley of the Abaucán. From before Columbus times, for this valley the one ran on the way to the highland toward the valleys precordilleranos.

During the Colony it was an on the way to mules to take salt and wool from Antofagasta to Fiambalá or Tinogasta.

Still today, the villagers prefer it. It is a landscape of flat floors, with the gray uniformity of the pedregal, where volcanos like black hills truncos emerge. There is almost a dozen of them before arriving to the village.

The Alumbreras, one of the well-known couple as The Black of the Lagoon, seems to have been the most active, with an impressive torrent of petrified lava that it arrives until the road and form escarped murallones of until 10 m of height.

After this natural landmark, the road leans out in a small balcony toward a first floor with lagoon where, surely in a sudden escape, will see overcome the flight of the flamingos, disturbing the totorales.

In the km 260 cross the river Punilla that waters the altiplánico oasis of Antofagasta of the Sierra ( "marries of the sun")