Sajama and Uyuni from La Paz
REFERENCE PROGRAM
5D/4N Sajama National Park + salar de Uyuni tour starting in La Paz (Bolivia) and ending on the 5th day in Uyuni.
A trip ending in San Pedro de Atacama (Chile) is available as well.
REFERENCE PROGRAM
Day 1 LA PAZ-SAJAMA (L, D)
Pick up from the hotel.
Along the way to Sajama National Park we’ll be able to observe an amazing landscape. Visit to Curahuara de Carangas Church, known as “Sixtine Chapel of the Altiplano” because of its famous colonial paints. Arrival to the Park and lunch. In the afternoon we’ll visit Huayña Kota Lagoon and later we’ll have a walk along the Keñua Woods. We then continue to Kasilla the natural thermal water pool where we can take a good medicinal bath.
Back in Sajama Village we will arrive at the Tomarapi lodge where we will have dinner and spend the night.
DAY 2 SAJAMA-UYUNI (B, L, D)
Early in the morning visit to Junthuta, a geiser zone at the foothills of Pomarape Mountain. We continue in private transportation to Uyuni town, an approx 8 hours drive. On route you will enjoy the high Andean tundra landscape in the mountains of the Andes. Box lunch. We will spend the night in Uyuni.
Day 3 (B, L, D)
We will pick you up from the hotel around 10.00 AM.
First you will enter the Salt Flats from ´Colchani´, where you will stop to visit the salt factory. Then you will stop for a while at the salt mounts and visit the Salt Museum.
You will enjoy the impressive landscape from the top of the Incahuasi island located in the middle of the salt flats. From this point you can enjoy an amazing 360 º view of the Salar.
Overnight stay in the Tayka Salt Hotel (3.696 meters above sea level) with a private bathroom, hot water and heating (please note that hot water and heating is not available 24 hrs a day).
Day 4 (B, L, D)
Today you will cross the Uyuni salt flats from north to south and you will visit the Fish (Pescado) Island (isla).
Afterwards you will visit the Necropolis in San Juan del Rosario.
In the afternoon, you will continue towards the lagoons of Cañapa, Hedionda, Chiarkota, Honda and Ramaditas, where you will be able to spot the three different species of flamingos and other birds such as Andean seagulls and wild ducks. These birds live close to the lagoons, surrounded by volcanoes with their eternal snowtops mixed with landscapes full of green and other magic colors due the the presence of borax and sulphur.
After you pass the last lagoon, you will enter a huge desert area with no roads. These fantastic deserts gather many different colors from brown, red, orange, brass and beige which are successively shown at every curve of the trip. You will spend the night in the Tayka Desert Hotel (4.523 meters above sea level), with private bathroom, hot water and heating (please note that hot water and heating is not available 24 hrs a day).
Day 5 (B, L)
Early this morning you will get ready to enter the Eduardo Avaroa National Reserve. You will visit the Stone Tree and with some luck you will be able to spot vizcachas (wild desert rabbits).
You will arrive to the Geysers of Sol de Mañana during the most active moment of the day and with the first ray of lights. This is the highest point of the tour (5000 meters above the sea level). It can be very cold here. You will be able to walk among the smoky and noisy geysers, boiling mud stewpot where red and grey mud is boiling like water.
The desert and Salar of Chalviri offer a landscape which combine the white of the snow with the red brown of the desert and the blue of the water. Here you will have the opportunity to swim in the Hot Springs of Polques and right after that to enjoy a delicious open air breakfast.
You will continue your trip to the ‘Valle de las Damas’, a new breathtaking view with rock formations with interesting shapes and colors. Afterwards you will drive to the beautiful Laguna Verde (Green Lagoon) at the feet of the Licancabur volcano.
The next stop will be Laguna Colorada (red colored lagoon). This lagoon is the main nesting centre of the three different species of flamingos. The color of the water is produced by the presence of algae and plankton activated by the sunlight and the wind.
On the way back to Uyuni, you will stop at San Cristóbal, a village which has been moved from its original location to the actual one (even the church!) for the needs of one the biggest mines in the world.
You will say goodbye to the llamas and vicuñas before arriving in Uyuni.
IMPORTANT! Due to weather and road conditions the routes and hotel reservations can sometimes be changed without notice. This is the reason why the itinerary is only for reference, and is not to be taken as an exact itinerary of what this tour implies. Rain, snow, ice and strong winds for example can cause some parts of the route to temporarily become impassable and may oblige us to make changes in the itinerary. But take notice that if we have to make changes it is for your own safety. The surroundings of Uyuni are one of most isolated areas in the world.
Rainy season: the rainy season is roughly from January to April (subject to change). During this period parts of the Salar may be covered with water. This means that even though it will still be possible to do the trip and to visit the Salar with its beautiful lagoons, as well as the highlights of the trip, the water on the Salar may prevent us from being able to cross it for several hours like you would do during the dry season. You will therefore not be able to get to Isla Incahuasi / Fish Island. Also the Tayka Salt Hotel in Tahua can often not be reached during the rainy season and we will therefore either use the salt hotel like Luna Salada, Palacio de Sal instead. When the Salar is covered with a little bit of water it also becomes one big mirror which is a beautiful setting for pictures. Many photographers even specifically visit the Salar during this rainy season in order to capture beautiful pictures. With too much water however the mirror-effect is gone. Needless to say we cannot predict whether or not it will rain before or during your trip, it’s up to Mother Nature.
Tour includes:
- Overnight stay: 1st night Tomarapi lodge (Sajama), 2nd night hotel in Uyuni and comfortable Tayka hotels during the trip on salar de Uyuni.
- All meals.
- Private transport in a 4X4 (oxygen tube onboard during the trip on the Uyuni salt flats).
- English speaking guide.
- Entrance fees to Sajama National Park and Uyuni (Eduardo Avaroa National Reserve).
Tour excludes:
- Alcoholic drinks, personal snacks and tips.
What we recommend you to take with you:
The route is cold, windy and with high solar radiation. During the day it is generally sunny and the weather is pleasant. Our recommendations on what to bring with you are:
- Warm clothes.
- Gloves.
- Woolen socks.
- Hat that covers your ears and protects you from the sun.
- Boots.
- Towel.
- Swimming suit.
- Lip moisturizer.
- Sun block 30+.
- Sun glasses.
- Flashlight.
- Raincoat (From December to March).
- Extra water.
- Passport (and visa).
Note: Don’t forget to bring a copy of your passport.
We also offer the following salt flats tours:
- Uyuni – San Pedro de Atacama
- San Pedro de Atacama – Uyuni
- Tupiza – Uyuni
- San Pedro – Uyuni – Tupiza
- Tupiza – Uyuni – San Pedro
- Salt flats tour from Argentina
- Uyuni stargazing tour
- 3 day comfortable Uyuni – Uyuni tour and a cheaper basic tour on the Salar de Uyuni, with basic hostels and private transport only.
- A luxurious option: camping in style at Kachi lodge.
- 1 Full day tour Uyuni – Uyuni
- 2 day tour Uyuni-Uyuni
Check our pages about:
- how to travel to Uyuni.
- the weather in Uyuni.
More info about this tour, check out the following travel blogs (in Portugues):
Other travel blogs in English:
Please contact us in advance so we can check availability in the hotels.
