4-Day Uyuni Salt Flats from La Paz to Atacama in Chile

4-Day Uyuni Salt Flats from La Paz to Atacama in Chile

Get picked up in La Paz and take a night bus to Uyuni on Day 1, then embark on a journey of a lifetime into the Uyuni Salt Flats on Day 2. Sleep overnight in a salt hotel, take the opportunity to enjoy stargazing and then go deeper into the desert on Day 3 to see rock formations and desert landscapes with red and green-coloured lakes and native flamingos. On your last day in the desert visit the Dali Pampas to see the landscapes that inspired this famous artist and see the Green Lagoon before making the trip to Atacama, where your trip will end

Itinerary

Day 1: La Paz Pickup - Night bus from La Paz to Uyuni

Stop At: Salar de Uyuni, Uyuni Bolivia
You will get picked up at your accommodation in La Paz and taken to the bus station. Take a night bus at 9:00 pm to the town of Uyuni in the southwest corner of Bolivia.

Note: There will be no tour leader to accompany you on the bus.
Duration: 1 day

No meals included on this day.
Accommodation included: Overnight in night bus (unguided)

Day 2: Uyuni - Train Graveyard - Colchani - Uyuni Salt Flats (Incahuasi Island) - Pia Pia Island - Candelaria (L/D)

Stop At: Salar de Uyuni, Uyuni Bolivia
Arrive at the Uyuni bus station and we'll bring you he meeting point of the tour (within walking distance). Start off your 3D/2N tour at 10:30am with a visit to Uyuni's 'train graveyard' to see the first locomotives in Bolivia. Then we will visit the small village of Colchani to visit a salt factory where they process the salt mined from Uyuni, have lunch, and enjoy some free time to explore the local museum or shop for souvenirs. Next we will continue to the great salt flats of Uyuni. Take photos as you cruise along the vast white expanse of salt, and visit a hotel made completely of salt. Next we will visit Incahuasi (Fish Island) where you will have time to take a hike to the top of the island to see giant cactus and rock formations made of petrified coral. Then, you’ll head to Pia Pia island, to see the beautiful sunset over the salt flats. Finish off at the village of Candelaria, and enjoy the unique experience of spending the night in a hotel made almost entirely of salt.

Note: During the rainy season, between January and April, the Fish Island tour will be replaced with a possible stargazing / During the monsoon season, between January and April, the Salt Hotel will be unavailable so you will be staying in a hotel in Culpina or a similar location. If you want a private room for the 2 nights you have to pay an extra cost of 250 BS/36 USD per person, and it's subject to availability, we recommend you to pre-order.
Duration: 1 day

Meals included:
• Lunch
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Overnight in shared family lodging

Day 3: Chiguana Desert - Lagoons - Eduardo Avaroa National Reserve - Red Lagoon (B/L/D)

Stop At: Salar de Uyuni, Uyuni Bolivia
Start off at 7:00 am for breakfast at the hotel and then head toward the Chiguana Desert, located on the south side of the Uyuni salt flats. It is surrounded by volcanoes. Our next stop is at the Volcan Ollague viewpoint, where we will have lunch before heading to the beautiful Andean lagoons inhabited by 3 species of Andean flamingos. Visit the Desert of Siloli at 4550m (the highest and driest in the world) and take a photo next to the `Rock tree`, a lava rock formation. Before arriving to our final destination today, we will stop at the overlook point by the Red Lagoon to see more pink flamingos and admire this intense red-colored lake before spending the night in a shared family lodging.

Please note the shared family lodging has electricity at certain times (roughly 18:00 hrs to 21:00 hrs)
Duration: 1 day

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Overnight in Basic Dorm-Style Rooms with Shared Bathroom

Day 4: Sol de Mañana Geyser - Dali Desert - Green Lagoon - San Pedro de Atacama (B/L)

Stop At: Salar de Uyuni, Uyuni Bolivia
Get off to an early start around 5:00 am to visit the Sol de Mañana Geyser, at 5,000m and walk next to fumaroles and steaming craters filled with boiling pots of mud at 150-200 Cº. Continue to the open-air hot springs and take a bath in 35 Cº water before enjoying breakfast. Continue with a visit to the Dali Pampas, where Salvador Dali found his inspiration from boulders sprinkled in the middle of the desert, and then to the Green Lagoon (toxic copper water at the foot of the big Licancabur volcano at 6000m, a few kilometers from the Bolivia-Chile border). Cross the border into Chile and change vehicle. Your local driver will meet you and take you all the way to San Pedro de Atacama, passing beautiful scenery along the way. Arrive in San Pedro de Atacama around noon.
During spring and summer, the departure time will be earlier.
Note: This itinerary is subject to change without prior notice according to weather conditions, strikes, roadblocks, or force majeure events which are beyond our control. We will always do our best to follow the itinerary as close as possible.

Duration: 1 day

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
No accommodation included on this day.