Chile Extension To Bolivia

After breakfast, we will drive through the Siloli desert. We pass through some small villages, such as Culpina and San Cristobal on the way to Uyuni. Here we take the road to Colchani situated on the borders of the salt flats where the local villagers process the salt to this day.  

We will wake up really early to appreciate the spectacular sunrise in the middle of the salt flats to see the “eyes” of the salt flats, salt mountains and salt blocks. After the salt flats, we will head to the Uyuni Airport to take the flight to La Paz. Once we arrive, we will take the cable car, to the centre of the city, offering spectacular views over the city of La Paz, an incredible welcome to the eclectic, vibrant, unofficial capital of Bolivia.  

Exploring the city of La Paz is like wandering into “Narnia” or any magical kingdom. La Paz sits in a valley and looks different from every angle you approach it from. As you tour the city, you will get a feel for the social, cultural and economic vibe, best experienced as you glide through the sky on the city’s cable car like an urban Tarzan!  The city of La Paz, at over 3,600 metres elevation features some incredible highlights: The San Francisco Church, the Witches’ Market and many museums are found in the centre and are just a few of the incredible sites on offer. We will go up to the Plaza Murillo, where we will find the Legislative and Government Palaces.  We will take a 20-minute ride through the city’s residential areas and down to the Valley of the Moon, an eerie landscape of natural geological formations. We will drop 400 metres in elevation to the southern zone of the city of La Paz, making it easier to breathe and is an ideal place to shop for alpaca clothing, fine jewellery and other luxury items.  

After breakfast, we will leave the vibrant city of La Paz for Bolivia’s most famous Pre-Inca archaeological site, Tiwanaku, which is one of the oldest pre-Colombian cultures and once the centre of the Tiwanaku civilisation. This archaeological site consists of the Pyramid of Akapana, the Kalasasaya temple, the Sungate and a number of museums. We will then visit the community of Laja, where the city of La Paz was founded, to sample the homemade, unleavened bread. In the afternoon we will drive to Copacabana on the shores of Lake Titicaca and cross the Lake to the Island of the Sun where we will have dinner and spend the night. 

We will start our day with a visit to the Palace of Pilcocaina and after a spectacular walk across the Island of the Sun, local people will show us the art of fishing and how farming has developed on the Island since pre-Inca times. We will then take a short trip to the Island of the Moon, where a local community will be waiting for us with a traditional lunch called an “Apthapi”. In the afternoon, we will then cross the border into Peru and head to the city of Puno or return to the city of La Paz, depending on your travel plans.