Bolivia & Chile's Atacama Desert

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Turkode Destinasjoner Turen starter LBOL Bolivia - Chile La Paz - Bolivia

Turen destinasjon Reisen er levert av 12 dager Calama - Chile Fra : NOK

Oversikt

From La Paz to the Uyuni Salt Flats, discover two of the New World's oldest nations

Reiserute

Day 1 La Paz

Arrive aboard your independent ﬂights to La Paz, Bolivia—in the shadow of the majestic Mt. Illimani—and transfer to the Casa Grande Hotel, where you spend the next two nights.Accommodation: Casa Grande Hotel or similar.

Day 2 La Paz

Enjoy a morning at leisure, taking time to adapt to the city’s altitude—11,942 feet above sea level. Enjoy an afternoon exploring the treasures of La Paz, discovering a living history of indigenous, colonial and modern wonders. Our afternoon tour includes stops at an underground temple, Indian Market, famed Bennett Monolith and even the witch doctor’s market. Soar over the city aboard Mi Teleférico, La Paz’s urban cable car system. After dinner at a local restaurant, return to our hotel. Accommodation: Casa Grande Hotel or similar.

Day 3 La Paz / Lake Titicaca

After breakfast drive to Huatajata or Cocotoni and board our hydrofoil cruise to Moon Island. On this mystical Island are the ruins of the Iñak Uyu, Sun Virgins' Temple. Here the most beautiful maiden of the Incas where chosen to become the wives of the Inca nobles. The Virgins of the Sun were responsible of maintaining an eternal ﬁre in devotion to their sun god, Viracocha. Continue to Sun Island. According to Andean mythology, Viracocha sent his son and daughter, Manco Kapac and Mama Ojllo, to Earth, where they found the Inca Empire. Visit Pilcocaina Sun Temple before taking a hike along an ancient trail. Your afternoon is free to explore the nearby community and savor sunset over Lake Titicaca. Accommodation: Pasada Del Inca EcoLodge or similar Day 4 Sun Island / Copacabana / La Paz

Climb 206 Inca steps to enjoy a breathtaking panorama of the lake and Andes. It is possible to drink water from a sacred fountain, believed to grant eternal youth and happiness. After lunch board a hydrofoil to Copacabana. Once sacred to the Incas, Copacabana is home to the revered statue of Bolivia’s patron saint — La Virgin de la Candelaria. While this small city is far less famous than the beach of the same name in Brazil, Rio’s famed beach was actually named after this town. Tossed in a storm, grateful Brazilian ﬁsherman credited their rescue to the Virgin of Copacabana. Learn about the culture of building reed boats at Huatajata and the Andean Roots Eco-village before returning to La Paz and the Casa Grande Hotel.Accomodation: Casa Grande Hotel or similar.

Day 5 La Paz / Sucre

Fly to Sucre, Bolivia’s constitutional capital, and arguably one of the country’s most pleasant cities. Our afternoon tour includes an overview of colonial architecture as well as Liberty House, where the Bolivian declaration of independence was signed. At the ASUR Museum of Indigenous Art, discover the work being done by local anthropologists to maintain and strengthen the cultural integrity and economies of the Jalq’a and Tarabuco communities, by promoting high quality indigenous arts and textiles. Spend the next two nights at Parador Santa Maria la Real.Accommodation: Parador Santa Maria la Real or similar.

Day 6 Sucre / Potolo

Wind into the mountains west of Sucre to Potolo, home to the Quechua-speaking Jalq’a community. These welcoming people are renowned for their locally produced textiles and conical hats. Spend a day learning about their weaving techniques, which incorporate designs of local wildlife, including vicunas, llamas, eagles, condors and frogs. Return to Sucre this evening.Accommodation: Parador Santa Maria la Real or similar.

Day 7 Sucre / Potosi / Uyuni

Set out early this morning for Potosi. Once one of the richest cities in the world, Potosi boasts many beautifully-restored buildings, including several ornate religious buildings and colorful winding streets full of charming vendors. Silver put Potosi on the map in the mid-16th century and it quickly became the Americas’ largest city and the world’s largest source of the precious metal. The mines of Cerro Rico unfortunately found their infamy in their inhumane mining practices and have been operating, in various degrees of success, for over 400 years. After savoring a relaxing lunch, visit the Casa de la Moneda (Royal Mint). Here, wooden machinery was used to transform silver from the mines into coins for Spain. Continue to Uyuni, where we spend the next two nights at Hotel de Sal Luna.Accommodation: Hotel de Sal Luna or similar.

Day 8 Uyuni Salt Flat

Set out on a 4 x 4 excursion to discover the wonders of the high altiplano! Explore the Uyuni Salt Flat, or Salar, the largest salt pan in the world. In this landscape of snow-white crystals, deep blue sky and hot pink ﬂamingoes, you can take perspective-defying pictures. Visit Incahuasi Island, or Fish Island, one of many “islands” in this pre-historic sea. Once the top of an ancient volcano, Incahuasi is formed of algae and fossils. Incahuasi is a unique ecosystem, which includes a stranded colony of the chinchilla-related viscacha and most impressively, enormous cacti, some more than 30 feet tall. Stop in the foothills of the Tunupa volcano to learn about the 3,000-year-old Coquesa mummies, a collection of bodies mummiﬁed by the arid, salty air. Throughout our day we’ll see salt processing and extraction plus watch for bubbling springs—called Ojos de Agua or “eyes of salt”— where water wells up under the salt crust. Return to Hotel de Sal Luna this evening.Accommodation: Hotel de Sal Luna or similar.

Day 9 Uyuni / Laguna Hedionda Continue our exploration of Bolivia’s westernmost highlands, with stops at the stunning lakes of Canapa, Chiar Kota, Honda and Hedionda. The shores of these glacial lakes are lined with three ﬂamingo species—James, Andean and Chilean. Flamingos thrive here while feeding upon the lagoons’ algae, which would be poisonous to most other wildlife. The landscape is also dotted with llama, alpaca and possibly even vicuña. Continue to Los Flamencos EcoHotel, perched on the shores of Lake Hedionda. Savor a dinner prepared using traditional Bolivian techniques and organic products.Accommodation: Los Flamencos EcoHotel or similar.

Day 10 Abaroa National Reserve: Red Lagoon & Green Lagoon / San Pedro de Atacama

Discover lagoons in a diverse array of colors, from the milky Laguna Blanca to the blood-red Laguna Colorada, "Red Lagoon,” and the green Laguna Verde, “Green Lagoon”—each getting their striking color from algae. This is the ideal place to photograph ﬂamingos. Seeing them in such large numbers may lead you to believe they’re very numerous. But in fact James’s ﬂamingoes were once believed to be extinct before being rediscovered in this area. At "Sol de Mañana" Geysers, watch lava boil at the bottom of craters, while fumaroles spout water and super-heated steam high into the blue sky. Continue to across the Chilean border and check into the Desertica Lodge, our home for two nights. Our journey has been timed during the New Moon so you can enjoy stargazing during low-light.Accommodation: Desertica Lodge or similar.

Day 11 Atacama

Savor breakfast overlooking the geothermal field of fumaroles and giant cacti at El Tatio Geyser—world’s second highest geyser field. The steam and vapors are all the more impressive with the cold and the light of the early morning. At the geyser field, we also see thermal pools, mud fountains, colorful rock formations and endemic wildlife, including viscacha and nandues. Cap-off our morning taking in the enormous dunes, dramatic rock formations and stark lunar landscape of Moon Valley. The lagoons Miscanti and Miñiques—part of Los Flamencos National Reserve— act as mirrors, reflecting dramatic volcanic peaks. In addition to flamingos, watch for rare horned coot and even culpeo fox. Take advantage of another night to practice your astronomy skills. The Atacama’s remoteness, altitude, lack of light pollution and arid atmosphere make it one of Earth’s best places to stargaze. Accommodation: Desertica Lodge or similar.

Day 12 Atacama

Spend a relaxing morning exploring the town of San Pedro de Atacama, which grew around a small oasis. Stroll through a sleepy plaza past the old church and stop by local craft workshops to learn about efforts to preserve traditional art. This afternoon, transfer to Calama airport to board your independent flight from Calama to Santiago and connect with your international flights.

Viktig Informasjon

The trip destination 11 nights accommodation in hotels and lodgesTravel by internal ﬂights and bus/boats (hydrofoil)

Food All breakfasts, 10 lunches and 10 dinners included.Bolivian cuisine is a fusion between Spanish and Andean traditions and varies from one region to another. In the lowlands fruit, vegetables, yucca and fish are abundant whereas in the altiplano these are less readily available and there are more spiced dishes to combat the cold. Bolivian cuisine has a reputation for its meat dishes but corn (maize), quinoa and potatoes are also part of the staple diet.Common street food and snacks include ‘salteñas’ (baked pastries filled with spiced meat or vegetables), ‘buñuelos’ (sweet or savoury bread – often stuffed with cheese) and ‘papas rellenas’ (deep-fried battered stuffed potatoes).Popular main dishes include ‘pique a lo macho’ (a kind of beef stir-fry, served with chunky chips), ‘picante de pollo’ (spicy chicken) and ‘tucumanas’ (a sort of pasty). In Sucre try ‘mondongo’ (a dish made of chicharron – crispy fried pork usually accompanied by corn, potatoes and a rich chilli sauce) and in La Paz check out a ‘sandwich de chola’ (pork sandwich).

Accommodation Priser / Datoer

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Vi vil komme tilbake til deg med et tilbud på den forespurte reisen/pakken I løpet av 48 timer. Alle tilbud er uforpliktende og er vanligvis gyldige i 7 dager. Vi gjør oppmerksom på at reserverte tjenester kan bli kansellert innenfor disse 7 dagene og at pris kan endres inntil en endelig bestilling er mottatt.