Located 50 km south of San Pedro, the Parque Laguna Chaxa is an easily accessible lagoon with a thriving population of flamingoes. There is a small interpretive center and a well maintained trail along the lagoon and into the jagged whitish salt crust.

 

It is a surrealistic place, set between the snow-capped volcanoes of the Andes to the east and the reddish mountains of the Cordillera de la Sal to the west.

 

Unimpressed by this fantastic landscape, three subspecies of Flamingos, Plovers and Andean Avocets wade in the pools and forage on the many small critters that populate the saline waters.

 

But the desert here is also home to lizards, mice and even foxes..

 

We visited Chaxa on a bright and sunny day in August 2011.