Sucre, Potosi and Uyuni tours in Bolivia
| country: | Bolivia |
| departures: | This trip can be tailor made throughout the year with a minimum of two people |
| price: | From US $660 (5 days) excluding flights. Includes accommodation and meals as per itinerary |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
introduction to Sucre, Potosi and Uyuni tours in Bolivia
This tour takes you to Sucre and Potosí, two important world heritage sites in South East and West Bolivia, rich in colonial and republican history.
Sucre is the historical capital of Bolivia and one of the most beautiful and well-preserved cities in the Andes, and Potosí, was known to be the richest city in the Americas during the 16th century with an interesting colonial past. On Day 3, you will have a bus trip to the Altiplano to visit the spectacular Uyuni´s Salt Lake, the largest in the world, unique for the landscape domained by the immense salt deposit and surrounding mountains and volcanoes, and favorite location for amateur and professional nature photographers. A full-day in this salt lake includes a short hike among the giant cacti in Isla Incahuasi, located in the center of this endless salt lake. The last part of this tour is the
trip back to Oruro then to La Paz City using overnight bus or train-bus combination.
Featured activities
Visit to museums, convents, churches, and other historical places. Full-day in the Uyuni´s Salt Lake Short hikes. Bus and train back to Oruro and La Paz.
Sucre is the historical capital of Bolivia and one of the most beautiful and well-preserved cities in the Andes, and Potosí, was known to be the richest city in the Americas during the 16th century with an interesting colonial past. On Day 3, you will have a bus trip to the Altiplano to visit the spectacular Uyuni´s Salt Lake, the largest in the world, unique for the landscape domained by the immense salt deposit and surrounding mountains and volcanoes, and favorite location for amateur and professional nature photographers. A full-day in this salt lake includes a short hike among the giant cacti in Isla Incahuasi, located in the center of this endless salt lake. The last part of this tour is the
trip back to Oruro then to La Paz City using overnight bus or train-bus combination.Featured activities
best time to go
February to December. Temporary floods during rainy season affect crossing to the Uyuni Salt Lake. day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | La Paz-Sucre: Flight from La Paz to Sucre and transfer to hotel. We will tour the most beautiful city in Bolivia. Among its many attractions is the Recoleta Convent, which offers a great view of Sucre and the surrounding hills. Later we will visit the historic House of Liberty, where Simon Bolivar signed Bolivia’s Act of Independence in 1825, creating a free republic. After lunch our tour will take us to the Colonial Museum to learn more about this formative period. We will also view Bolivia’s best examples of indigenous textile art (weavings) at the ASUR museum. A very popular tour of intact dinosaur tracks is available upon request.(L) |
| Day 2: | Sucre - Potosi: After breakfast, bus ride to Potosi, the largest and richest city in the Americas in the 16th century. Experience Potosi´s narrow streets and mix of baroque, gothic and indigenous architecture. The impressive Royal Mint House dramatically illustrates for you how the Spanish Empire exploited Bolivia’s mineral wealth for 400 years. Other attractions include the Santa Teresa Convent, the main Cathedral and churches, and Cerro Rico´s mineshafts. We will enjoy dinner and an overnight stay at a local hotel. (B, L) |
| Day 3: | Potosí - Uyuni: Our morning departure from Potosi to Uyuni will be 9 am. The bus trip will take about 6 hrs. Along the journey, we will stop at sights, stretch, and take a lunch break. After arrival in Uyuni, registration and dinner at the hotel will complete the day. (B, L) |
| Day 4: | Uyuni Salt Lake – Oruro: Following breakfast, the group will board 4WD vehicles to journey to the Uyuni´s Salt Lake. Our first stop will be Isla Incahuasi where we can explore unique landscape features and have lunch. In the afternoon a visit to the small town of Jirira is the perfect setting to share insight about the fascinating nature, geology, and history of human occupation in the salt lakes region. By mid-afternoon, we make our way back to the hotel in Uyuni. Early dinner. Midnight train departure to Oruro (B, L) |
| Day 5: | Oruro – La Paz: After the early morning arrival in Oruro, we board a bus to return to La Paz. If we were booked on the overnight bus from Uyuni (the night of Day 4) you will arrive in La Paz city by 07:00 am. |
travelling with a local operator
This holiday is operated by a company based in the holiday destination and they will be able to provide expert local knowledge. They will be able to tailor make your holiday to suit your requirements not only concerning the dates of travel but also typically the standard of accommodation, and thus price. It is rare for local operators to be able to help with the booking of your flights.how this holiday makes a difference
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Environment
All trips and lodges in our tours in Bolivia and Peru are located in remote locations in the high Andes or hidden rainforest or savannahs, where the value of biodiversity conservation, efforts in saving water and energy are highly precious. Trip routines will explore amazing places respecting wildlife and local people and environmental policies. Lodges were built using local materials, based on traditional architecture that resulted low-impact or non-invasive with spectacular pristine ecosystems or biodiversity rich environments, both home of many threatened charismatic wild flora and fauna. Operations run by trained locals are using alternative energy sources and have implemented garbage, solid, and water waste management to greatly reduce and mitigate undesirable pollution effects. We are committed not to sell tours that represent a threat to nature preserves, historical and cultural destinations we invite travellers to visit. Our operations in Uyuni are well-organized and reliable, based on low-impact activities, gentle with the environment, respectful for local people and committed to help save Bolivia´s rich historical and cultural heritage. We invite you to be part of it. Community My husband David and I are tourism and conservation consultants with more than 20 yrs of experience in selling eco-tours, and have been involved in building local capacities and the making of tourism projects neighboring nature preserves or buffer zones. In Bolivia, our small company have been the most important factor for the success of the famed and awarded Chalalan Ecolodge, property of Quechua-Tacana people, also known as a model in rainforest tourism in South America. Since this lodge started in 1998, we have been responsible for selling 80-65% of the arrivals to this rainforest lodge nested in Madidi National Park. Profits are helping the development of 500 families dedicated to low-yielding agriculture and subsistence. Presently, we continue our work as consultants and instructors for conservation projects implementing nature tourism as an alternative to save fine ecosystems and local cultures in Bolivia and Peru. |
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. |
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