White stone
Wind-carved shapes.
Rodolfo Pace — CC BY 2.0 · rodoluca77 — CC BY 2.0 · Marioperetti — CC BY-SA 4.0 · rodoluca77 — CC BY 2.0 · rodoluca77 — CC BY 2.0
The Campo de Piedra Pómez, the Pumice Stone Field, is a nature reserve on the high Puna plateau of northwest Catamarca, covering some 75,000 hectares at altitudes between 3,050 and 4,850 metres. Its landscape is thousands of white and pink formations of volcanic pumice, thrown out by the area's volcanoes, chiefly Cerro Blanco, then sculpted by the wind over thousands of years into shapes like waves, towers and mushrooms. The place is remote and isolated, the light hard and clear, the sky deep blue over the white stone, so it looks like another planet. Around it lie the Puna desert, salt lakes and volcanoes. Access starts at the village of El Peñón, about 35 kilometres away, mostly on an unmarked sandy track, so it can only be visited by 4x4 with a local driver or guide, on a tour of about five hours in the morning or afternoon. Mind the altitude and dress for cold and sun at once.
Wind-carved shapes.
Above 3,000 metres.
A 4x4 adventure.
Near El Peñón, Antofagasta de la Sierra department, Catamarca
No. The track from El Peñón is sandy and unmarked, so visits are by 4x4 with a local driver or guide only.