Fascinating Bolivia

Half-Day Tour of La Paz and Valle de la Luna(optional):
This day we’ll visit some of La Paz’s most popular spots. We start at the popular artisan market located on Sagárnaga Street and the Witches’ Market, where you can find medicinal herbs, home remedies, and other fascinating ingredients used in Aymara rituals. The tour continues to the Basilica of San Francisco (museum fee not included) and Plaza Murillo, home to the Basilica Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace, the Government Palace, and the National Congress building. You’ll then have the opportunity to visit Jaén Street, where you’ll find numerous museums, bars, restaurants, and shops selling a variety of goods.

Next, we’ll take you to Plaza España where you can hop on the cable car to the southern end of the city and admire its beauty from above, with stunning views of Obrajes, Calacoto, and La Florida, some of La Paz’s most beautiful neighborhoods. Finally, you’ll visit Valle de la Luna (Valley of the Moon), and optionally pass by the home of the famous Bolivian potter Mario Sarabia. This tour will take approximately 4 hours, after which we’ll return you to your hotel and later provide transportation to the bus terminal. The overnight bus to Uyuni departs at 9pm and lasts approximately 10 hours.

Dinner and breakfast the following day will be served on the bus.

In the morning, we’ll pick you up Uyuni Bus Terminal (or Airport if you choose to fly). We’ll head to a restaurant where you’ll have a brief break until the tour starts at 10am. Uyuni is the largest salt flat in the world, covering an area of over 12,000 square kilometers (7,455 square miles). One of the many astonishing sights in Uyuni is the Train Cemetery, a place filled with abandoned locomotives from the 19th and 20th centuries. You’ll have time to explore here. We’ll also visit the town of Colchani, where you’ll have the opportunity to see an artisanal salt processing plant.

On the way to Incahuasi Island, you’ll pass by Playa Blanca, a former hotel made entirely of salt. You can stop to look around and take photos with the numerous flags left by visitors from around the world, or with the Dakar Monument left by the off-road racing organization, Dakar. Lunch will be served on the salt flat, where you’ll have time for photography.

NOTE: Incahuasi Island cannot be visited during the rainy season.
After lunch, we’ll head north towards the slopes of Tunupa, a nearby volcano, to visit Pucara Ayque, a pre-Columbian fort containing mummies. You’ll also have the chance to witness the sunset over the plains before we transfer you to the bus terminal to board the overnight bus back to La Paz. The bus departs at 8pm and arrives at 6:30am the following morning when we part ways!