11D/10N
Bolivia, Sucre, PotosÃ, La Paz, Uyuni
This tour of Bolivia will allow you to visit the most interesting places in the country. Starting in the lowlands, later you will get to know Sucre and PotosÃ, two cities declared Cultural Heritage of Humanity (UNESCO), to reach Uyuni, where a jeep tour awaits you through the incomparable landscapes around the Salar de Uyuni, deserts and lagoons of colors. We will continue our trip to La Paz, a wonderful city where we will enjoy its streets and traditions. To conclude our tour, Lake Titicaca awaits us, more specifically, the Isla del Sol – the sacred island of the Incas. We finish the program at the La Paz airport.
Visit to the mines of PotosÃ, trip from Potosà to Uyuni
After breakfast, we embark on a 4WD car to explore the wilderness of the world’s largest salt flat with over 12,000 km2 of pure salt! Bordering the Salar, first we go through Colchani, a small community whose inhabitants work with the salt. Later on you will meet a small familiar enterprise and pyramids of salt on the shores of the salar. And now we dive fully into the endless
white salt desert, being outlined on the northern horizon by the impressive Tunupa volcano. And it is exactly in the direction of Tunupa that we will continue our journey. We will climb (in the car)
the slopes of the Tunupa volcano to visit the tomb and mummies of Coquesa. In this place, you literally will have at your feet the salt flats in its entirety. By noon, we arrive at the salt hotel in Tahua. In the afternoon, the ruins of “Pucara Chillima” are waiting for you!. Again, we will go by car to some extent, from where the hike will take place for about 60 to 90 minutes to reach the ruins. We are in a hidden corner of salt flat- a place of spectacular beauty. In just 30 minutes, we descend back to the car. Now if you are a more active person and in good physical condition, we can offer you a trek of approx. 2 to 2.5 hours located right on a trail of pilgrimage that the population used for spiritual ceremonies. This trail will take you directly to your hotel. The incomparable light conditions at this time of the day, the panoramic view over the salt until the Tunupa volcano make this ride a completely special experience. Overnight at the Tayka de Sal hotel, Tahua (B/BxL/D).
Today, we begin a day full of unforgettable and unique experiences, we will cross the Salar de Uyuni from North to South with a visit to the spectacular “Incahuasi island” right at the middle of the sea salt. A short walk will make you explore the island, and you will be amazed by the giant cactus that are centuries old and grow up to 12 meters trying to reach the blue sky. From the viewpoint, you are offered a panoramic view of 360 ° across the salar. On the southern shore of the Salar, we will visit the caves of galaxies (¨cueva de las galaxias¨) – structure of extraordinary geological formations that testify the drying process of the “Michin Lake” (about 300,000 years ago.) and of the “Lake Tauca” (approx 40,000 years ago). We continue trip down to San Pedro de Quemes, where we will take our lunch at the Tayka de Piedra Hotel together with a short break. In the afternoon, we will enjoy a simply magnificent landscape: passing through the Ollague volcano, we will visit the colorful Cañapa, Hedionda, Chiarkota, Honda and finally the Ramaditas lagoon. On the shores of the lagoons, you can admire the three typical species of flamingos in this region who forage in this inhospitable place within hard crusts of borax and sulfur. We left behind the valley
full of colorful lagoons to dive into the expanses of sand and stone at the Siloli desert, an absolutely fantastic and surreal landscape dyed with all possible shades of terracotta and ocher. The jeep runs through the desert, and in the midst of this amazing panorama awaits us our hotel Tayka del Desierto. Overnight in the Siloli desert (B/L/D).
We start early in the morning, first to take you to the “Arbol de Piedra” a stone figure molded by wind erosion, and then to the geysers “Morning Sun” with their columns of hissing steam and bubbling holes located at the highest point of our trip, 5,000 m.a.s.l. But there is more: we now enter from the Salar de Chaviri, a symphony of white, red and blue colors, to our next stop at the hot springs of Polques. Soon after, it wait for us the Valley of the Ladies of the Desert or so-called by the tourist as ¨the Desert of Salvador Dali¨. The “ladies” are rock formations created by wind erosion lonely sppoted and isolated in the desert, totally exposed to erosion. And if you now think you cannot have a more beautiful view, here comes the pearl of the entire region: the Laguna Verde, located at the foot of the majestic Licancabur volcano. We have reached the southern tip of Bolivia, and from here, we start our return, but not before one last look to the phenomenal
¨Laguna Colorada¨, red by the action of some algae, and with flocks of flamingos. Now, you can get comfortable in the jeep, as we expect a pretty long journey. An hour before arriving to Uyuni, we passed the “new” town of San Cristobal, because the “old” town was relocated to make way for one of the biggest silver mine in Bolivia. At night, travel in public bus from Uyuni to La Paz. Night in the bus (B/BxL/-).
*Optional: stay 1 night in Uyuni (day 7) to take the flight Uyuni – La Paz on day 8 in the morning. See apart cost below.
In the morning, we arrived at La Paz. The entrance to this metropolis of the Andes is spectacular, because it seems that just ahead of you the ground it disappear to open the view of a giant “pot” and an endless carpet of houses that climb the slopes of the hills that surround this city, all under the gaze of the snowy majestic Illimani mountain. Transfer from the bus station to your hotel located in a central area of the city. After lunch, we walk through the witches market, the Cathedral of San Francisco, the main square ¨Plaza Murillo¨ and the famous ¨Jaen street¨ that bears witness to the past of the city. Overnight in La Paz (B/-/-).
In private transport, we leave the city of La Paz to Copacabana located right at the shore of the Titicaca Lake. On the north side, you will see the glaciers of the Cordillera Real (6,000 meters) to reach Tiquina, where you will cross in a small motorboat the strait between the minor lake called
¨Wiñaymarka¨ and the major lake ¨Chucuito¨. We continue our journey and on both sides of the road you will see the terraces on the slopes of the hills that testify the pre-Columbian cultures, eg the Chiripa culture, which already practicing this type of farming in the region. We will reach the town of Copacabana at noon. What awaits for you is a fascinating tour on the Titicaca Lake to reach the Isla del Sol. From here, a small trail leads, with some effort, uphill toward today’s destination: the small, idyllic hotel at the top of the Isla del Sol with spectacular panoramic views over the lake overnight on the Isla del Sol (B/-/D).
If you are in good physical condition, you can make the journey on foot. Along the way, you will meet the Chincana temple. The trail goes up and down, but you will enjoy a spectacular view of the ¨Cordillera Real¨ with its snowcapped peaks and glaciers over 6,000 m.a.s.l. and the blue landscape of the Titicaca Lake. Once you reach the temple of Chincana you will have time to observe and enjoy the view, while taking a small box lunch (snack). In about 40 minutes of walking, we descend to the small town of Challapampa, where white sand beaches and a small archaeological museum are waiting for us. We visited the museum and then we get ready for the return to Copacabana. After a short walk through the town of Copacabana, the sanctuary of the Virgin of Copacabana, the handicrafts fair and farmer’s market, we embarked to return to the city of La Paz. Overnight in La Paz (B/BxL/-).
It is time to say goodbye. Depending on your flight schedule or later program, you have the morning at your disposal. In the afternoon, transfer to La Paz airport and return flight. (B/-/-)
END OF OUR SERVICES AT THE AIRPORT OF LA PAZ (EL ALTO)
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