Bolivia tour
| country: | Bolivia |
| trip type: | A small group adventure |
| departures: | 2010: 16 May, 15 Aug |
| price: | £2395 (15 days) excluding international flights. |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
the amazing things you'll be doing
Bolivia tour
As one of South America’s best-kept secrets, Bolivia boasts a broad array of attractions and travellers that are intrepid enough to reach this remote land are treated to a wealth of history, culture and mind-blowing landscapes.
From the wild open spaces of the Altiplano to the chaotic capital city of La Paz, (flanked by not one but four snow-capped mountain ranges), the Bolivian terrain spans everything from grassy plains to steamy jungles, colonial cities frozen in time to some of the most remote and inhospitable landscapes on earth.
Few sites can rival the splendour of the Salar de Uyuni salt flats, where cactus encrusted islands rise surreally out of a sea of salt, or the sparkling blue waters of Lake Titicaca, dotted with beautiful islands and indigenous settlements. For the cultural visitor, Sucre and the silver mining city of Potosi offer an unparalleled view to the decadence of the Spanish crown, and the thriving market at Tarabuco and infamous witches market in La Paz, give visitors an insight in to modern day Bolivia.
A magical destination, this Bolivia tour will leave you breathless – not least because of the altitude.
As one of South America’s best-kept secrets, Bolivia boasts a broad array of attractions and travellers that are intrepid enough to reach this remote land are treated to a wealth of history, culture and mind-blowing landscapes.
From the wild open spaces of the Altiplano to the chaotic capital city of La Paz, (flanked by not one but four snow-capped mountain ranges), the Bolivian terrain spans everything from grassy plains to steamy jungles, colonial cities frozen in time to some of the most remote and inhospitable landscapes on earth.
Few sites can rival the splendour of the Salar de Uyuni salt flats, where cactus encrusted islands rise surreally out of a sea of salt, or the sparkling blue waters of Lake Titicaca, dotted with beautiful islands and indigenous settlements. For the cultural visitor, Sucre and the silver mining city of Potosi offer an unparalleled view to the decadence of the Spanish crown, and the thriving market at Tarabuco and infamous witches market in La Paz, give visitors an insight in to modern day Bolivia.
A magical destination, this Bolivia tour will leave you breathless – not least because of the altitude.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | La Paz - Copacabana. Arrive into La Paz and transfer to the holy town of Copacabana, on the southern shores of Lake Titikaka. Here you can explore the town, including the colourful market and the beautiful Cathedral. |
| Day 2: | Copacabana – Island of the Sun. After breakfast we board the hydrofoil to the Island of the Moon. Here we visit the Inak Uyu (temple of the sun virgins) where the most beautiful Inca virgins were given the task of conserving a sacred fire dedicated to their Gods. We re-board the hydrofoil to the Island of the Sun, visiting the Sun temple, before continuing on to the Posada del Inca - an old hacienda that has been converted into a unique solar powered eco-lodge. |
| Day 3: | Island of the Sun. After breakfast, we set off by boat to Mainani where we visit “The Chincana” (the labyrinth), a sophisticated set of pre-Inca ruins. We then take a stunning trek along the ridge of the island (approximately 3 hours), stopping for a picnic lunch along the way. |
| Day 4: | Island of the Sun - Huatajama. Leaving Posada del Inca we stop at the sacred fountain before heading to Huatajama on the east side of the lake. From here we sail to the island of Parati and the necropolis and funerary towers on Kalauta Island. Taking a gentle trek across the island through local villages, we reach the Urus-Iruitos floating islands. The reed islands are unique to Lake Titikaka and we visit a community project set up to help the Uritos people sustain their traditional way of life. In the afternoon we visit the museum of the Kallawera’s – traditional medicine men that roam Bolivia practising natural medicine and reading fortunes. After dinner (weather permitting) we shall study the night skies at the local observatory learning about the southern hemisphere constellations. |
| Day 5: | Huatajama - Coroico. An early start takes us from the heights of Lake Titikaka to the steamy Yungas. As we descend on the new road, the terrain and foliage begin to change dramatically and the physical beauty of the drive is astonishing. Arriving in Coroico for lunch, we’ll have a free afternoon for exploring the region, with options of horse riding, hiking to local waterfalls, exploring the town or simply taking some down time by the pool. |
| Day 6: | Coroico – La Paz. Out of Coroico our journey takes us on the old road to La Paz. Cut into the orchid-festooned rock face, with several small waterfalls washing across the road, the drive is spectacular and again we get to watch the foliage change as we climb upwards. |
| Day 7: | La Paz - Sucre. Morning flight to Sucre, Bolivia’s most attractive city. A city tour takes us to various historic sites and we finish up at Cal Orcko where fossilised footprints of tyrannosaurus rex and other dinosaurs are clearly visible in the rock face, and fossilised remains can be seen. |
| Day 8: | Sucre. The colourful Tarabuco market takes place every Sunday, approximately 65 kilometres from Sucre. Here we’ll have the chance to see high quality artesania from the region. The market is a lively affair, and it offers a great insight into Bolivian culture and a chance to meet local people. Haggling is half of the fun, and a good opportunity to practise your Spanish. |
| Day 9: | Sucre - Potosi. Heading westwards into the heart of the Central Highlands, we drive to Potosi. In the afternoon we head into one of the local co-operative mines in a rare chance to experience the harsh realities of working life for thousands of Bolivians. |
| Day 10: | Potosi - Colchani. Tour of the Casa de la Moneda – Potosi’s Royal Mint, one of the country’s star attractions, before heading into the remote region in the west of the country. Our final destination is the edge of the salt flats, where the white crystalline plain spreads as far as the eye can see. Here we will spend the night in one of the unique salt hotels (heated!), constructed out of bricks of salt. |
| Day 11: | Bolivian Salt Flats (Salar de Uyuni). Full day trip out onto the vast, impressive Salar de Uyuni that spans over 10,000 square kilometres. The scenery of the evaporated lake makes a mind-blowing backdrop as cactusencrusted islands rise out of the salt. Our journey takes us to the Colchani salt factory where the salt is mined, cold-water springs, Isla de Pescado (Fish Island) and other smaller islands. |
| Day 12: | Salar de Uyuni - Oruro. A second day on the flats takes us to two spectacular natural phenomenons – the Galaxy and Devils caves, formed by underwater volcanic eruptions. We shall also visit the Thunupa volcano and train graveyard, before returning to the desert town of Uyuni for supper. In the evening we shall board the overnight train to Oruro. The train can be unpredictable… if it doesn’t run we use road transport instead. |
| Day 13: | Oruro – La Paz. Our journey takes us into La Paz for lunchtime. |
| Day 14: | La Paz. A city tour today, taking in the native and colonial areas, the open air museum of Tiwanaku and the infamous witch’s market. We shall then visit the striking Moon Valley before returning to the city. |
| Day 15: | Flight home. |
small group adventure holiday
Typically you will be sharing your experiences with between 4-20 like minded travellers (depending on the trip, operator and how many others are booked on the trip) and you'll have a group leader with you. Whether you are travelling alone or with friends its good value, and a great way to meet new people! While itineraries are pre-planned there is some flexibility and you'll have plenty of privacy. This trip will appeal to travellers of all ages who enjoy meeting new people as well as seeing new places. how this holiday makes a difference
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In South America we use local ground handlers - this means that all the operational costs go directly into the local economy and helps to improve employment opportunities in remote regions. By incorporating home-stays, locally owned hotels, restaurants and the services of guides and drivers into our Bolivia tour, we ensure that the money you spend on your trip goes directly into the local economy and local communities benefit from tourism.
We have a strict environmental policy on our Bolivia tour to make sure that the environments we visit are not damaged or spoilt in any way. All our guides are trained to uphold this policy and all clients are fully briefed on appropriate/responsible behaviour whilst in wilderness areas. Our “Leave No Trace” ethic is applied to all trips in all regions and, as tour operators, is something we are careful to promote. When you go on our Bolivia tour, we automatically make a contribution to “Carbon Clear” – an organisation who work with hundreds of organisations to measure their carbon footprint and reduce their carbon emissions. As a company we also supports emergency relief efforts in the areas we travel to, such as the Pakistan Earthquake Fund set up in 2005 and a variety of other community benefiting NGOs around the world. We also support several other NGOs around the world such as the Hope Foundation, Tibetan schools trust and Adopt-A-Minefield, which are all carefully selected to improve the standard of living for the communities we visit. There are full details of these on the Responsible Tourism page on our website. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |