"Absolutely incredible experience. The drive from San Pedro to the base of the climb was roughly 1hr 45min. With a stop at the entrance of the park. The drive up was during the sunrise and combined with the landscape, made it a surreal and beautiful experience. The climb took us about 2.5hrs, but the first 30min was the hardest. Once we got acclimated and into the rhythm, the climb wasn’t so bad. If you follow the motto “slow and steady wins the race” you should be fine. We had also been in San Pedro for 3 days (the climb was our 4th day) so we were pretty acclimated. The views were spectacular. It was like being on another planet. Let the photos speak for themselves."

Paul Osswald

"The climb is non-technical and usually takes about 2 hours and 15 minutes to 2 hours and 45 minutes for an average person, even without prior climbing experience. The views are stunning all the way to the top, making it a rewarding experience. I highly recommend using hiking poles, as much of the trail consists of loose volcanic gravel, which can make you sink or slide.

This was my first time climbing to such an altitude, and I had no issues, though I took medication beforehand as a precaution. If you’re in San Pedro de Atacama and have the courage, this is an excellent adventure to try!"

Naveen Perera

"Information for people wanting to do this solo/non-guided.

The fee to enter the park is $10000 per person, which is paid at the checkpoint in Talabre upon arrival.

You will need to arrive at the checkpoint in Talabre before 8.30am if you want to climb Lascar, as it’s ‘protocol’ to refuse anyone after this point. We turned up at 9.20am the day before and they said we wouldn’t get back in time (you need to be back at the checkpoint before 4pm), although it is definitely doable if you are a fast walker! (Not sure if you could just lie and say you’re only going to the Laguna and they’d let you through?)

From Talabre, you drive 30 minutes east (road is tarmacced for half the way, rutted gravel the rest) until a building on the left in front of Laguna Lejia (easy to spot, this is only the second building you will see I think). Here is a 30 minute-ish off road journey to the trailhead.

DO I NEED A 4x4? Probably, though I think might be doable without one, depending on the conditions and the car but would be a bit sketchy and you’d have to go very slow. The first 20 minutes or so would be SUPER bumpy but probably fine. The last 10 minutes has some sections of deeper sand, but if you build up the speed on the good bits you might be able to coast through the deeper bits. You wouldn’t however be able to park at the top where the tour companies park. We hired a 4x4 (Nissan X Trail, 2.5L)and still weren’t able to get up there! Very steep, uneven and deep sand in places. You could park ~800m or so further down the hill though easily, which is what we did.

The walk itself was short but great views at the top. You can no longer climb to the summit, which you’re told at the checkpoint. It wasn’t clear which summit they meant as there’s one to the east and west of the path. Turns out they meant both of them and you need to stay immediately around the crater. But don’t worry you don’t actually lose out as I don’t think the view is any better from up there.
Lots of reviews talking about the difficulty, we’re fairly fit walkers and it took us around 2hrs up 30 minutes down. If you’ve acclimatised before think you’ll be fine. Lots of ostriches, vicuñas and flamingos in the Laguna nearby which is well worth going to the viewpoint to the south of it! Amazing colour.
Photos and videos show:
1. The view down from the Volcano showing the road you drive on to get there. Also showing where the powerful cars were able to park (centre) and where we parked (white car 1km or so down the road.
2. Video showing the start of the steep bit (deep and uneven sand track just out of sight, we gave it three attempts with no luck)
3. Video showing the majority of the off road section and how rutted it was."

Adam Walker