UYUNI SALT FLATS & EDUARDO AVAROA RESERVE - 4 DAYS

DAY 1

Uyuni to Mallku Villamar

Our journey begins in Uyuni, Bolivia. We meet you at your hotel or at the airport if you are flying from La Paz or Santa Cruz. We leave Uyuni behind and travel southwards through the Altiplano - the Andean highlands that stretch for thousands of kilometers - after making a short stop at the Train Cemetery just out of Uyuni.

Our drive is quite smooth on a wide dirt road that leads to several town of southwestern Potosi department. We stop at San Cristobal town, home to Bolivia’s largest open-pit mine. The town has gone through a restoration and improvement period, boasting a beautiful colonial-era church and colorful market that serves as a break on our drive.

Leaving San Cristobal we continue our drive headed southwest and stop at the hidden Black Lagoon on the way. We continue toward the ‘valley of rocks’ where we have the opportunity to walk among giant boulders shaped as anything your imagination can make of. Another attraction of the day is the ‘Anaconda Canyon” where the jaw-dropping views are unmatched.

Later in the afternoon we have the opportunity to visit another small, secret lagoon that allows for some wildlife viewing and scenic hike.

We will then arrive at the village of Mallku Villamar where we spend the night with fresh dinner/supper and a warm bed.

ACCOMMODATION
BASIC: Simple room, shared bathroom, may have lukewarm shower
STANDARD: Simple private room with private bathroom & hot shower
PLUS:Jardines de Mallku Cueva

MEALS INCLUDED
LUNCH, DINNER

DAY 2

Eduardo Avaroa Reserve

This morning we leave Mallku Villamar and continue our drive south headed for Eduardo Avaroa Reserve. Reserva Nacional de Fauna Andina Eduardo Avaroa as it is known, is Bolivia’s most visited protected area and with good reason. Among the natural highlights we will be delighted with, are Laguna Verde (Green Lagoon), Desierto de Siloli, Polques hot springs, Sol de Mañana geyser field and Laguna Colorada - Red Lagoon - with its thousands of pink flamingos.

It will be an intense day but full of dramatic and otherworldly sights. It’s a remote, high altitude desert region, so accommodation options are very limited but we have lodging ready for us to spend the night and get ready for more adventure the following day.

ACCOMMODATION
BASIC: Basic dormitory-style shared accommodation with shared, unisex bathroom. No hot shower
STANDARD: Simple private room with private bathroom. Lukewarm shower
PLUS: Hotel Tayka del Desierto

MEALS INCLUDED
BREAKFAST, LUNCH, DINNER

SPECIAL INFORMATION
Accommodation is very basic to say the least on our Basic and Standard packages. The buildings are built with rock bricks from the area and are unheated. At 4500m it is a cold night combined with altitude, so it’s advised you bring warm clothes and take altitude medication if your doctor has prescribed any. It is the trip’s most basic night but most travelers are able to go through it with plenty of blankets provided and warm layers

DAY 3

Lagunas & flamingos

Today we continue our expedition now headed north and experience a number of exciting places along the way. For starters, we stop at Arbol de Piedra (Stone Tree, visited a day earlier if taking our Plus package). Located in the middle of [nowhere] the Siloli Desert, the Stone Tree is a quirky rock formation famous for its tree shape caused by thousands of years’ erosion.

The afternoon will be dedicated to visiting a chain of several lagoons known as the ‘Andean jewels’. The real highlight are the hundreds of pink flamingos that you can photograph up close and the pristine isolation of each lagoon.

By the end of the day we will have reached the proximity of the trip’s grand finale: Salar de Uyuni. We reach our accommodation in a small village where warm dinner and bed await.

ACCOMMODATION
BASIC: Simple room, shared bathroom, hot shower in southern rim of Salar de Uyuni
STANDARD: Private room with private bathroom and hot shower in southern rim of Salar de Uyuni
PLUS: Hotel de Sal Tayka in northern rim of Salar de Uyuni

MEALS INCLUDED
BREAKFAST, LUNCH, DINNER

SPECIAL INFORMATION
If you take our Plus package we will already enter the salt flats today as far as the northern rim which will allow for visiting more places the following day.

DAY 4

Uyuni Salt Flats & Incahuasi Island

Salar de Uyuni is probably best known for its hexagon-shaped patterns and giant cactus islands, but there is much more to see. In the northern end of the flats, where we will have spent our previous night (Plus), the awe-inspiring Volcan Thunupa offers several hiking opportunities along its base. If you would like to have a break from driving and get active, this morning we will explore this less-known area, as well as other interesting sites in along the northern rim. If you took our Basic or Plus packages, we will explore the southern rim instead, since we will have spent the previous night there

We'll have plenty of free time to have lunch in the middle of the salt flats and test our photography skills to get the best deep-perspective, fun photographs (bring props along).

We will then go across onto Incahuasi Island and here we will see the giant cacti and have the opportunity to do a second mild hike to its top. This is a great place to get a 360-degree view of the salt flats.

At the end of the day, we exit the salt flats via the village of Colchani where we have a brief stop at its colorful market before driving to the town of Uyuni where the tour ends around 6 PM.

MEALS INCLUDED
BREAKFAST, LUNCH

DAY 1

Uyuni to Mallku Villamar

Our journey begins in Uyuni, Bolivia. We meet you at your hotel or at the airport if you are flying from La Paz or Santa Cruz. We leave Uyuni behind and travel southwards through the Altiplano - the Andean highlands that stretch for thousands of kilometers - after making a short stop at the Train Cemetery just out of Uyuni.

Our drive is quite smooth on a wide dirt road that leads to several town of southwestern Potosi department. We stop at San Cristobal town, home to Bolivia’s largest open-pit mine. The town has gone through a restoration and improvement period, boasting a beautiful colonial-era church and colorful market that serves as a break on our drive.

Leaving San Cristobal we continue our drive headed southwest and stop at the hidden Black Lagoon on the way. We continue toward the ‘valley of rocks’ where we have the opportunity to walk among giant boulders shaped as anything your imagination can make of. Another attraction of the day is the ‘Anaconda Canyon” where the jaw-dropping views are unmatched.

Later in the afternoon we have the opportunity to visit another small, secret lagoon that allows for some wildlife viewing and scenic hike.

We will then arrive at the village of Mallku Villamar where we spend the night with fresh dinner/supper and a warm bed.

ACCOMMODATION
BASIC: Simple room, shared bathroom, may have lukewarm shower
STANDARD: Simple private room with private bathroom & hot shower
PLUS:Jardines de Mallku Cueva

MEALS INCLUDED
LUNCH, DINNER

DAY 2

Eduardo Avaroa Reserve

This morning we leave Mallku Villamar and continue our drive south headed for Eduardo Avaroa Reserve. Reserva Nacional de Fauna Andina Eduardo Avaroa as it is known, is Bolivia’s most visited protected area and with good reason. Among the natural highlights we will be delighted with, are Laguna Verde (Green Lagoon), Desierto de Siloli, Polques hot springs, Sol de Mañana geyser field and Laguna Colorada - Red Lagoon - with its thousands of pink flamingos.

It will be an intense day but full of dramatic and otherworldly sights. It’s a remote, high altitude desert region, so accommodation options are very limited but we have lodging ready for us to spend the night and get ready for more adventure the following day.

ACCOMMODATION
BASIC: Basic dormitory-style shared accommodation with shared, unisex bathroom. No hot shower
STANDARD: Simple private room with private bathroom. Lukewarm shower
PLUS: Hotel Tayka del Desierto

MEALS INCLUDED
BREAKFAST, LUNCH, DINNER

SPECIAL INFORMATION
Accommodation is very basic to say the least on our Basic and Standard packages. The buildings are built with rock bricks from the area and are unheated. At 4500m it is a cold night combined with altitude, so it’s advised you bring warm clothes and take altitude medication if your doctor has prescribed any. It is the trip’s most basic night but most travelers are able to go through it with plenty of blankets provided and warm layers

DAY 3

Lagunas & flamingos

Today we continue our expedition now headed north and experience a number of exciting places along the way. For starters, we stop at Arbol de Piedra (Stone Tree, visited a day earlier if taking our Plus package). Located in the middle of [nowhere] the Siloli Desert, the Stone Tree is a quirky rock formation famous for its tree shape caused by thousands of years’ erosion.

The afternoon will be dedicated to visiting a chain of several lagoons known as the ‘Andean jewels’. The real highlight are the hundreds of pink flamingos that you can photograph up close and the pristine isolation of each lagoon.

By the end of the day we will have reached the proximity of the trip’s grand finale: Salar de Uyuni. We reach our accommodation in a small village where warm dinner and bed await.

ACCOMMODATION
BASIC: Simple room, shared bathroom, hot shower in southern rim of Salar de Uyuni
STANDARD: Private room with private bathroom and hot shower in southern rim of Salar de Uyuni
PLUS: Any of the following salt hotels in order of preference and availability: Hotel Palacio de Sal, Luna Salada, Cristal Samaña

MEALS INCLUDED
BREAKFAST, LUNCH, DINNER

SPECIAL INFORMATION
Unlike the dry-season itinerary, our Plus package provides accommodation in the western rim of the salt flats instead of the northern

DAY 4

Uyuni Salt Flats

The rains falling from December to April flood the entire surface of the salt flats creating a surreal ‘mirror’ that reflects the entire sky. Thousands of people from around the world flock to Bolivia to experience the reflection created by this natural phenomenon. But don’t worry, the salt flats are so huge there is plenty of space for everyone, although it is impossible to reach Incahuasi Island and drive more than only a few kilometers from the shore of the salt flats.

The whole day will be spent enjoying the ‘mirror effect’, taking surreal photographs and enjoying a unique lunch in the middle of the flooded flats. We will await sunset to experience this unforgettable experience before we exit the flats for the town of Uyuni where our tour ends around 6 PM.

MEALS INCLUDED
BREAKFAST, LUNCH

SPECIAL INFORMATION
If you would like to take your time to see sunset, we advise not to take a flight to La Paz on this day.
Please note that driving is impossible when the flats are flooded. Driving is done extremely slowly and accessibility to places is very limited

• This trip covers around 100 Km in four days of off road driving at high altitude and cold climate. It is recommended you prepare accordingly and read the itinerary before booking
• It is ideal if you like to get off the beaten track and away from the crowds by doing the usual 3-day itinerary in reverse, thus having most stops to yourself at different times from the rest
• It is possible to take this trip if you want to go to San Pedro de Atacama at the end of the trip although the order of attractions will be modified every day, keeping all the places mentioned
• Please note that the itinerary is modified during the rainy months of Jan to April

PLEASE NOTE THAT PARK AND OTHER SITES' ADMISSION FEES - IF APPLICABLE - ARE NOT INCLUDED IN THE PRICE (READ BELOW)

WHY TAKE THIS TRIP WITH US?

• We are a tour operator, not a travel agency. This means that we organize this trip by putting everything from transport to accommodation providers together to make sure it works as flawlessly as possible. Our trusted providers have been tried and tested and we put our name confidently up front because we trust the safety and reliability they offer. A travel agency merely books you with a tour operator earning a commission for themselves and not giving a lot of care to your experience
• We put safety at the top of our list of priorities. We know Bolivia inside out and the roads, towns, villages, deserts, etc. that are safe to travel through. By using our services, you can rest assured that we will get you to your destination at the end of every day safely

WHAT TO BRING?

• Camera/drone
• Effective sun protection (sunscreen, sunglasses, hat)
• Warm layers as temperatures drop considerably in the evenings and mornings
• Bathing suit, sandals
• Comfortable hiking shoes
• Money in Bolivianos for personal spending (drinks, souvenirs, tips, etc).

IMPORTANT INFORMATION TO CONSIDER

• The itinerary may suffer changes without previous notice due to factors outside our direct control such as weather and road conditions. If we are forced to alter the itinerary in any way, it will be based on good judgment and necessary amendments for your own safety and comfort and you will be promptly notified. We never alter or skip attractions in the itinerary without explaining the reasoning behind any possible change and providing adequate proof that such change may be necessary. Therefore, you should not take the above itinerary as “set in stone” and we will not he held liable for any loss or damage that you may feel arising from such changes made
• Please note that the itinerary differs in the rainy season from the itinerary in the dry season. We will not be held liable/responsible for failure to read this information
• This region is a remote area that lacks the usual comforts of the modern world. You should not expect high standards of accommodation, hot water is available most of the time (according to respective package) and electricity is available for a few hours or more where possible.
• Food is handled hygienically and it is our priority and job that you are satisfied with the limited resources available in this region. Vegetarians are welcome, but should not expect special menus as we do what we can to serve appropriate portions of vegetables and fruit in the vegetarian menu
• During the rainy season (December to March/April) some parts of the salt flats may be inaccessible such as Incahuasi Island and time on the actual salt flats is limited. Most of the regular itinerary is followed as normal

The following are dates in which other people have shown interest in forming a group for this tour. Use the ENQUIRY tab to request a new date or join one of the dates below to form a group and obtain the respective price. The number of interested persons is shown for your reference and you will be updated via email if other people are interested in the same date. If your party consist of four persons, we suggest booking a tour outright to confirm departure.