Wide spaces open up before you in La Puna, an Andean region to the northwest of the country, populated by an indigenous people called the Qulla. This arid land, whose high plateaux reach an altitude of 4 800m, is characterised by a wide variety of landscapes, from vast desert steppes to narrow pre-Andean valleys, as well as salt pans and lagoons inhabited by pink flamingos. Isolated in the mountains, the village of Iruya is worth a visit.