Crossing the Andes by bus: one of the world's greatest journeys – in pictures

One of the greatest bus ride in the world starts at Purmamarca in Argentina, a place famed for its multicoloured markets, then works its way 700km west across the Andes to San Pedro de Atacama in Chile. Photograph: Alamy

Purmamarca is also famed for its 'hill of seven colours', so named for its layers of pigmented minerals Photograph: Alamy

The road from Purmamarca soon rises up and the landscape becomes very dry. There are few settlements, La Cienaga being one of the last
Photograph: Kevin Rushby

Through a series of hairpin bends the road rises rapidly to over 4,000 metres, the zone where only a few highly specialised species can survive
Photograph: Kevin Rushby

The llama was domesticated around 5,000 years ago and has blood specially adapted to high altitude
Photograph: Kevin Rushby

The vicuña, a wild relative of the llama, was hunted to near extinction but since it was legally protected has bounced back and is now frequently spotted
Photograph: Kevin Rushby

Still in Argentina the road drops down to Las Salinas Grandes, a series of salt pans
Photograph: Kevin Rushby

The Argentinian border crossing is at over 4,000m, but the Chilean post is still far away across the highest passes
Photograph: Kevin Rushby

Approaching 5,000m the road is covered in ice and strong winds laden with ice particles scour the landscape
Photograph: Kevin Rushby

Lorry drivers get out to inspect a vehicle that has become ice-bound at the highest point in the pass
Photograph: Kevin Rushby

Pouring maté on the coach during the journey across the Andes
Photograph: Kevin Rushby

Geothermal geysers steaming in the dawn air at El Tatio in Chile. This border region, where Argentina, Chile and Bolivia meet, is full of volcanic activity
Photograph: Kevin Rushby

A puna hawk flies in a gully near Lascar volcano in Chile. This species goes higher than almost all other raptors, hunting up to altitudes of 5,000m
Photograph: Kevin Rushby

You need sharp eyes to spot the vizcacha, a long-tailed rodent related to the chinchilla. Its main predator up in the high Andes is the puma Photograph: Kevin Rushby

A herd of vicuñas racing across volcanic gravel pans on the Chilean side near El Tatio
Photograph: Kevin Rushby

Few people live at the higher altitudes. Talabre is a rare high-altitude village, a few miles south of the trans-Andes road in Chile. Most adults work in the copper mines, leaving only grandparents and children
Photograph: Kevin Rushby

A Mmgellanic horned owl pictured at around 4,000m in the shelter of a slot canyon
Photograph: Kevin Rushby

Skirting these two impressive volcanoes – Lican Cabur (5,920m) and Juriques (5,704m) – the road drops down to the Atacama desert, the driest place on Earth
Photograph: Kevin Rushby

The Iglesia de San Pedro Atacama in Chile was built in the 17th century by the Spanish, who used this oasis as a stopping point on the silver caravan route from Potosí in Bolivia Photograph: Alamy