Ojos del Salado

Tool

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
International flights$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.

Reality check

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

Sources

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

Methodology: 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).

Puna 6K price updates

Operator rates shift every season. The currency doesn't sit still either.

One email when operators release new pricing, when DIFROL changes permit rules, or when the ARS/USD rate moves enough to matter.

Free. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.

Read the research