Ojos del Salado

Herramienta

Budget Calculator — Puna 6Ks

Ojos del Salado, Monte Pissis, and Volcán San Francisco. Zero permit fees, operator markup tiers from $830 to $8,950, and the honest Aconcagua comparison.

Exchange rate: ARS 1,400 / USD (May 2026, post-band system). Blue dollar arbitrage is dead — cards at official rate are competitive.

Peak

14 days expedition + 2 transit days | 2 nights Fiambalá | 1 night Catamarca

Operator tier

Permits & fees

$0 — No permits required
Argentine side: No permit system. Register with tourist police in Fiambalá and Gendarmería at La Gruta (both free).
Chilean side: DIFROL permit is free. Apply 20+ business days in advance. CONAF park entry may apply (~$180) if transiting Nevado Tres Cruces.
Compare: Aconcagua permit is $1,170-1,640 for foreign climbers.

Flying from

International flight tier

Buenos Aires to Catamarca

Catamarca to Fiambalá

Fiambalá hotel (2 nights)

Fiambalá has Termas (thermal baths) for post-climb recovery. Cards accepted at hotels; carry ARS cash ($200-300 equiv) for smaller businesses.

Catamarca hotel (1 night)

Gear

Summit day requires: harness, helmet, ice axe, crampons, rope (guide teams). Rental available in Copiapó (Chilean side). Almost nothing in Fiambalá.

Insurance

No dedicated mountain rescue in Catamarca Province. Evacuation from Pissis Camp 2 to hospital: 12+ hours minimum by 4x4. Without Global Rescue or equivalent, helicopter evacuation could exceed $100,000.

Ojos del Salado (6,893m)

Local operator (EPGAMT / Copiapó-based)

Operator / expedition$4,200
Permits$0
Domestic flight (BUE-CTC)$250
Catamarca-Fiambalá$50
Fiambalá (2 nights)$100
Catamarca (1 night)$45
Gear$0
Insurance$400
Tips (guide + cook)$150
Misc (SIM, snacks, termas)$80
Argentina total$5,275
Vuelos internacionales$900
Total
$6,175
≈ ARS 8,645,000

vs. Aconcagua

Ojos costs ~65% of a comparable Aconcagua expedition (~$9,500 mid-range guided). The difference: zero permits, zero crowds, zero rescue infrastructure.

Aconcagua (6,962m) permit alone is $1,170-1,640 for foreign climbers. Ojos del Salado (6,893m) is 98.7% of the altitude for roughly half the cost.

Realidad

The summit scramble at 6,850m is YDS 5.6 on loose volcanic rock — not a walk-up. Winds exceed 80 km/h. Success rate is roughly one-third of attempts. The Argentine route has no refugios and reportedly inaccurate published maps. December and March are the most stable weather windows — Jan/Feb risk invierno boliviano storms.

Every number sourced. May 2026 data. Ojos del Salado research

Fuentes

Every number in this calculator is traceable to a specific source. Permit fees are confirmed $0 for both the Argentine and Chilean sides as of 2026. No affiliate links. No commissions from operators.

Ojos del Salado operators (local)
Andes Specialists — Ojos del Salado expedition ($3,980)Andes Vertical — Ojos del Salado guided ($4,790-4,900)High Mountain LA — Ojos del Salado ($2,500-3,500)Chile Montaña — Ojos del Salado ($4,200)SummitClimb — Ojos del Salado ($4,350)
Ojos del Salado operators (international)
Alpenglow Expeditions — Rapid Ascent ($8,950)
Monte Pissis operators
Andes Vertical — Monte Pissis expedition ($4,200)
San Francisco operators
Andes Vertical — San Francisco volcano ($3,932)Explore-Share — San Francisco expedition ($830 local guide)
Aconcagua permit comparison
Andes Vertical — Aconcagua fee rates 2025/2026
Permits (DIFROL, Argentine)
DIFROL — Chilean expedition permits (free)SummitPost — Ojos del Salado (route, logistics, 4x4 costs)
Route & logistics
GuidedPeaks — Ojos del Salado complete guideAlexClimb — Argentine route maps are fabricated
Domestic flights (BUE-CTC)
Expedia — Buenos Aires to Catamarca flights
Catamarca-Fiambalá transport
Busbud — Catamarca to Fiambalá bus ($23-30)
Fiambalá accommodation
Booking.com — Fiambalá hotels ($31-80/night)
Exchange rate & currency
PBS — Argentina ends capital controls (April 2025)Funds Society — Argentina exchange rate band 2026
Insurance & rescue
Global Rescue — helicopter evacuation costs

Metodología: Operator package prices are midpoints from published 2025-2026 rates on operator websites. Self-guided costs assume own gear, local 4x4 hire, and 12-15 days of self-supplied food. The "independent" budget only works for climbers with 6,000m+ expedition experience. Domestic flight costs use Expedia/Google Flights aggregator data. Exchange rate ARS 1,400/USD is the May 2026 post-band-system rate. Argentina's capital controls were largely lifted in April 2025 — the blue dollar premium that made cash essential is now marginal. The Aconcagua comparison uses mid-range guided expedition totals including the 2025/2026 foreign climber permit ($1,170-1,640).

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