Day by Day 5 day suggested itinerary for a private tour. Please ask for our 3 day scheduled departure group tour dossier.
Starting in La Paz or in the remote towns or Oruro, Uyuni or Potosi high on the Bolivian altiplano we head out into the vast southern desert in our four wheel drive vehicle to enjoy the starkly beautiful landscapes of this dramatic desert wilderness. A variety of itineraries are available, depending on your preferred starting and finishing points, the activities you would like to incorporate and how much time you have.
Day 1
The first amazing sight is the 12.000 km² of the Salar de Uyuni, a vast salt lake, at almost 4000 metres above sea level. The shimmering white landscape resembles an immense glacier as it stretches away to the horizon.
In the winter dry season (May to October), the surface hardens and geometric figures are formed by the salt particles. In the summer rainy season (November to February) the waterlogged saline surface becomes a gigantic mirror that reflects the distant mountains and vast skies above, creating unique shimmering vistas. We visit a salt processing plant, a salt hotel located in the centre of the salar and sink holes that penetrate to the watery depths. Reaching the shore at Jirira village we drive up the lower slopes of the mineral rich, deeply coloured, Thunupa volcano to visit the burial site of pre-Inca mummies and are rewarded with a tremendous light show as the sun sets over the vast salt lake below.
We stay at the newly built community run salt hotel at Tahua, overlooking the salar. The hotel is built entirely of salt blocks, has large comfortable rooms, superb views, private bathrooms and solar heating and hot water. The local communities we pass through are home to home to Bolivia's Aymara speaking Indians, who scrape a living from farming small plots and herding flocks of sheep, alpaca and llamas.
For walkers, there is plenty of opportunity to spend a couple of days here, climb Thunupa volcano and explore the Inca fort of Chillguilla.
Day 2
This morning we have the opportunity to get out and explore on foot. We visit the local village of Tahua, and then spend a couple of hours walking to nearby Inca ruins. Resuming our journey we cross the salar stopping off at Isla de Pescado, an isolated piece of land jutting out of the salt. Giant cactus stand erect, rabbit like viscacha and humming birds populate the island. We picnic here and continue to San Pedro, a small, remote community, and our next base, where we stay at a stone built community run hotel. The design of the hotel is inspired by the setting, at the edge of the original stone built town of San Pedro, abandoned when the Chileans invaded in 1879.
Day 3
We explore the village and abandoned town and then head southwards. We make a brief stop at Cueva de Galaxy, full of weirdly shaped calcareous deposits, created 225 million years ago when, during the eruption of Thunupa, lava came into contact with the sea water that then covered the salar. We continue, next passing the active volcano Ollagüe, and reaching the wildlife rich highland lakes of Honda, Cañapa, Hedionda and Chiarkhota. Flamingos, ducks and gulls feed in these multi-coloured lakes flanked by towering volcanoes. We picnic on the shores, amongst tufts of the slow growing yareta and thola, the only vegetation in this dry, high desert landscape. Both of these plants have been endangered because of over use by miners of borax. The plants are burnt to dry out the borax. The local birdlife is also threatened by people stealing eggs and feathers to sell. If we're lucky we may catch sight of viscachas, vicuña and ñandu, native fauna of this high altitude desert.
Continuing southwards, towards the Chilean border, we enter a Daliesque landscape of weird wind eroded rock figures. We spend the night at the newly built community run desert hotel, set amidst this harsh but wonderful environment.
Day 4
Today we set off very early to reach Geysers of Boca Dragón in Huayllajara, spouting geysers and steaming, bubbling mud pools. The air is cold and thin here, at a breath taking 5,000metres above sea level. We visit Laguna Colorada, nesting site to three types of flamingo and numerous ducks. The contrast of the red-coloured laguna filled with feeding birds, the banks of sharp white salts around the water and hazy mountains behind is unique, and a great opportunity for photographers. We then continue our journey to Chalviri hot springs, for a welcome dip. Later in the morning we visit the appropriately named Laguna Verde backed by the volcano of Licanbur on the Chilean border. We return to the desert hotel for the night.
Day 5
On the final day of the jeep tour we enjoy a later start and our final views of this amazing desert landscape, with the opportunity to stop and wander through some of the most scenic spots to break up our drive back to Uyuni.
|
