Bolivia highlights tour
Optional single supplement £575.
Minimum age 16.
Description of Bolivia highlights tour
You would be hard-pushed to find a more exciting tour of Bolivia than this two-week adventure. A guided small group tour, it takes in everything from trekking in Amboró National Park (home to nearly 1,000 bird species as well as pumas and ocelots) to a 4WD expedition around the Uyuni salt flats, a night in an ecolodge overlooking Lake Titicaca, and a series of vibrant cities.
Yes it covers all the highlights of Bolivia, but this is no whistle-stop tour. You’re exploring at a pace that allows you to really immerse yourself in landscapes like nowhere else in the world, and colourful indigenous culture. Accompanied by an expert tour leader who will ensure everything runs smoothly, you’ll also meet up regularly with local guides, capable of providing insights and anecdotes that will leave you in no doubt: Bolivia is one of the most remarkable countries in South America.
The itinerary below explains the many unforgettable experiences waiting for you in Bolivia, but we’ll cover some that are of particular note...
• A trek through Amboró National Park, where the tropical jungle provides habitat for an incredible range of species including jaguars, pumas, tapirs and over 900 types of bird.
• Meeting a former miner in Potosi to learn about the Bolivian ‘Silver Rush’ and its tragic impact on millions of indigenous people and African slaves.
• A three-day expedition through the Uyuni salt flats, Turkini Lagoon and Eduardo Avaroa National Reserve, and some truly out-of-this-world scenery.
• An overnight stay at an ecolodge on the Isle del Sol on Lake Titicaca, the world’s highest navigable body of water.
• Guided tour around the ruins of Tiwanaku, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This pre-Columbian city was founded around 1500BC.
• Soak in the thermal pools of Polque against a spectacular backdrop of geysers and volcanoes.
A small group tour of Bolivia has numerous advantages. Among them, the sociable side – by the end of the second day you’ll be on first-name terms with your fellow travellers and guide. By the end of the week, firm friends. Secondly, with limited group sizes, you can stay in smaller, often locally owned accommodations and eat in independent restaurants, all of which can make significant financial differences to Bolivian communities that don’t see a huge amount of tourism.
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Price information
Optional single supplement £575.
Minimum age 16.
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Holiday information
Reviews
1 Reviews of Bolivia highlights tour
Reviewed on 24 Nov 2023 by Kimberly Gordon
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
Making videos and stills in the Salt Flats
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Make sure to bring Diamox or dexamethasone to recent high altitude
sickness. It’s real and several members of the group had symptoms.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Definitely benefited people
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
Excellent. Comprehensive itinerary exposing both food and culture from the
lowlands and antiplano in Bolivia.
Responsible Travel
Planet
How this trip helps protect and conserve local landscapes and nature.• By travelling in a small group we ‘tread lightly’ to minimise our impact on local resources and the environment.
• We work with our partners on the ground to proactively reduce waste; this includes eliminating all single-use plastic water bottles by providing refills for re-usable bottles.
• The payment of entrance fees to natural reserves and archaeological sites generates income which is used for upkeep and development of these important sites.
• We visit the ASUR an indigenous art museum which supports the local communities close to Sucre by helping to keep traditional weaving techniques alive.
• We visit the Eduardo Avaroa National Park and fees collected fund conservation initiatives.
• We rewild 100 square metres per passenger to compensate for all trip and flight emissions.
Tips for sustainable travel on this trip
• Leave no trace: we do all we can to ensure we leave no rubbish in the wild and beautiful places we visit; we ask that you do the same. If there are no recycling facilities in-country, consider bringing recyclable materials home with you.
• Plastic waste reduction: please bring a re-usable water bottle on this trip, also consider avoiding single-use hotel toiletries, which generate a large amount of plastic waste.
People
Meals:When food is provided, ingredients used are locally sourced and produced wherever possible. Our local guides will always encourage and recommend clients to try local restaurants. Bolivian cuisine typically consists of meat with a staple of corn, quinoa or potatoes. Popular main dishes include ‘pique a lo macho’ (a kind of beef stir-fry, served with chunky chips), ‘sagta de pollo’ (spicy chicken) and ‘Salteñas’ (a sort of pasty).
Local craft and Culture:
With our visits to various local markets, we have plenty of opportunities to support local craft especially in Uyuni, La Paz and Copacabana. Our local guides will advise clients on what to buy and what to avoid – for example, there are some musical instruments such as the charango that are made of quirquincho’s shell, which is an endangered species and must be avoided. During our city tours in Sucre, Potosi and La Paz, we will visit plenty of sites such as El Fuerte, Amboro National Park and various museums and churches where our entrance fees goes to support the maintenance, restoration and upkeep of these sites.
During our city tour of Sucre clients will visit the museum of indigenous art where there is a weaving demonstration producing traditional textiles with complex patterns and vivid colours. This is a good chance for clients to engage in cultural interaction.
How this trip helps improve life for local communities.
• Local guides keep you well informed about local traditions and cultural-social sensitivities.
• This trip brings income and opportunity to the destination community through the inclusion of locally owned hotels, restaurants, and other enterprises, and by championing locally produced food wherever possible. A number of the hotels used are family owned.
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