DAY 1 – Todo Turismo Tourist Bus La Paz to Uyuni
You meet at Todo Turismo office (in front of the main bus terminal, Uruguay Av.) at 8.30 PM for the 9 PM departure. During your overnight bus you will get a meal for dinner (veggie or gluten free options available) and a little snack for breakfast before arriving. A blanket and a small travel pillow are also provided. There will be an English-speaking assistant on the bus that will be there to help you throughout the journey.
DAY 2 – Red Planet Salt Flats Tour – Uyuni – Colchani – Incahuasi – Atulcha
The bus will arrive in Uyuni at around 6 AM. You will then have some free time to have breakfast in one of the many local cafes in Uyuni (not included). At 9 AM you will need to visit Red Planet office in order to do your check-in and finalize details before your salt flats tour. You will leave Uyuni in the morning around 10.30/11:00 am and first visit the train cemetery where you can see the old rusting trains from decades ago. After this we continue to Colchani and witness how the salt is processed. We have lunch in the village and then move onto the salt flats themselves. We will see where the salt has been laced in mounds ready to be transported, the original Playa Blanca salt hotel (no longer used for guests) and visit Inca Huasi Island to see the giant cacti and have great views of the salt flats all around. There will be plenty of time for taking amazing photos and the salt before we head toward the village of Atulcha where we will spend the night (the salt hotel is called Nuevo Amanecer). If time allows, you might also have the chance to see the sunset on the salt flats (this depends on season and cannot be guaranteed, but is usually possible).
DAY 3 – Atulcha – Lagunas – Laguna Colorada – Geysers – Hot springs – Polques
We awake early and have breakfast before leaving to travel further south. You will first have the chance to visit the Sora Canyon and see llamas in their natural environment before continuing through the Chuguana desert area where the scenery will include a number of extinct volcanoes plus the semiactive Ollague. As the journey continues we will pass by high altitude lagoons that are home to 3 species of flamingo before arriving into the desert of Siloli and the “tree of rock”. We then move onto the “Laguna Colorada”, an amazing red colored lake full of flamingos. Here is where we enter the Eduardo Avaroa National Park. In late afternoon we then go to visit the “Sol de Mañana” geysers and see the bubbling mud pools and steam jets. We will then continue to Polques where we find the hostel where we will spend the night. After dinner, you can decide to relax in the warm water pools of the local hot springs while enjoying the breathtaking starry sky.
DAY 4 – Polques – Dalí Desert – Laguna Verde – Uyuni – Todo Turismo Tourist Bus Uyuni to La Paz
Today we have an early start at 6.00 am and have breakfast. We then continue our trip via the “Dali desert” (only visible from afar) to see “Laguna Verde” where, if conditions are correct, we see the green mineral waters of this lake at the foot of Volcan Licancabur. We then start our return journey back to Uyuni where we arrive approximately 16.30/17.00. You have some free time and will need to be at Todo Turismo office at 7.30 PM ready for the 8 PM departure. Once again the service includes a meal, a snack, an English-speaking assistant, blanket and pillow.
DAY 5 – Arrival in La Paz
You will arrive in La Paz at around 7/7.30 AM (time can vary). Dropoff will be at Todo Turismo office. This is the end of this amazing adventure.