Breakfast and AM departure

We  hope you rested well and enjoyed a hearty breakfast at the hotel. Today  we depart at 8 AM to Lake Titicaca, the jewel of the Andes.  Our aim is  to take you to see Bolivia from generations past.  En-route we will  enjoy magnificent views of the Cordillera Real above Lake Titicaca with  waterfowl along the lake shore as we visit small hamlets and villages  and seeing the campesinos work their agricultural lands.

Lunch on the shore of Lake Titicaca

Our  lunch spot has great views of the lake where traditional Bolivian  dishes are served, soups, fresh trout and local vegetables.  We have a  few choice restaurants with views and proper bathrooms.  After a casual  lunch and a brief walk, we begin our return to La Paz.   

Return to La Paz & Dinner on your own

We  will return towards La Paz at an appropriate time to avoid the traffic  of the city of El Alto.  Our drive should be about 2 hours from our  restaurant to the hotel.  En-route we may have some opportunities for  some photos as there is always something interesting to see on this  route.  Dinner is on your own tonight; we will present you with a  curated list of nice restaurant options and help you decide which is a  good fit. 

Hotel: Casa Grande Suites (5*)

Meals Included: B, L

Breakfast & AM departure to the Uyuni Salt Flats

After  a good night’s rest and a hearty breakfast, we head south towards the  Uyuni Salt Flats…in the heart of the Altiplano.  We depart at 8 AM and  drive out of the canyon of La Paz onto the rim of the Altiplano in about  an hour, rising from 10,200 to 13, 300 ft.  Our direction is  south on the main paved road that will take us to Oruro and continue to  the town of Challapata for lunch.  Continuing southwest we pass by the  town of Salinas de Garci Mendoza then we begin the dirt road portion of  today’s journey.   A couple of hours later dirt roads brings us to the  northern edge of the Salar de Uyuni –  Earth’s Celestial Mirror – sitting below the gaze of Mt. Thunupa, an  extinct volcano rising to 5,335m (17,500’).  We  pass via the villages of Jirira, and Coquesa then arrive in the village  of Tahua.  Depending on our arrival time and the current weather  conditions we can either check-in or head to the edge of the salt flats  for sunset.  Before your eyes is the world’s largest salt flat – over  4,000 square miles of salt located at 12,000 ft above sea level – the  same height as downtown La Paz.  We return after sunset to freshen-up  before dinner.  Dinner and overnight at Hotel Tayka de Sal.

Hotel: Tayka de Sal (4*)

Meals included: B, L, D

Sunrise at the salt flats

Hopefully  you got bed early and had a good night’s rest.  We depart pre-sunrise  for a 10-minute drive to the edge of the salt flats today. There are few  things more spectacular than watching the sun rise over the eastern  horizon and reflecting on the flooded salt flats of Uyuni! The sun rises  quickly at these latitudes so after our sunrise photo session we return  to the hotel for a proper breakfast. After a brief rest, we depart  inland to the caves of Chiquini, where we will see ancient formations of  petrified plants in sheets hanging from the ceiling – a surreal  experience. The route winds across canyons and overlooks where you will  see the different faces of the salt flats. We will have a picnic lunch  en-route and return to the hotel for a brief rest in the afternoon. 

Mt. Thunupa volcano and mummies and sky-high view of the Salar de Uyuni

After  a rest we drive up the flanks of Mt. Thunupa, an extinct volcano seen  from every angle in the region as it dominates the skyline at 5,335m  (17,500’) and is used for navigation. Upon arrival to the end of the  road we take a 5-minute walk around the flanks to a hidden cave where  mummies lie from the pre-Inca period. The volcano was active during the  Pleistocene era with lava flows constructing the layers of the volcano  and there are signs that it was once glaciated until about 15,000 years  ago.  It has signs of being an island on prehistoric Lake Minchin and  Lake Tauca which were once part of the Altiplano. The jaw-dropping views  from this height will show you that you still cannot see the edges of  the world’s largest salt flat. We head down to the edge of the salar for  sunset and then return to the hotel for dinner and rest. Overnight at  Hotel Tayka de Sal.

Hotel: Tayka de Sal (4*)

Meals included: B, L, D

Last salt flats sunrise and north to Sajama National Park

Our  last morning in the salt flats. Every day there is a new sunrise  spectacle, and we aim to see as many as we can. We return to the hotel  for breakfast then depart soon thereafter for our journey north around  Mt. Thunupa and towards Bolivia’s first National Park, Sajama. We  retrace our route as we head north to Challapata then towards the  western border of Bolivia with Chile. En-route we will see countless  volcanoes across the vast Altiplano with many landscapes that few people  ever see – rivers, lagoons, lakes, undulating scrubland, bofedales  (high-altitude wetlands) and lots of wildlife; vicuñas, eagles, Rheas,  ducks, fox, etc. 

Lunch en-route and visit Cities of Stone

We  will have a picnic lunch at a pre-determined location in a city of  stone called Pumiri where we will take time for a nice walk and see  amazing natural lava flows and rock formations that look like animals,  monsters, and strange beings. We continue north along remote roads  before arriving at the south-western entrance to Sajama National Park.  After checking-in at the park, we head to the lagoon below Mt. Sajama  (Bolivia’s tallest mountain).  This strato-volcano is reflected in the  lagoon and is the perfect location for both sunrise and sunset.  It  rises quickly to 6,542m (21,460’) and creates its own weather patterns  since there is nothing close to it in height in the immediate area.   Depending on the current weather conditions we can stay for sunset or  head to the NW corner of the park to our hostel for the night in the  village of Tomarapi which is about 45 minutes away. Upon arrival in  Tomarapi, we will check-in to our hostel and freshen up before dinner.  The hostel we are staying at is a community-owned enterprise that was  founded in 2003 with the hopes of developing a sustainable business to  support the tourism sector in the Sajama region. Overnight in Hostal  Tomarapi.

Hotel: Hostal Tomarapi (3*)

Meals included: B, L, D

Sunrise in Sajama National Park

To experience  one of Bolivia’s greatest locations, we need to depart early this  morning so we can arrive at the lagoon before sunrise. We depart in the  dark for about 45 minutes and head southwest to the lagoon below Mt.  Sajama and where the volcanic twins called “Payachatas” are located on  the Bolivia-Chile border.  Sajama is Bolivia’s first National Park (est.  1945) and is named for the strato-volcano rising to 6,542m (21,460’).  The volcano is the centerpiece of this spectacular, high-altitude region  where extensive herds of domesticated llamas and alpacas feed in the  scrublands.  Surrounded by volcanoes and puna wetlands and cut by  ice-cold rivers draining from the summit glaciers, this region has many  surprises. It has the world’s highest forest made up of the native  Queñua tree with the tree line being close to 16,000 ft. It has a geyser  field tucked into a canyon high on the slopes at around 4,572m  (15,000’) where the water is hot enough to boil eggs! Caution is  advised!  It is the resting place for Aymara leaders that are buried in  funerary towers made of mud, straw and stone called “chullpas”.

Wildlife and Volcanic Landscapes

This  wilderness is home to wild vicuñas (camelids), cute viscachas (a cross  between a large rabbit and a squirrel), eagles, hawks, the Suri  (American Rhea) a large flightless bird that looks very much like an  ostrich but with beige and brown feathers.  Condors, also call this  wind-swept region home.  We will have breakfast in the village of  Sajama, before heading to visit some of the nearby natural wonders. We  amble our way slowly east to Tomarapi for lunch and rest.

In  the afternoon we head to the remote corners of the park to look for  wildlife and other fabulous Altiplano landscapes. We plan to see the  sunset at the lagoon near the village of Sajama before heading back to  Tomarapi for dinner and rest. There will be time to freshen-up before  dinner. Overnight at Hostal Tomarapi.

Hotel: Hostal Tomarapi (3*)

Meals included: B, L, D

Final morning in Sajama National Park

Our  last sunrise in Sajama. The sun lights up the eastern flank of this  strato-volcano and the church in Tomarapi. We will get access to see the  inside of this church and enjoy the frescoes and art that adorn the  inside. After breakfast we depart on a dirt around around Mt. Sajama  that takes us to the southern edge of the park onto the paved road  between La Paz and Arica, Chile. Our route heads east and crosses the  Altiplano via canyons and river valleys and the extensive Altiplano  landscape. We will stop and visit some “chullpas” (funerary towers) on  the way north to La Paz.  We should arrive in La Paz in time for a  late lunch.  After checking-in at Hotel Mitru Sur, you can rest and  relax for the rest of the day. The afternoon is FREE for you to enjoy La  Paz at your leisure.  Now would be a good opportunity for some personal  shopping time.

Farewell dinner in La Paz

We  will get together for a final group dinner at 7 PM at a local  restaurant and enjoy one last session of recounting stories of this  journey where landscapes, people and wildlife were an integral part of  our adventure on the flooded Uyuni Salt Flats and Sajama National Park.  We return to the hotel for some rest.

Hotel: Casa Grande Suites (5*)

Meals included: B, L, D

**If  you depart tonight (or very early in the AM tomorrow) we will pick you  up for your departure flight three (3 hours) ahead of time.

Based on your flight schedule, we will coordinate a departure time  from the hotel. The ride from hotel to the airport takes 45 minutes.  Domestic flights require 1.5 hours before departure and international  flights require 3 hours before departure.

Hotel: none

Meals included: none

End of our services.