Today we will climb the Tunupa Volcano. Tunupa is considered to be the god of the lightenings and the volcanoes. When he got cast away from the other mountain deities his tears turned into the biggest salt flat worldwide. A belief which originated with the Tiwanaku culture (~1000 bC) and still holds today for the indigenous people from the altiplano. The trail up to the outlook point starts with the visit of the mummies of the lords of Lipez. Thanks to the volcanic ashes, the slopes of the volcano are fertile soil. Once you gained enough altitude to leave the last fields surounded by stonewalls you access to the first outlook point offering an overview on the whole region. An ashtonishigly diverse flaura and fauna (humming birds, Vizcachas, camelids...) await on the trail before you reach the last section in a scree slope. From the outlook point at 5152m the view reaches as far as the Sajama volcano, the Payachatas and Acotango behind the Coipasa salft flat. Yet the biggest attraction is the overview of the whole "salar de Uyuni" and its cactii islands. This volcano is the perfect choice to enhance your unique experience with the Uyuni salt flat while you get used to altitude for higher summits to come. The hike is done within a day. From the vehicle to the first outlook point it takes 2 hours and 400m +d, to the second outlook point count additional 3-4 hours and 750m +d. Read more

Coqueza

your first lagoon- Laguna Kolpa. Here large amounts of raw material are extracted for making soap. If you want, you can get out and take a few photographs before continuing on through the Salar the Chalviri to arrive at the hot springs in time for a swim and some lunch. You will have about an hours stop here. Your next stop after lunch will be the Laguna Verde (4250 msnm) is a saltwater lake located in the high Andes National Wildlife Reserve Andean Eduardo Abaroa, Bolivia in the Potosí highlands. It has a size of 3.7 kilometres long and 2.3 kilometres wide and covers an area of 5.2 km2. It is coupled with the White by a small lagoon close, and presents an emerald green coloration due to the high mineral content of magnesium in its waters. Coastal has a perimeter of 10 kilometres, found at the feet of Volcano Licancabur (5868m), which represents the border between Chile and Bolivia. For your interest: Laguna Verde´s rich green colour is caused by the high arsenic and magnesium content in the water. El Desierto de Dalí (110 km2) is our next stop, a place with mountains of surrealist colours, reminiscent of the photos of Salvador Dalí and rock formations of petrified lava. Then you will arrive at the ‘Sol de Mañana’ Geysers (5000m above sea level). Then we will spend the 2nd night in Huayllajara (Basic Accommodation). Read more

Huayllajara

After the breakfast you will go to Laguna Colorada, the stone tree and the rocks valley.From here you will drive past a series of lagoons to arrive at Laguna Hedionda to have lunch. Here you will see flamingos, vicuñas and possibly even an Andean fox, then you will go to San Juan, small town, after lunch we will pass by volcano Ollagüe, which is classed as semi-active, as its crater is constantly releasing smoke and continue through the Salar de Chiguana, San juan and finally Puerto Chuvica (Basic Salt Hotel). Read more

Salt Hotel (Basic Accommodat

Today we will cross the immense Salar de Uyuni (3650 msnm); at 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, which is composed of overlapping layers of brine and mud lake.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 the Ojos del Agua; literally translated as ‘eyes of water’, 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 artesanias to buy, both salt and Alpaca, which are the two main industries in the area. Finally the tour finishes in Uyuni at 2:00 pm in the central part of the city. Read more

Today we will climb the Tunupa Volcano. Tunupa is considered to be the god of the lightenings and the volcanoes. When he got cast away from the other mountain deities his tears turned into the biggest salt flat worldwide. A belief which originated with the Tiwanaku culture (~1000 bC) and still holds today for the indigenous people from the altiplano. The trail up to the outlook point starts with the visit of the mummies of the lords of Lipez. Thanks to the volcanic ashes, the slopes of the volcano are fertile soil. Once you gained enough altitude to leave the last fields surounded by stonewalls you access to the first outlook point offering an overview on the whole region. An ashtonishigly diverse flaura and fauna (humming birds, Vizcachas, camelids...) await on the trail before you reach the last section in a scree slope. From the outlook point at 5152m the view reaches as far as the Sajama volcano, the Payachatas and Acotango behind the Coipasa salft flat. Yet the biggest attraction is the overview of the whole "salar de Uyuni" and its cactii islands. This volcano is the perfect choice to enhance your unique experience with the Uyuni salt flat while you get used to altitude for higher summits to come. The hike is done within a day. From the vehicle to the first outlook point it takes 2 hours and 400m +d, to the second outlook point count additional 3-4 hours and 750m +d. Read more