Guided 9-day climb to San Francisco volcano in Atacama

Eduardo, an IFMGA certified guide, takes you on a 9-day expedition to the summit of San Francisco volcano, the world's easiest 6000m peak to climb. You will also climb Siete Hermanos and Mulas Muertas as part of the acclimatization.

Group

Andes

9 Days

Jan - May, Sep - Dec

High

Intermediate

Description

The arid region of the Atacama Desert awaits your visit. This vast surface in northern Chile has a spectacular surprise for you: San Francisco volcano (6,018 m). Located right on the border of Argentina and Chile, this extinct stratovolcano will be our main challenge on this unforgettable 9-day expedition.

Why is this experience for you? Thanks for asking: San Francisco volcano is considered the world’s easiest 6,000 m peak to climb, since its route grows gradually in height, allowing us to acclimatize well.

This is not a technical ascent. However, it’s an expedition that will take us to extreme altitudes, so you will need to have a multi-day altitude trek experience, climbing other peaks in the area first. You’ll also need to be healthy and fit.

We will start our exciting journey in the northern Chilean city of Copiapó, where we will prepare and adjust everything for the expedition. On the following day, we will drive to the Laguna Santa Rosa Hut to spend the night, located at the edge of the homonymous lagoon.

The next days we will witness the beauty of the Siete Hermanos peak (4,780 m) and the dryness that surrounds the Mulas Muertas peak (5,200 m), and will acclimatize our bodies for the 7th day challenge: San Francisco Volcano summit via the north ridge.

This last climb will take us around 5 to 7 hours to accomplish. Afterwards, four-by-four vehicles will be waiting for us at the bottom to take us back to our shelter for the night.

For this trip, it is essential that you bring with you personal climbing equipment or let us know beforehand if you want us to rent it for you.

If you are up for an exciting but demanding challenge, try this one! Don’t miss the chance to witness the inhospitable nature of the Atacama Desert over 6,000 m high!

Would you like to go further and higher? Join me in this 14-day ascent to the summit of the Ojos del Salado peak, the world’s highest volcano at 6,891 m.

Price includes

Accommodation included
Guiding fee
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Transport during the trip
Transportation start and back
Permit and entrance fees
Mountain guide expenses

Price details

Prices are for open groups on fixed dates. Ask me for private groups.
All transport within the trip, as well as meals and accommodation are included, except for lunch and dinner in Copiapó and flights to and from this city. You should also bring your own camping and personal equipment.

Meeting point

Copiapó Airport

Itinerary

Day 1: Arrival to Copiapó

Pick up at the airport and transfer to Copiapó. We will prepare all the equipment for the next days and have dinner.

Day 2: Copiapó – Laguna Santa Rosa Hut (3700m)

210 km away from Copiapó, we will overnight at the Laguna Santa Rosa Hut.

Day 3: Climbing Siete Hermanos (4780m)

We will climb to the Siete Hermanos summit, at 4,780 m and overnight at the Laguna Santa Rosa Hut.

Day 4: Laguna Santa Rosa Hut – Laguna Verde Hut (4300m)

We’ll cook and gather in a small mountain hut and sleep in tents at the Laguna Verde Hut. Good news: there’s a large warm water pool available!

Day 5: Climb to Mulas Muertas (5200m)

Another day for acclimatization: we will climb the Mulas Muertas peak, a few km away from the hut.

Day 6: Drive to Claudio Lucero Hut (4400m)

A day before the big challenge, we will spend the night at Claudio Lucero Hut.

Day 7: Climbing Nevado San Francisco (6023m)

We will start with an early breakfast and after a short drive, we will climb for about 5 to 7 hours to the summit of the San Francisco peak. We will overnight at Claudio Lucero Hut.

Day 8: 2nd attempt to climb San Francisco peak or drive to Copiapó (4400m)

If we didn’t make it to the top the day before, we can try again. If we did, we can drive back to Copiapó.

Day 9: Drive to Copiapó

We will drive back to Copiapó.

Details

More info

There are no rental shops in Copiapó or Santiago, so you need to bring your own equipment or let us know beforehand if you want us to rent it for you.

Remember that you will need special gear such as: single layer boots, trekking boots and trekking poles. You will also need clothing to keep you warm in extreme conditions like trekking socks, mittens, gloves, snowproof pants, base layer pants, trekking pants, a fleece jacket, snowproof jacket, a summit down jacket, and a hat. Please, bring your own camping personal items, including a sleeping bag and a sleeping mattress.

About the guide

-Andes Specialists

4.8

(5)

Mountain Guide

Andes Specialists is a guiding company founded in 2012 with a clear mission: to transform a passion for high-altitude mountaineering into a professional, adaptable, and reliable service. Created by Maximo Kausch, the company was born from his dream of turning a lifelong connection with the mountains into a project focused on deep knowledge, real guiding experience, and personalized service.

We operate exclusively in the Andes, not only in the most iconic mountains, but also in remote and rarely visited regions where few — if any — guides work. Our clients recognize us for our flexibility and ability to adapt to their goals, just like the mountains that inspire us.

All of our expeditions are led by certified guides, and we place special emphasis on a guide’s professional experience in the field — not just their personal climbing résumé. We believe that strong logistics, leadership, and group care are what truly define a world-class mountain guide.

Maximo Kausch, the founder, personally leads most of our expeditions. When he’s not available, clients are guided by handpicked members of his trusted team. Maximo has led over 10 expeditions to 8,000-meter peaks, several to 7,000-meter peaks, and more than 90 to 6,000-meter mountains. He has climbed over 250 extreme altitude peaks, reached the summit of K2, and currently holds the Guinness World Record for the most 6,000-meter peaks climbed — with 89 summits officially recognized.

At Andes Specialists, guiding isn’t just about reaching the summit — it’s about going beyond the obvious, with safety, expertise, and genuine connection.

Languages

Portuguese | English

What people are saying about -Andes Specialists

Renato

While we took coffee on the hood of the car, he took inside the hotel, he took more time than gave to us, leaving me and my wife waiting him to finish his meal

Delphine

Aleksander

The expedition was very professionally organised with a good guide to client ratio (between 2:1 and 3:1), great food (cook Charlie was absolutely amazing, the food was better than in restaurants although we were in a remote location in a desert at 4,300+ meters above sea level), the guides all spoke English very well (big plus!) and the communication from the guides before and during the trip was very clear and helpful (e.g. asking questions what equipment to bring etc). Would recommend to others for sure

Jerry

You People there at Explore have really put a great trip together. I don,t know how you could improve on this. Thanks forgiving me the chance to experience Chile!

Anne-Laure

These 2-days in Cerro Penitentes were amazing in the environnement of Aconcagua and the Andes in general. Eduardo has been very professional, very reactive to my questions before and during the trek, very aware or my wellness. We had a very good time and I should recommend it for sure.