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Play with perspective and light at the Uyuni salt flats
Watch the moon rise over the Atacama Desert
Take a dip in Chile's natural hot springs
See sunrise on the Uyuni salt flats, Bolivia
Walk between Chile's steaming geysers
Spot pink flamingos in the Atacama Desert
Explore the extraordinary landscapes of Uyuni
Take a journey across the Uyuni salt flats in Bolivia
From: Calama
To: Uyuni
£1,990
Northern Chile and the neighbouring Bolivian areas are characterised by otherworldly and breathtaking landscapes. This will be a once in your life adventure encompassing deserts, salt flats, stunning lagoons and friendly communities living in this extreme environment. You will spend the first three night in the Atacama desert joining small group excursions to discover its most celebrated sights. You will then be met by your private guide and driver and be swept across to Bolivia for the next three nights. Here you will be in awe of more natural beauty in the shape of lagoons, deserts, mountains and the most famous salt flat in the world, the impressive Uyuni!
This Chile itinerary can be tailored to suit your requirements, please contact one of our consultants to start planning your dream trip.
On arrival at Calama airport, you will be met and driven to the town of San Pedro de Atacama. This colourful village is located at an altitude of 2,440m in the middle of a green oasis.
Mid-afternoon you will be picked up to join a small group tour to visit the mystifying Death Valley & Moon Valley - boasting incredible stone and sand formations. Watch the fading light and catch the spectacular sunset over this vast landscape. After sunset, you’ll be driven back to your hotel in San Pedro for your overnight stay.
After breakfast, you will be taken on a tour of San Pedro followed by a short drive to the pre-Columbian village of Tulor.
These archaeological remains are the oldest evidence of human settlement in the valley and you’ll also visit the Pukara de Quitor fortress before stopping for lunch. In the afternoon, continue onto Toconao village and the Atacama Salt Lake, an ancient inland and an impressive site dominated by crystallised salt and rock formations. You will be driven back to your hotel in San Pedro in the early evening.
An early start pays off today! Before dawn breaks, you will be picked up at your hotel and head north to the famous El Tatio Geysers, a geothermal field flanked by soaring peaks. Make sure to bring warm clothes as temperatures at this altitude are considerably low this early in the morning.
El Tatio is the highest geothermal field in the world at 4,300m on the Altiplano. As dawn breaks, you’ll be able to see powerful jets of steam shoot out from geyser blowholes and steaming ponds, against the cool morning mist. Below are the brilliant white salt and above, the dawning blue sky.
You’ll have breakfast and be driven to the village of Machuca, the old resting place for llama caravans that travelled the Inca Highway. Afterwards, you will return to San Pedro de Atacama to enjoy the afternoon at leisure. Overnight in San Pedro de Atacama.
After breakfast, you’ll be picked up at your and driven by private transfer with English speaking guide towards the Bolivian border.
Once you cross the border, you’ll visit the Blanca and Verde Lagoons; two colourful lakes at the base of the Licancabur Volcano. Then you’ll continue to the Dali Desert – a landscape named for its resemblance to the famous painter’s surreal works. From there, you’ll journey to the Chalviri salt flat situated in the heart of Eduardo Avaroa Andean Fauna National Reserve. Continue on to the Poloque hot springs for a relaxing break and a picnic lunch. Your final destination for the day will be Villamar where you will spend the night and have a typical Bolivian dinner.
Today, you will leave Villamar behind and head towards the picturesque Valle de Rocas, known for its huge boulders and rocky environment. You will reach Uyuni where you will stop for lunch and a little break. In the afternoon you will continue a little further to the town of Tahua, where you will check into your hotel for one night and will have dinner.
After breakfast, you will head towards the impressive Uyuni salt flats. First, you’ll visit Incahuasi Island in the middle of the salt lake; famed for its stunning views over the flats and its gigantic cacti, reaching heights of over 10m!
After lunch here, you’ll continue towards the town of Colchani, your last stop for the day. Here you will check into a ‘salt hotel’ (a hotel made entirely of salt!) and will learn how locals incorporate this important mineral into their art and crafts. Dinner is also included today.
Today you will be collected from your hotel at any time after breakfast and be taken to Uyuni airport by private transfer to connect with your onward travel plans.
The regions in the itinerary can be visited all year round, however, consider the Altiplanic winter between January and March when heavy rains are possible. In such cases, the program might suffer changes.
This itinerary is purely a suggestion and can be tailor-made to your requirements, so please contact us with your dates and requests, and we’ll put together a bespoke quotation for you.
Six nights in 3* and 4*standard accommodation.
Hotels in this category include:
