Laguna Roja, lake in Arica y Parinacota Region, Chile

Laguna Roja is one of the Lagunas de Amuyo, a group of three lakes in the Arica y Parinacota Region of northern Chile, at about 3,700 metres above sea level. Its warm water, roughly 40 to 50 °C, appears red, while the neighbouring Laguna Amarilla and Laguna Verde hold yellow and green water. The lakes drain through the Caritaya River.

The lake remained hidden from tourism and public awareness until 2009, when its discovery brought attention to this remote Andean location. This relatively recent exposure explains why it remains less famous than other high-altitude lakes in the region.

Locals call it Mar Rojo, "Red Sea", not Devil's Lagoon. Tradition holds that the two sister lagoons, Amarilla and Verde, begin to bubble when unpleasant people gather around them. Locals also credit the red water with supernatural powers, linking it to mysterious disappearances and to the deaths of Aymara people who drank from it.

The lake lies in the Arica y Parinacota Region and is reached from Camiña, 196 km from Iquique; an alternative road from Illapata, in the Camarones commune, is under construction. The site sits at about 3,700 m above sea level, so allow for altitude. The water is warm, roughly 40 to 50 °C.

Locals call it Mar Rojo and credit it with supernatural powers, linking it to mysterious disappearances and to the deaths of Aymara people who drank its waters. Its depth is unknown to them, and the neighbouring Amarilla and Verde lagoons are said to bubble when unpleasant people gather around them.