Salar de Pedernales Remote Access Circuit

This 68-kilometer desert penetration route reaches Salar de Pedernales, a pristine salt flat surrounded by 6,000-meter peaks 200 kilometers northeast of Copiapó. The track leaves Highway 31 near Refugio Ojo de Agua, immediately climbing through volcanic badlands where early 20th-century borax miners carved wheel ruts still visible today. Navigation becomes critical beyond Quebrada de Paipote — GPS essential as the route crosses five dry washes and multiple false trails left by prospectors.

Difficult rating demands desert-prepared vehicles with sand ladders and emergency supplies. Best attempted May through September to avoid summer heat that exceeds 45°C. Carry minimum three days of water and food; this is true expedition territory with no services or cell coverage for 300 kilometers. The payoff is accessing Chile’s most remote salt flat, where flamingo colonies feed undisturbed and ancient Indigenous hunting blinds remain intact among borax crystal formations.