Bolivia and Chile: the Uyuni Salt Flats to the Atacama

1. Day 1: Arrive in La Paz

   El Alto International Airport to your hotel in La Paz

   • Drive about 30 min
   • Welcome dinner
   • Stay in La Paz
   Day 1 details

   Your flight lands at El Alto International Airport (LPB), at about 4,060 m on the rim of the altiplano, one of the highest airports in the world. A driver meets you in arrivals for the short drive over the edge and down into La Paz, which fills a deep bowl about 400 m lower, with the snow-capped summits of Illimani on the skyline when the air is clear. Today is kept empty on purpose. Altitude is the one thing that can spoil the first days of this trip, and the best cure is rest, water and the coca tea every hotel offers. Your room is ready on arrival when the hotel can manage it. In the early evening your See Sight Tours guide meets the group for a briefing on the days ahead: how we pace the altitude, what the desert lodges are like and what to keep in your day bag. Then we walk a few minutes to an early, light welcome dinner of Bolivian dishes.

   Included

   • Pick-up at El Alto International Airport (LPB)
   • Welcome briefing with your guide
   • Welcome dinner

   Free time: Free until the early evening briefing; rest is the plan

   Activity: Walk slowly, drink plenty of water and skip alcohol tonight; most people feel the altitude on the first day.

2. Day 2: Old La Paz and the cable car

   La Paz on foot, then Mi Teleferico over the city

   • Drive about 30 min
   • Breakfast
   • Stay in La Paz
   Day 2 details

   A gentle morning on foot with your guide, at a pace set for the altitude. We start in Plaza Murillo, with the cathedral, the Legislative Palace and the old presidential palace around a square full of pigeons. From there Calle Jaen, a cobbled colonial street, leads past small museums in painted houses, and the stone Basilica of San Francisco faces a busy square. Behind it, the Witches' Market sells herbs, charms and dried llama foetuses for offerings to Pachamama, Mother Earth; your guide explains what each one is for. Lunch is your choice, and the early afternoon is free to rest. In the late afternoon we ride Mi Teleferico, the city's network of cable cars, which carries commuters between La Paz and El Alto. Gliding over the rooftops, you see how the city climbs the walls of its canyon, and the low sun lights Illimani across the bowl. The evening is free.

   Included

   • Walking tour of old La Paz with your guide: Plaza Murillo, Calle Jaen, the Basilica of San Francisco and the Witches' Market
   • Cable car ride on Mi Teleferico in the late afternoon

   Easier option: Join the walk as far as Plaza Murillo and Calle Jaen, then take a taxi to the hotel with the guide's help; La Paz streets are steep.

   Free time: Early afternoon and evening free

   Activity: About 2.5 hours on foot on steep streets at about 3,640 m. The cable car ride is seated.

   

3. Day 3: Fly to Uyuni, sunset on the salt

   La Paz to Uyuni by air, then the Train Cemetery, Colchani and the edge of the salar

   • Drive about 1.5 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Uyuni
   Day 3 details

   After breakfast we drive up to El Alto for a flight of about an hour, which we aim to book in the morning, south across the altiplano to Uyuni. Other trips spend nine to ten hours on the road for this leg, or a night on a bus; we have the afternoon on the salt instead. Uyuni is a windy frontier town at about 3,660 m, and lunch together is in town. A few minutes outside it is the Train Cemetery, where steam engines and wagons from the days when Uyuni was a rail hub for the mines have been rusting in the open since the mid 20th century. We continue about 20 km north to Colchani, a village on the edge of the salar where families dry, grind and pack salt by hand, then drive out onto the Salar de Uyuni itself, at more than 10,000 square km the largest salt flat in the world. We stay for sunset, when the white crust turns pink and gold, and drive back to Uyuni for a free evening.

   Included

   • Flight from La Paz to Uyuni
   • Airport transfers in La Paz and Uyuni
   • Lunch in Uyuni
   • The Train Cemetery
   • Colchani salt village
   • Sunset on the Salar de Uyuni

   Free time: Evening free in Uyuni

   Activity: Short walks on flat ground. The salt is blinding: bring sunglasses, sunscreen and a hat. Flight times are set by the airline and sent with your final itinerary.

4. Day 4: Across the salar to Incahuasi

   Uyuni across the Salar de Uyuni to Incahuasi, then to the southern shore

   • Drive about 4 h
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Salar de Uyuni (southern shore)
   Day 4 details

   This morning we load the bags onto the roofs of our 4x4s, with local drivers and no more than four guests in each, so everyone has a window. We cross onto the salar near Colchani and stop at the salt monuments and the Dakar Rally sculpture, then drive west for about two hours across a flat white crust that, in the dry season, cracks into a pattern of hexagons as far as you can see. Incahuasi is an island of rock in the middle of it, covered in giant columnar cacti, some several metres tall, and in fossil coral from the time the salar was a lake. We arrive before the midday wave of day tours from Uyuni and walk the trail to the top for a view across the salt to the volcanoes. Lunch is a hot meal at Incahuasi, then there is time for the classic perspective photos. In the afternoon we drive south off the salt to a simple salt lodge on the quiet southern shore for sunset and dinner.

   Included

   • 4x4 crossing of the Salar de Uyuni with local drivers, no more than four guests per vehicle
   • Salt monuments and the Dakar Rally sculpture
   • Incahuasi island and its summit trail, entry fee included
   • Lunch at Incahuasi
   • Sunset on the salt from the southern shore
   • Dinner at the salt lodge

   Easier option: Walk the flat path around the base of Incahuasi instead of the climb to the top.

   More active option: Climb to the summit of Incahuasi, about 45 minutes up and down on rocky steps.

   Free time: Late afternoon free at the lodge

   Activity: The Incahuasi trail is steep and rocky at about 3,700 m. The salt lodge is simple, with private rooms; heating is limited, so bring a warm layer for the evening.

5. Day 5: The coloured lakes to Laguna Colorada

   Southern shore of the salar to the Chiguana flat, the lakes, the Siloli Desert and Laguna Colorada

   • Drive about 5.5 h
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Laguna Colorada
   Day 5 details

   The longest day in the 4x4: about 220 km and five and a half hours of driving on desert tracks, eight to nine hours out with the stops, because the lakes are strung out across empty high desert with no town between the salar and Laguna Colorada. A stop every 30 to 60 minutes and a hot lunch break it up. We cross the Chiguana salt flat, with the smoking summit of Ollague volcano on the Chilean border, then climb to a chain of small lakes, Canapa, Hedionda, Chiar Khota and Honda, each a different colour, where Andean, Chilean and James's flamingos feed in the shallows. Lunch is a hot meal on the shore of Laguna Hedionda. In the afternoon we cross the Siloli Desert, with wind-carved rocks including the Arbol de Piedra, the stone tree, and enter the Eduardo Avaroa Andean Fauna National Reserve. We reach Laguna Colorada in the late afternoon, when the wind and low sun bring out its red. The night is at a simple desert lodge nearby.

   Included

   • 4x4 day with your guide and local drivers
   • The Chiguana salt flat and the Ollague volcano viewpoint
   • Lagunas Canapa, Hedionda, Chiar Khota and Honda, with their flamingos
   • Lunch at Laguna Hedionda
   • The Siloli Desert and the Arbol de Piedra
   • Eduardo Avaroa reserve entry fee and Laguna Colorada
   • Dinner at the desert lodge

   Easier option: Stay in the 4x4 or by the vehicle at any stop; the lakes are all close to the track.

   More active option: Walk the shore path at Laguna Colorada to the higher viewpoint, about 45 minutes.

   Free time: Evening at the lodge

   Activity: Tracks reach about 4,600 m today and the lodge is at about 4,300 m. The lodge is simple, with private rooms and little heating, and nights are very cold from June to August: pack a sleeping-bag liner, and we ask the lodge for an extra blanket for every bed.

   

6. Day 6: Geysers, hot springs and over the border to San Pedro

   Laguna Colorada to Sol de Manana, Polques and Laguna Verde, then Hito Cajon and down to San Pedro de Atacama

   • Drive about 4.5 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in San Pedro de Atacama
   Day 6 details

   An early start, at about 6:30 am, because the geysers steam hardest in the cold of the early morning and the border handover is set for late morning. At about 4.5 hours this is over our 4-hour cap, because the track crosses remote desert with no town to stop in; the geysers, the hot springs, the lakes and the border handover break it into short legs. We climb to Sol de Manana, at about 4,900 m the highest point of the trip, a field of boiling mud pots and hissing vents. Breakfast warms up at the Polques hot springs, where you can soak in a pool at about 30 degrees with the desert all around. We cross the Dali Desert to Laguna Blanca and Laguna Verde beneath the cone of Licancabur volcano. At Hito Cajon, the remote Bolivian exit post, we say goodbye to the drivers and switch to a Chilean vehicle, and your guide comes with you. The paved road drops about 2,000 m in 45 km to San Pedro de Atacama, where we clear Chilean immigration and have a late lunch together. The rest of the day is free.

   Included

   • Sol de Manana geysers
   • The Polques hot springs, entry included
   • The Dali Desert, Laguna Blanca and Laguna Verde
   • Bolivian exit at Hito Cajon and transfer by Chilean vehicle to San Pedro
   • Lunch in San Pedro de Atacama

   Easier option: Watch the geysers from beside the vehicle, and skip the soak at Polques.

   Free time: Afternoon and evening free in San Pedro

   Activity: The highest morning: about 4,900 m at the geysers and about 4,480 m at the border. Bring swimwear and a small towel for Polques in your day bag. Coca leaves and fresh food are not allowed into Chile.

7. Day 7: A free morning, then the Valle de la Luna

   San Pedro de Atacama to the Valle de la Luna and back

   • Drive about 1 h
   • Breakfast and dinner
   • Stay in San Pedro de Atacama
   Day 7 details

   After the crossing, a slow morning. Sleep in, walk the dusty lanes of San Pedro, an oasis village of adobe houses at about 2,400 m, or sit in the shade of the plaza by the whitewashed adobe church, one of the oldest in the region. The archaeological museum in town covers the Atacameno people who have farmed this oasis for thousands of years. Lunch is your choice. About two hours before sunset we drive a few kilometres west into the Cordillera de la Sal to the Valle de la Luna, the Valley of the Moon, a protected area of salt-crusted ridges, dunes and wind-cut rock managed with the local Atacameno communities. We walk through the formations and the salt caves where access is open, then climb to a ridge viewpoint as the light turns the valley red and gold and the volcanoes on the eastern horizon glow pink. Back in town, we sit down to a group dinner together.

   Included

   • Valle de la Luna at sunset with your guide, entry tickets booked ahead
   • Group dinner in San Pedro

   Optional experiences

   • Laguna Cejar, a salt lagoon where you float as in the Dead Sea, in the morning (priced at booking)

   Easier option: Watch sunset from the first viewpoint, a short walk from the car park, instead of the ridge.

   More active option: Hire a bike in the morning and ride the flat track to the Pukara de Quitor fortress, about 3 km north of town.

   Free time: Morning and lunch free

   Activity: About 1.5 to 2 hours on foot on sand and rock in the valley, with one climb of about 20 minutes to the ridge. Bring a warm layer: the desert cools fast after sunset.

8. Day 8: El Tatio at dawn, stars at night

   San Pedro de Atacama to the El Tatio geysers and back, then a stargazing session outside town

   • Drive about 3.5 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in San Pedro de Atacama
   Day 8 details

   The one very early start in San Pedro, because El Tatio is at its best at sunrise. We leave at about 5 am and drive about 90 km north, climbing in the dark to a geyser field at about 4,320 m run by local Atacameno communities. In the freezing air before the sun clears the mountains, steam from dozens of vents rises in tall white columns; as the day warms the plumes thin out, which is why we come early. We walk the marked paths with your guide, then have a picnic breakfast beside the field, and there is a warm thermal pool for anyone who wants it. On the way down we stop at Machuca, a hamlet of thatched adobe houses, and at a wetland where vicunas and water birds feed. We are back by about noon for lunch together, and the afternoon is free for a long rest. After dark we drive a short way out of town for a stargazing session with an astronomy guide, with telescopes in the dry, dark desert air.

   Included

   • El Tatio geysers at dawn, community entry fee included
   • Picnic breakfast at the geysers
   • Machuca and the Putana wetland on the way down
   • Lunch in San Pedro
   • Stargazing session with an astronomy guide and telescopes

   Easier option: Skip the stargazing for an early night, or watch the geysers from the first viewpoint by the vehicle.

   Free time: Afternoon and dinner free

   Activity: El Tatio is at about 4,320 m and well below freezing at dawn: wear every warm layer you have, with gloves and a hat. The stargazing runs late in the evening and depends on clear skies; on bright-moon nights fewer stars show, and we plan departures around the full moon where we can.

   

9. Day 9: Across the desert to Calama

   San Pedro de Atacama to Calama airport

   • Drive about 1.5 h
   • Breakfast
   Day 9 details

   A relaxed last morning after the late night: breakfast when you like, and a last walk to the plaza or the craft market. We leave San Pedro at a time set by your flight and drive about 100 km west across the desert to Calama airport, about an hour and a quarter. The road climbs over the Cordillera de la Sal, with a last view back over the Valle de la Luna and the line of volcanoes along the Bolivian border, then crosses a flat, bare plain towards Calama, a copper-mining city on the Loa river. Your guide sees you to the check-in desks before saying goodbye. Most flights from Calama go to Santiago, about two hours, for connections home. Book a flight from Calama leaving after about 1 pm, so the morning is not rushed; if you want more time in Chile, we can add hotel nights in San Pedro or Santiago.

   Included

   • Drop-off at Calama airport (CJC)

   Free time: Morning free until the airport transfer

   Activity: Book a flight from Calama leaving after about 1 pm. Flights to Santiago take about two hours.

Wildlife and weather: April to October is the dry season: clear skies, a firm white salt crust cracked into hexagons, and open desert tracks. Days are sunny and nights are cold, sharply so in the southern desert from June to August, when snow can close the border or the El Tatio road for a day. Andean, Chilean and James's flamingos feed on the lakes through the season, and vicunas graze near the tracks. The mirror effect on the salar needs rain, roughly December to March, when we do not run.

• La Paz2 nights
• Uyuni1 night
• Salar de Uyuni (southern shore)1 night
• Laguna Colorada1 night
• San Pedro de Atacama3 nights