Chile · CL

Paso de Ascotan

Paso de Ascotán is a dramatic mountain pass at 4,448 metres in northern Chile's Antofagasta Region, carved through the volcanic highlands just shy of the Bolivian border. Travelers along the Ruta 21—a long, paved ribbon of highway linking the desert mining town of Calama with the Altiplano—cross this pass on one of South America's most spectacular overland journeys. The pass sits in a vast landscape of salt flats, stratovolcanoes, and wind-scoured plateaus, with Cerro Ascotán—a 5,473-metre volcano straddling Chile and Bolivia—rising just three kilometres to the southeast. The recently paved road includes a purpose-built viewpoint overlooking the shimmering Salar de Ascotán, making the pass a memorable waypoint for anyone driving between the Atacama and the Bolivian salt flats.