Bolivia - Uyuni Salt Flats & Tunupa

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BOLIVIA DESTINATION SUMMARY: In Bolivia, be prepared for a colorful variety of ecosystems and experiences in a high and wild country with 37 national languages. Bolivia is the quintessential "off the beaten track" journey of a lifetime; travel high in the Andes and you will see almost no one but indigenous people. The classic ‘Transcordillera Trek’, one of Bolivia’s most popular trails, meanders across the Royal Mountain Range and follows paths used by the indigenous Aymaras. From end to end, the landscapes are breathtaking and cultural exchanges memorable. This high altitude trek crosses three passes over 16,000 ft in elevation, providing a range of diverse scenery and ecosystems. http://www.adventure-international.com/trips/trekking/87/transcordillera-trek/

Head into the vast desert-scape of the Uyuni Salt flats that has inspired travelers and adventurers for decades. When covered with water, the salt flat becomes one of the largest mirrors on Earth. Further afield, sharing a border with Peru, lies the sacred Lake Titicaca, the highest commercially navigable lake in the world and by volume of water, the largest lake in South America. Discover high altitude plateaus, vast salt pans, the legendary Lake Titicaca and deep traditional roots in a country that unveils slowly, one exquisite layer after another.

FC: After trekking through mountain lodges in Peru to Machu Picchu, the team left and I decided to head towards Bolivia. The connection is fairly easy if flights are scheduled that day, Cusco to La Paz direct. The reciprocity fee is quite high for US citizens and a passport with the last name reading 'Castro' always brings on a good series of interesting questions. Meeting our partners was essential to really finding out about the level of services offered in Bolivia; trekking in these parts is not like an African expedition, but still provides porterage, portable toilets, good gear, and semi-bilingual guides (we are looking at ways to improve guides' English in the low seasons). My comfortable stay in La Paz was at Casa Grande Hotel: http://casa-grande.com.bo/index2.html A very nice hotel in the city. A few other places that fit the spectrum of travelers' budgets are; Hotel Rosario: http://www.hotelrosario.com/la-paz/index.php?lang=en / Hostal Naira: http://www.hostalnaira.com/site/index%20ingles.php.html / Ritz Apart Hotel: http://www.ritzbolivia.com/english/index.php / Hotel Europa: http://www.hoteleuropa.com.bo/he_ing/idx_ing.html

La Paz is a great place, vibrant city with the chaos you expect in Latin America. The colors of fruits, the local textiles, and the indigenous spirit. I was off to the Uyuni Salt Flats and landed first in Sucre, a Spanish colonial town with great boutique local restaurants, a good recommendation being Salmandra. From here it was onto Potosi and a recommended place to eat, El Meson. Accommodations used were the following; in Sucre, Hotel Villa Antigua: http://www.villaantiguahotel.com/hotel_Villa_Antigua_Sucre_Bolivia.html and in Potosi, Coloso Hotel Potosi: http://www.potosihotel.com/en/default.asp (quality was clean and ok, but I wouldn't rave that these are the most boutique and luxury places, even though Coloso was 5 stars?)

The drive out to Uyuni was amazing, llamas covered the landscape amidst arid, colorful sand dunes and mountains. Old churches, rivers and then descending into the famous salt flats. Salar de Uyuni are the largest salt flats in the world and the result of transformations between prehistoric lakes. First stop was Luna Salada Hotel: http://www.lunasaladahotel.com.bo/en.html a hotel built completely out of salt with incredible sundowner views of the salt flats. From here it was onto explore the various islands and make our way to Tayka Salt Hotel: http://www.taykahoteles.com/es/hsal.php with stunning views at the foot of Tunupa volcano. The Tayka small chain of hotels is an impressive company that own and operate sustainably built hotels with a 30% active voice by local communities in each of their respective areas. Its a model involving private investors and communities in true partnership.

I did not have time to visit the Red & Green Lagoons but it is highly recommended. From here there is easy access to climb Licancabur volcano. My early morning was to head and climb Tunupa (which I later found out is impossible to actually reach the true summit). We drove the 4x4 quite high before starting our hike, the day was quite gradual with some steep sections to the regular point most visitors hike to with views into the ashpit. We continued further to try to summit Tunupa and we hiked as far as we could go, before reaching a place of falling rocks and very unstable footing. Rather than risk any serious injury, we decided to eat some snacks from the highest point I could tell one could get to safely. It was an adventurous hike and well-worth the danger! After the hike we made our way to Uyuni to overnight before I continued by road trip to the border of Bolivia and Argentina...

You can see some photo sets from the trip below:

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.
Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.