10 day trip from TUPIZA TO LA PAZ
CITIES AND NATURE

Today you will visit Quebrada de Palala, a spectacular jagged rock formation, formed over many years by intense erosion of the mountainside. After this you will head on to El Sillar where you will have a few minutes to get out and enjoy this dramatic landscape before we continue through Nazarenito, a small gold mining community. Then we will go to visit Ciudad del Encanto, where you will see impressive rock formations. After that, you will arrive to San Pablo de Lípez (4250m). Then you will go to San Antonio de Lípez and finally to Quetena, where you will spend your first night

After breakfast, we will continue our trip crossing two small lagoons, Laguna Hedionda and Laguna Kollpa. Then, we will arrive to Polques, the hot springs, where you will be able to swim for a while. Then, we will drive for 15 min to arrive to Desierto de Dalí, a place with mountains of surrealist colors, reminiscent of the photos of Salvador Dalí and rock formations of petrified lava. Then we will visit Laguna Verde (4250 m.a.s.l.), which presents an emerald green coloration due to arsenic and magnesium content in its waters. It is located at the feet of Volcano Licancabur (5868m), which represents the border between Chile and Bolivia. Then, we will travel back to hot springs for lunch (takes around 1 hour). After lunch, we will go to “Sol de Mañana” Geysers (5000m above sea level). Then we will spend around 1 hour in Laguna Colorada and finally we will travel to Villamar to spend the 2nd night.

After the breakfast, we will start visiting Valle de Rocas, where you will see many rocks formations like Copa del Mundo and El Camello. Then we will go to Italia Perdida, where you will have some time to walk around the rocks. After that, we will go to Laguna Catal or Laguna Negra. Next is Cañón de la Anaconda which is a canyon where the Anaconda river runs. Some towns like San Agustín and Julaca will be passed in order to arrive to Villa Candelaria to stay there.

Today we will cross the immense Salar de Uyuni (3650 m.a.s.l.) early in the morning to see the Sunrise in the Uyuni Salt Flat. With 12,000 km2, the Salar de Uyuni is the largest salt plain in the world, stretching away in all directions as far as the eye can see. From here you can see volcano Tunupa impressively overhanging. The salt flats are made up of 11 separate layers with a thickness that ranges from 2 to 10m. The depth of salt is 120 meters and with that it is the biggest reserve of minerals such as lithium, magnesium, potassium, nitrogen, phosphorus and borax in the world. It has 14 small islands, the most important is the Incahuasi Island. Around the island, you can see Ojos de Agua, these are springs which act as pores for the salt flats. Leaving the salt bed, we will visit Colchani, the village where the salt is processed. Here there are various salt souvenirs and alpaca or llama wool clothes. Finally, we will go to see Cementerio de Trenes, where you will see a lot of ancient trains. We will stay in Uyuni and rest during the afternoon.

Early in the morning (around 07:00), we will do the Mining trip to visit Cerro Rico de Potosí, during this trip you will enter to the mine and see how the work is inside. After that, we will see a little about the process of the mineral once it is took from the mine. This trip takes around 5-6 hours, so after that, we will go for lunch.

After Lunch, we will travel to Sucre and stay there, takes around 3 hours.

After breakfast, we will go to visit Palacio de la Glorieta and the local cemetery. Then, we will have time for lunch. After that, we will go to visit the Cretaceous Park or Casa de la Libertad and the local Market. At the end of the day, we will go to La Recoleta, where you will have a nice view during sunset. Then, around 7-8pm, you will take a flight to La Paz, and stay there.

Today, we will do a city tour around La Paz, during the tour you will visit the Mirador Killi Killi, from where you can appreciate extraordinary views of La Paz city. 

Then, we will make a stop at the Plaza Murillo that is located in the center of La Paz city, it holds the Presidential Palace also known as Palacio Quemado (burned palace), due the number of times it was burned. Then we will continue visiting Plaza Mayor de San Francisco is located in the center of the city of La Paz. It is an urban atrium that unfolds in front of the Basilica of San Francisco and the San Francisco Museum Cultural Center.

After that, we will go to Mercado de las Brujas is a street market located on Linares Street in the center of the city, in the vicinity of the Basilica of San Francisco. Among the main merchandise sold in the Market of the Witches, directed by local sorcerers known as yatiris, potions, dried frogs, medicinal plants such as broom and armadillos used in the rituals of the Andes are included.

During the afternoon, we will do a round trip to El Alto by Teleférico (cable-car), where you will have nice views of the city from a different view. 

After the breakfast, we will travel to the archaeological center of Tiahuanaco-Tiwanaku. The travel time from La Paz to Tiahuanaco – Tiwanaku is 2 hours approximately.

With the entrance to Tiwanaku, you can visit two museums within the enclosure. Photos inside the museums are not allowed.

Inside the Museo Lítico, we can admire the monumental Monolito Bennett, erroneously called «de la Pachamama». Pyramid of Akapana was a pyramid of 800 m. of perimeter and 18 m. of height formed by 7 terraced terraces. Puerta del Sol is the most important attraction of Tiahuanaco, it has an image of the Sun God holding a scepter with bird figures in each hand. Kalasasaya or Temple of the Stone Stops, has an exact design linked to astrology, from this site they were verified with the duration of the solar year and the change of each season. Monolito Ponce is named after the Bolivian archaeologist (Carlos Ponce) who discovered it in 1957. It is one of the best achieved and conserved figures of all Tiahuanaco.

At the end of our visit to the archaeological center, we can enjoy a lunch. We will continue our journey towards Copacabana, that will take us approximately 3 hours of travel. Once there, we will visit the Copacabana Cathedral and The calvary that is located on the top of a hill 900 meters from the center of Copacabana, the ascent is a tradition that pilgrims have especially for Easter or the day of the Virgin.

Lake Titicaca is the highest navigable lake in the world, located in the Andean high plateau in the central Andes, with an average altitude of 3812 MASL. between the territories of Peru and Bolivia. Its maximum depth is estimated at 281 m and its average depth is calculated at 107 m. Its level is irregular and increases during the austral summer.

After breakfast, we start our tour to the Isla del Sol, crossing the lake for about an hour and a half until we reach the southern part of the Isla del Sol, where we visit the Archaeological Remains of Pilkokaina -Temple of the Inca, it is a center religious. Then a short walk along the stairs of Yumani built by our ancestors until we reach the fountain of Youth, there, one can purify themselves by taking a bit of sacred water, it is believed that this fountain is the source of eternal youth, and also we will enjoy the beauty of that beautiful Inca garden, and finally, we will return to Copacabana and La Paz. If you need to finish in Puno, it is possible.