Signature Highlands of the Andes & Salt Flats

On arrival at Juliaca Airport, your driver will be waiting for you in the arrivals hall to transfer you to Puno. Puno lies on the shores of Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world. It is the largest city in the Southern Altiplano and an important agricultural and livestock (llamas and alpaca) region. It sits at an altitude of over 3,800 metres and is a picturesque hillside city and a melting pot of the Aymara and Quechua cultures.

Spend a full day visiting Lake Titicaca’s islands and communities. You will be collected from your hotel and transported to the lake to board a speedboat. You will spend the day visiting various islands on Lake Titicaca, including the Uru people and a visit to the last authentic floating islands. There are optional tours in reed boats before we depart back to Puno. (B,L)

Depart Puno and head for the Bolivian border and the world’s highest capital city – La Paz. Travelling along the Pan-American Highway through the Peruvian and Bolivian highlands, you will stop off at temples, ruins, and historical sites and arrive in La Paz late afternoon. La Paz has a spectacular setting in a deep bowl surrounded by snow-capped mountains of the Altiplano. It lies in the shadow of the towering 6,438m high Mt. Illimani, always snow-covered and visible from many parts of the city. There are no other activities planned for the rest of the day. (B,L)

Embark on a city tour through La Paz, wandering through the street markets rich in handicrafts, weavings, and witchcraft items, followed by a visit to the colonial section of the city. Then, descend into the more modern, southern part of La Paz to reach and visit the Valley of the Moon, where a clay mountain has been impressively shaped by erosion. Ride by cable car for an excellent and beautiful view of La Paz.

Your tour will be conducted by a local English speaking guide and you will be joined by a 'Lustracalzado' or a shoeshiner, who can found on most street corners of the city. Often the lustras will wear a balaclava or face covering to hide their identities and the social stigma and discrimination that their profession attracts. We work with a social project, that helps to employ the lustras as tour guides. This allows them additional income and the project has even paid for some of them to pursue further study and learn English. We hope that by you taking a tour with a lustra guide that this will help break down the social stigmas in place and give them a better future. (B,L)

Today you will fly from La Paz to Uyuni. On arrival, you will be collected from the airport and set off across the Great Salt Flats to Colchani village, where we observe the methods of salt extraction and salt processing. We continue to Incahuasi Island, an oasis covered with giant cacti up to 10 metres high. Continuing north to visit the pre-Colombian ruins of Pucarade de Ayque fort on the foothills of Thunupa volcano. After witnessing an amazing sunset over the Salt Flat, you will be transferred to the luxurious Palacio del Sal Hotel. (B,L,D)

Today is packed with jaw-dropping scenery. Pass through the Valley of Rocks, stopping off to view famous rock formations caused by wind erosion. Villages like Culpina, where the houses have been built from natural materials and San Cristobal, which was relocated from its original location because of the zinc and silver deposits in the vicinity. Tonight, your accommodation is unique as it has been built into a rock and offers warm, cosy and comfortable refuge from the desert night. (B,L,D)

This morning you will be transferred to Hito Cajon, the mountain pass on the border between Bolivia and Chile. Along the way you will be rewarded with some of the most dramatic and beautiful landscapes in the world, stopping off for plenty of photo opportunities. This high-altitude desert environment is home to dozens of colourful lagoons, snow-capped mountains, llamas, flamingos, hot springs, and geysers. After clearing Chilean immigration, make your way to the village of San Pedro de Atacama. The evening will be at your leisure. (B,L)

Start your day with a tour of San Pedro de Atacama, the archaeological capital of Chile. Located near the mouth of the main river that feeds the salt flat, this tour will orientate you and give you an understanding of the history, the town, and surrounding areas. This evening you will be collected from your hotel for Astronomy in the Desert, one of the best places in the world to observe stars, planets, and constellations. (B)

In the morning you will visit the Salar de Atacama, one of the world’s largest salt lakes, home to a variety of bird species, including the three types of flamingos, and one of the most important lithium reserves in the world. En route you will stop at the picturesque village of Toconao, built from white volcanic stone and then on to Chaxa Lagoon. In the afternoon, travel across the Salt Mountain Range to reach the Valley of the Moon in time for sunset when the sun brings out the best of the valley's incredible colours. (B)

You will be collected from your hotel at the appropriate time and transferred to the airport for your onward flight. (B)