We offer you our quality and efficiency in all the tourist services we have.
Duration:
8 Days / 7 Nights
Type:
Shared / Private
Tour Guide:
English / Spanish
Frequency:
Daily Departures from Sucre, Bolivia
Accommodations:
Sucre / Uyuni – Hotel
Salt Flats – 2 Nights in Family Homes (Basic Refuges)
AM/PM – Arrival to Sucre via flight or transport and then transportation to your hotel. Upon arrival, reception, and transport to the selected hotel, you will have the day free on your own account to enjoy your visit to Sucre and appreciate the beautiful city.
HOTEL IN SUCRE: Provides a hotel room with private bathroom + breakfast.
Included: Transfer in + hotel.
09:00 AM – After breakfast, you will be personally picked up from your hotel to take a ride through the city. The city of Sucre (known as the White City due to the preservation of the majority of its buildings which are covered in white) is without a doubt one of the most beautiful in all of South America with a historical center that still maintains the colonial architecture of past centuries; the entire city is a small taste of heaven. During the city tour, we will visit the charming streets and important places where transcendental works within the pivotal history of Bolivia and all of the Americas have been accomplished; within the streets and important places, one can feel welcomed by the aura and beauty expressed by the neoclassical facades and the magnificent colonial churches – as well as the principal historical monuments.
Dinosaur Park – Afternoon Visit to see the Dinosaur Footprints:
Another interesting place to visit outside of the city is the Dinosaur Park – located in Cal Orck’o (Hill of Cal in English), 6 kilometers from the city. At the park, you will have the opportunity to appreciate a large variety and quantity of different pre-historical animal species, considered to be the greatest showing of dinosaur footprints in the entire world; studies propose that these footprints were from pre-historic animals which lived in the zone more than 65-70 million years ago.
After the city tour and the visit to the Dinosaur Park, we will take shared transportation to Potosí where will find accommodation in the selected hotel (the trip is approximately 3 hours).
HOTEL IN POTOSÍ: Provides a hotel room with private bathroom + breakfast.
Included: City Tour in Sucre + Visit to the Dinosaur Park (transport, tour guide, entrance fees), shared transport from Sucre – Potosí + hotel.
Please note: the Potosí National Mint accepts visits Tuesdays through Saturdays (AM and PM) and Sundays (PM); the museum is not open on Mondays.
08:45 AM – Personal pickup from your hotel in Potosí to start our interesting trip to the silver mines of Cerro Rico in Potosí. The trip will begin with a visit to the Miners Market where hundreds of miners gather to provide material or equipment necessary for work in the mines – like dynamite, ammonium nitrate, detonators, carbide lamps, equipment to drill holes, coca leaves, and spirits; all visitors are allowed to take pictures of the shops and the market, and visitors can even acquire presents or souvenirs. After visiting the market, we will visit the ingenuity mineral refinery which has been active for many years – and, then we will continue on our way to the silver mines where we will observe the strong work of the miners extracting the minerals by hand like in past centuries.
Afternoon Visit to the Potosí National Mint:
Without a doubt, the Potosí National Mint is the most important building in the history of South America’s colonial architecture – its architect/builder was a man by the name of Don Salvador de Villa who had planned and constructed the National Mints in Mexico and in Lima, Peru. Interestingly enough, the construction of the National Mint in Potosí surprisingly came into fruition because much silver was found and extracted from Cerro Rico.
HOTEL IN POTOSÍ: Provides a hotel room with private bathroom + breakfast.
Included: Tour to the Silver Mines (shared transport, tour guide, equipment to visit the mines – jacket, pants, helmet, and headlamps), visit to the Potosí National Mint + hotel.
After breakfast, you will have free time until your transfer to the Potosí bus terminal.
PM – Transfer from your hotel to the bus terminal.
PM – Your bus will depart from Potosí with destination to Uyuni; the trip is approximately four-and-a-half hours long.
PM – You will arrive to Uyuni (approximate arrival) and then be transported to the selected hotel.
HOTEL IN UYUNI: Provides a hotel room with private bathroom + breakfast.
Included: Transfer to the Potosí bus terminal, local bus ticket from Potosí – Uyuni + hotel.
AM – After breakfast in the hotel, you will have free time until the start of our expedition to the biggest salt flats in the world: Uyuni Salt Flats.
11:00 AM – We will get started (utilizing a 4×4 Jeep Land Cruiser) on our adventure where we will visit the following touristic attractions:
Train Graveyard – Where we will observe very antique trains and locomotives that date back to the end of the 19th Century; the majority of the trains made their routes with wagons that carried minerals – but, they only lasted for so much time. These trains were part of an industrial past, but now they have been naturally transitioned into a wonderful, but mysterious tourist attraction.
The Village of Colchani – Located on the outskirts of the Uyuni Salt Flats, the village of Colchani is the principal means of entrance to the Salt Flats where we will observe the activity of salt extraction in an artisanal form; the villagers will show us the extraction process which includes the drying, shaping, and bagging of salt for sale, and this process is now dedicated to the making of artisanal pieces which are made of different salt molds and textiles.
Salt Mounds – The salt mounds which you will be able to observe are little pyramids of salt; the villagers of Colchani make these mounds to dry the salt and then later transport them to the village to be processed. In addition to seeing these mounds, we will also pass what is called the “Ojos de Sal” which are different eruptions of water within the Salt Flats that offer a clear view of what is found beneath.
Salt Hotel – Located in the heart of the salt flats, this famous hotel is entirely made of blocks of salt; literally – from the inside and out – the walls, the floor, the beds, the tables, the chairs – everything is adorned in salt. The hotel hasn’t functioned as a hotel for a multitude of years, but it is definitely a wonderful museum to visit.
Incahuasi Island (also known as Isla del Pescado) – Located likewise in the middle of the Salt Flats, Incahuasi Island is a rocky formation in which is found a multitude of gigantic cacti with altitudes topping more than 10 meters; from the top of the island, the entire Salt Flats can be seen – a beautiful sight.
After visiting Incahuasi Island, we will have lunch and then continue to enjoy the dazzling white salt desert.
AFTERNOON – We will make our way to the village of San Juan where we will spend the night in family homes (basic refuges).
Included: Shared transport (4×4 Jeep – Land Cruiser), lunch and dinner + accommodation in family homes (basic refuges).
07:00–07:30 AM – After breakfast, we will continue our adventure until we reach the Red Lagoon; during the trip, we will travel to the small Chiguana Salt Flats which are still in formation, and then we will stop to observe from a distance the active volcano of Ollague. We will also visit the lagoons of Cañapa, Hedionda, Chiarcota, and Honda where you will have the opportunity to see a myriad of beautiful flamingos. During the middle of the day, we will stop to have lunch – and, in the afternoon, we will pass by the Siloli Desert where we will see an interesting rock formation called Arbol de Piedra which is a peculiar-looking rock that resembles the shape of a tree. Passing the interesting rock formation, we will continue our way until we reach the Red Lagoon which is located in Eduardo Avaroa Wildlife National Park. The Red Lagoon’s characteristics are a sight to see; the red color of its waters are due to its sediments and also the pigments of different types of algae and plankton – but, it doesn’t always maintain the same color depending on a variety of ever-changing characteristics (lighting, climate, etc.). Likewise, you can see many Andean flamingos.
AFTERNOON – Continuing for about 15 minutes, we will arrive to Huayllajara where we will stay the night in family homes (basic refuges).
Included: Shared transport (4×4 Jeep – Land Cruiser), lunch and dinner + accommodation in family homes (basic refuges).
05:00 AM – Early in the morning, we will set out to appreciate the Geysers – geothermal fountains within the volcanic zone of Sol de Mañana (Morning Sun in English); this place is the highest point in the route at about 5,000 meters above sea level and the cold is intense. After visiting the Geysers, we will continue to a place called Polques de Chalviri where you will be able to take a relaxing bath in the thermal baths found within the place; we will also have breakfast there and then head past the desert of Salvador Dali until we reach the White and Green Lagoons (4,350 meters above sea level) which are located at the foot of the Licancabur Volcano. The White and Green Lagoons’ characteristics are a sight to see as well; the green color of their waters are due to the high content of magnesium that is characteristic of the geographical formations of the area, but the intensity of the color depends upon the wind strength. The Licancabur Volcano is the natural milestone that divides Bolivia and Chile at the border. After stopping at the White and Green Lagoons, we will return to Uyuni, having lunch along the way, also passing through the Valley of the Rocks – as well as the villages of Villa Alota, Kulpinaka, and San Cristóbal; passing through these places, we will be able to see a great quantity of llamas and vicunas.
AFTERNOON – We will return to Uyuni and you will free time until the hour of our transfer to La Paz.
20:00 PM – Transport via a comfortable bus from Uyuni – La Paz (travel overnight).
Included: Shared transport (4×4 Jeep – Land Cruiser) until arriving to Uyuni, breakfast and lunch + touristic bus ticket from Uyuni – La Paz.
06:30 AM – Arrival to the bus terminal in La Paz (approximate arrival).
End of Services
In order to provide tour and/or tour package prices, we would appreciate if you would please provide for us the number of people who would be going on the tour.
Warm clothing
Sleeping bags (available for rent from our Uyuni office for USD$ 10.00 `{`approximately 70 bolivianos`}` per person)
Sun glasses
Sun block
Warm gloves and warm hats
Lanterns
Hygiene bags (towels and toilet paper)
Rain coats during the months of December through March
Cameras to take pictures
Entrance fee to Incahuasi Island
Entrance fee to the Red Lagoon (Eduardo Avaroa Wildlife National Park)
Snacks, drinks, and tips for transport drivers
