La Paz, Titicaca, Uyuni, San Pedro and Salta (15 days)

Arrival to La Paz Airport, transfer your accommodation and check in. Free day to relax and take it easy, maybe explore a little this high city.

Note: La Paz is really high so it is best to do everything slow the first days. Drink a lot of water, eat light, avoid alcohol and don´t rush!

At 8 am, Tiwanaku Day Trip

After 1 hour and a half ride you will reach this pre Columbian ruins, surrounded by beautiful nature. The ancient city and culture of Tiwanacu is supposed to be one of the most important in the American continent. It is believed that they were even more advanced in pottery, astronomy and math than the neighboring Incas. If you are traveling further north you will see Tiwanacu influence in the archaeological sites of Peru. After a visit to the uncovered ruins (there is a lot that is being uncovered but is not open to the public), the tour returns to La Paz and will leave you at you hostel or hotel at about 4 pm. You will be amazed to learn how this ancient people used to live and what they believed, so different from us nowadays.

Free day in La Paz to visit the old town.

Check out, go on your own to the bus station to take the bus to Copacabana, a small town at the shores of Lake Titicaca. After 3 hours ride, arrival to town and check in.
At 2.30 pm, you will go for a light hike to Kasanani Hill, beautiful and ancient astronomical observation site built by the Incas to follow the movement of the sun and the moon and calculate eclypses and follow the change of seasons. 200 m from there you will find the Intikala temple, or Stone of the Sun, a series of big seats carved in stone. Then you will visit the Cathedral of the Virgen de Copacabana, that holds inside the image of the Holy Mary carved by an Inka in 1583. After that, you will reach the summit of the hill so see great views of the Titicaca lake and surroundings. Back to hotel and dinner.

At 8 am you will take a boat to the northern part of the Isla del Sol, arriving at 10.30 am to the comunity of Challapampa. You will visit the Gold Museum and then you will walk for half an hour to the Inca Chincana Ruins, to later reach the Table of Stone. Along the island many archaeological sites can be seen with one highlight: the Sacred Rock or the Rock of the Origins where according to the legend, Manco Capac and Mama Occlo departed to stablish the city of Cusco later on. At mid day, back to the Port to have lunch.
At 2 pm you will board the boat to begin the trip to the south of the island, stopping at Yumani port to see the boats made of "totora" (cattail in english). From the port, you will hike up to the village of Yumani at the south end of the Isla del Sol, passing by a series of inca ruins and 3 sacred springs of water. Yumani is an aymara comunity that built its town on top of an inca site with streets and walls made of stone. At the summit you will see the sunset, back to hotel and dinner.

After breakfast, walk down to the port through another route to pass by the ruins of the palace of Polkokaina and the Temple of the Sun. Back to Copacabana at 11.30 am with time to catch the bus to La Paz. The bus to La Paz takes about 3 hours. From La Paz you will takew an overnight bus to Uyuni town.

Arrival to Uyuni from la Paz. Breakfast before the Overland begins. After mid day, departure to the village of Colchani, the entrance of the most beautiful salt flat in the world (and the biggest and the highest! ) . You will board the Jeep 4WD you are going to use until the end of the overland and meet your driver and other staff. They almost don´t speak English and even their Spanish is basic but are normally very friendly and helpful. This is the beginning of the real adventure.

Lunch at a restaurant built on salt. Salt flat crossing to be amazed by the feeling and the colours of the "out of this planet " landscape.

The driver has to drive slowly and you will have plenty of time to relax, enjoy and be amazed by this wonder. You will never forget this day.

In the end of the day you will get to a Salt Hostel to spend the night. Salt Hostel means that the walls and some beds are built with salt bricks.

Note: the itinerary can be changed en route if the driver sees any change in weather conditons or in the roads or any reason they judge the itinerary needs to be different. But the atractions keep the same

After the night by the salt flat, the tours heads towards the desert and the High Plateau also called Puna or Altiplano. In the morning you will see the canyon of river Anaconda, in the afternoon you will go past the Siloli desert, where the wind and sun and a bit rain carved strange volcanic rock formations. By lunch time you will probably be at Laguna Escondida (Hidden Lagoon, also called Laguna Negra) and . Arrival at the comunal hostel and dinner. The communal hostels are very basic but clean and a part of the Altiplanic experience

Early departure to be able to dive deeper (or higher!) into the desert and the Puna. The vehicle will ride along deserted landscapes, climbing higher and higher without even noticing it is happening. You will see lagoons with plenty of wild life (Red and White lagoons), huge white topped mountains and volcanoes, and altiplanic plains while you talk to your companions and learn about their travels. Lunch is provided at a place of hot springs and after that, the second part of the day takes you to the Sol de Mañana Geysers and finally to Laguna Colorada, where more than 30.000 flamingoes nest every year. Attention, this day you will reach 4.500 meters above sea level, so take into account the many tips to avoid “soroche”. The trip ends in San Pedro de Atacama after crossing border at Hito Cajon. Check in and free day in San Pedro de Atacama

Free day to relax or to visit valle de la Luna

Geysers del Tatio Excursion: You will be picked up at the hostel between 4.30 and 5 am depending on season to be able to admire the driest and highest desert in the world. The road will take you between hills and mountains of the tough Andes range until you reach the geothermal site of the Geysers, 1 hour and a half after departure. There you will be able to admire the out of this world Geysers, fumaroles and steaming craters that show the volcanic activity of the region. The Geysers reserve is located at 89 km from San Pedro and 4.230 meters above sea level. So temperature is low in summer (-6 degrees Celcius) and even colder in winter (july-august) (-20 degrees Celcius). It is very important to take warm clothes and plenty of water to help your body adapt to such a high altitude. Breakfast is offered viewing the geothermic field and on the way back there is a short stop at Machuca Village. Back to San Pedro hostel at about mid day

Check out, go to the bus station to take the bus to Salta. After a long and very interesting ride, arrival in Salta in the afternoon. Find your own way to the hostel. Check in and free evening

Cafayate and Villages Day Tour

We are leaving from Salta to the South, taking the route 68, passing through little towns like Cerrillos, La Merced, El Carril, Cnel. Moldes, La Viña (agricultural area which main production is tobacco). We are visiting the village of Alemanía, and from there we are entering to Cafayate Gorge, where we´ll see in the mountains the erosion of millions of years, created by wind and water (Devil´s Throat, Amphitheater, The Monk, The Castles, Parrot´s House, The Windows and The Toad). After visiting these places, we are arriving to the town of Cafayate to visit a winery and to taste the specialty of the region, torrontés wine. After walking through the town, we are coming back to Salta through the same gorge, which will offer us a different landscape in our way back to the city.

Departure time: 7:30 to 7.50 (there can be variations depending on location of accommodation)

Departure Point: any hotel or hostel in Salta Downtown. Note: there are hotels and hostels away from the city center so before booking please check if the bus reaches the place.

Arrival Point: any hotel or hostel in Salta Downtown

Duration: 10 hours

Frequency: Daily departures. Blackout 25 dec and 1 jan. Guaranteed departures

Transport: Mini-Bus (19 or 24 pax)

No age limit

Breakfast and free day to relax, walk around this beautiful colonial city and try to go to a “peña” at night. There are many available optional day trips.

Check out, make your own way to the airport or to the bus station. End of adventure!