Antofagasta de la Sierra’s distinctive landscape features crystal-clear lagoons, colorful mountains, vast salt flats and more than 200 volcanoes. Local crafts, Puna culture and regional cuisine also shape the experience. The town is accessible via Provincial Route 43; when planning, it is worth distinguishing visits to the town from excursions into the wider Departamento Antofagasta De La Sierra.
Visits in the town
To visit the Museo Municipal, make an appointment by phone at 3834204462 or by email at cultura@antofagastadelasierra.com.ar. The craft workshop offers products made by local artisans for purchase. Locally made pieces make suitable souvenirs and gifts. The “Casas con historia” self-guided walking tour offers another perspective on the town’s architecture, leading visitors through the adobe buildings of Antofagasta de la Sierra.
Landscapes and excursions
Nearby lies Campo de Piedra Pómez, a 25-kilometer-long area of white volcanic rock in the Puna of Catamarca. In the Departamento Antofagasta De La Sierra, the area sits at an altitude of over 3,000 meters; its rock was formed by volcanic activity. One access route leads from Villa de Antofagasta de la Sierra. However, Campo de Piedra Pómez is mainly reached from El Peñón, by 4x4 vehicle with a guide or as part of an organized excursion. Check local conditions before setting out.
Antofagasta Volcano is 8 kilometers from the town of Antofagasta de la Sierra. Its summit crater can be reached on a moderately difficult trek with a local guide. In the Departamento Antofagasta De La Sierra, Volcán Galán also offers a range of activities: mountaineering, trekking, photo safaris, and wildlife and plant observation. Parinas can be seen at Laguna Grande inside the volcano.
The Laguna Blanca Biosphere Reserve lies partly within the Departamento Antofagasta De La Sierra. Its dry Andean landscape includes a salt lake and surrounding rock formations in the Puna and High Andes ecoregions. Chaku, an ancient Inca practice in which vicuñas are captured, shorn and released, is being revived in the reserve. These landscapes and activities add other dimensions to the department’s nature-focused appeal.
Puna culture and history
There are also destinations with a history of their own outside the town. Mina Incahuasi preserves a significant architectural expression of the Hispanic-Indigenous period in the Argentine Puna. Cultural layers from the Inca Empire, the Spanish conquest and modern Argentina come together there. The site is about 80 kilometers north of the present-day town of Antofagasta de la Sierra. The rock art motifs at Campo de las Tobas are at least 1,000 years old and form part of the local history of the Antofagasta region.
The traditional Feria Ganadera y Artesanal de la Puna takes place annually in Antofagasta de la Sierra. It brings together cultural, livestock and artistic activities and attracts visitors from across Argentina. At the 34th edition, a Corpachada honoring Pachamama was held at the livestock grounds.
Regional cuisine
The culinary identity of the Puna associated with Antofagasta de la Sierra includes llama-meat empanadas, Andean potatoes grown at an altitude of 3,200 meters, and tamales with llama-meat charqui. In Antofagasta de la Sierra, there are opportunities to sample regional dishes made with ingredients from the surrounding area. Culinary discoveries thus complement the landscape and cultural attractions, so a visit need not focus solely on nature excursions.
Discover more destinations: El Peñón.
See the full travel overview: Departamento Antofagasta De La Sierra.
