We spent 4 days walking the route of the Six Thousand and learning about geology with @geoturismolickanantay! A route that was practically created for mining.

Our first stop in the Los Salares Depression was at the Maricunga Salt Flat, located 160 km northeast of Copiapó and 3,760 meters above sea level. It is located between the Claudio Gay and Domeyko mountain range.

To the north you will find Cerro la Isla - which is where we were having breakfast with the kombi - and to the south is Laguna Santa Rosa, at the foot of numerous inactive volcanoes belonging to the Maricunga Strip, a chain that extends N-S, and what a bearer of precious metals. In the sector it is possible to find pre-Hispanic vestiges, associated with the Inca culture.

Although the Nevado de Tres Cruces National Park covers the southern part of the Maricunga salt flat, the northern part is unprotected and this is partly because it is a place of interest for lithium extraction, after the Atacama salt flat. The project was approved a few years ago by the SEA and it is very likely that in a few years the ecosystem that encompasses this salt flat will change.