Discovery of the Iruputuncu

The Iruputuncu (5.163 m) is not well known, yet it is also the most surprising of the volcanoes of the Lipez region. It is an active volcano like his friend the Ollagüe volcano (5870 m) further south.

The Iruputuncu volcano in his center offers an impressive sulfur crater, an open pit mine high of nearly 150 m. This beautiful volcano has to be earned because you have to go to find him at the Chilean border with a bumpy and rocky trail after 3 hours of track from the village of San Pedro de Quemez.

A path traced in a huge pierrier will take you to the heart of the volcano to the old mine. From here you can see the huge chimney of an unreal bright yellow. And if the winds are favorable, you can then go beyond it to finish the last 200 meters that take you to the summit of Iruputuncu volcano (5163 m). From up there, the view is magnificent course on the sulfur crater, but also all the surrounding salars. The road was worth it. A few popular climb but not to be missed in the Lipez!