Bolivian Encounters tour

DAYS 1
ARRIVE IN LA PAZ. AIRPORT TRANSFER INCLUDED
Arrive in La Paz city (3,600 ms / 11,800 ft), and you will be met and transferred to your hotel. Our Tour Leader will brief you on the tour in the evening, so the rest of the day is yours to get over your flight and to acclimatize to the altitude. (No meals included)

Overnight: Hotel Berlina (or similar)

DAYS 2
LA PAZ TOUR
We take a tour of the city (approx. 4 hours). La Paz is like no other city you will have visited, with its stunning setting in a valley, surrounded by 6000m peaks! The streets are narrow and winding, full of brightly dressed Andeans selling their wares. Our tour takes in the atmosphere and we'll learn a lot about Andean Culture; passing through interesting neighbourhoods we visit the main sights such as Murillo Square and Cathedral, Congress and Government Palace (built in 1800s), The Incan Gold Museum, Valley of the Moon and the famous Witches Market. Finally we drive to Killi Killi lookout point to enjoy a 360 degree view of the city.

We have the rest of the day at leisure to wander or find a Huari (local beer). (Breakfast)

Overnight: Hotel Berlina (or similar)

DAYS 3
FLY TO SUCRE AND TOUR THE CITY
This morning we will transfer to the airport for a short domestic flight to one of Bolivia's most beautiful cities, Sucre.

Sucre is known as 'The 4 Names City' because of its long and varied history - Charkas (its Indian name), La plata (The Silver), Ciudad Blanca (White City) and Sucre (Sugar in French). The city, at a lower altitude of 2,800m above sea level, enjoys a warmer and greener climate than La Paz, and it invites you to enjoy wandering its charming streets and its interesting attractions. Because of that, we start our adventure in Sucre walking to La Recoleta lookout point to enjoy a nice view of the city and where we’ll visit the ASUR, the Bolivia’s best Textiles Museum, home of some of the most precious and colourful pre-Incan textiles; some of them are even more than 1500 years old. Next, we drive towards the Cretaceous Park, where we learn about the thousands of remarkable dinosaur footprints discovered here, including the largest ever found - the Titanosaur weighed over 70 tonnes!

In the afternoon we head to the beautiful Main Square which features several historically important buildings including the Governer Builging, the main Cathedral, and the Liberty's House, where Bolivia was created a new free Republic in 1825. We'll continue to explore the city and learn more about the country's history, including a visit to Bolivia’s most beautiful and historical cemetery where several ex-presidents of Bolivia are buried. (Breakfast)

Overnight: Hostal Sucre (or similar)

DAYS 4
SUCRE
We'll explore Sucre a bit more today, starting this morning by walking to La Recoleta lookout point to enjoy good views over the city. Next we'll visit ASUR, Bolivia's best Textile Museum, where some of the most precious and colourful pre-Incan textiles are kept (some are at least 1500 years old).

Later, we'll drive towards The Cretaceous Park, where we learn about the thousands of remarkable dinosaur footprints discovered here, including the largest ever found - the Titanosaur weighed over 70 tonnes!

The afternoon is free to explore Sucre a little more. (Breakfast)

Overnight: Hostal Sucre (or similar)

DAYS 5
SUCRE TO POTOSI
We leave Sucre behind this morning, and take the road to Potosi, enjoying the beautiful mountain views and bouncy gravel roads along the way! Potosi, at over 4,000m above sea level, is one of the highest cities in the world, and during the Spanish colonial period was a vital source of silver and other minerals for the whole empire. It is estimated that in the sixteenth century, 60% of all the silver mined in the whole world came from Potosi. Today it is a small, bustling Bolivian city, but its mining heritage and the continued importance of this industry to the area can be seen everywhere. There is almost a church on every block, some with very impressive interiors, but one to check out is San Francisco where you can view the city from the roof.

After checking in to our hotel, we'll visit the impressive Museum of the Mint House, which tells the history of the silver mined here and how thousands of silver coins were produced and shipped to Spain in Colonial times. (Breakfast)

Overnight: Hotel Tukos (or similar)

DAYS 6
FREE TIME IN POTOSI, DRIVE TO UYUNI
This morning is free to explore Potosi further. One option available locally is to become a trainee miner and get into the famous Rich Silver Mountain. To learn and understand more about the history of Potosí and the silver mining, you are provided with miner's equipment (helmet, flashlight, miner suit, and boots) provided by local Operators in town. If you take this optional tour, you can also visit the Miner’s Market where you can buy some little presents for the miners who still work in the mountain: this can be a soft drink, some coca leaves, some cigars, and dynamite. Yes, dynamite! This is probably the world’s only open market where you can buy dynamite on the streets. You cannot bring it home as a souvenir though! Note - Health and safety in the mines are not to western standards and we recommend reading up on them before making a decision about whether to visit or not.

We'll then leave Potosi and the Rich Mountain behind and travel by bus to Uyuni. This is a beautiful journey with some great views of the Andes and the altiplano, with occasional glimpses of the surprising wildlife with not only llamas and alpacas and vicunas, but hopefully also some Andean Ostrich. We arrive in Uyuni in the evening and transfer straight to our hotel. (Breakfast)

Overnight: Tambo Aymara hotel (or similar)

DAYS 7
UYUNI TO SAN JUAN VILLAGE
Today marks the start of our three-day expedition to explore the Salt Flats and stunning lakes, deserts and volcanoes. The Salar de Uyuni is the world’s largest salt flats and one of the most incredible natural sights to be found anywhere in Latin America, or even the whole world and this three-day tour allows us to fully explore them and the surrounding areas.

After breakfast we board our 4x4 Land Cruisers and drive to the eerie but evocative Train Cemetery. Here lie old abandoned steam locomotives, pristinely preserved in the dry climate and dating back to Bolivia's booming gold and tin mining days.

Next we visit Colchani village and look at the traditional salt bagging process - you can even buy yourself a small ornament made of salt gathered from the Salar!

Once we get out on to the flats, you realise quite how vast the area is, and our guide will explain some of the weird and wonderful geological facts as we head out in to their heart to visit Inca Huasi Island.

We have time to walk to the top of the island, passing giant cactus, and enjoy the spectacular view of the beautiful Tunupa Volcano (5300m) and the 10,000 square kilometres of Salt Flats that now surround you! After lunch we head for San Juan Village, where we visit a Pre Inca Cemetery, a small museum and we stay overnight in basic accommodation. (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)

Overnight: Basic accommodation

DAYS 8
SAN JUAN VILLAGE TO RED LAGOON
We continue driving south on our way to the little Chiguana Salt Flat. Huge volcanoes as high as 5850m above sea level surround us as we take our time, stopping for photos at a lookout point and finally reaching Canapa Lagoon at a height of 4130m. From here we can see pink flamingos, an unexpected and incongruous sight amongst the barren altiplano, and many other species of bird.

Hedionda (Stinky) Lagoon is our next stop, although we may make it a quick one as it certainly lives up to its name, due to the high sulphur content!

Passing scenic lagoons, we drive up towards the amazing Siloli Desert, crossing altitudes of almost 4600m, to see the incredible natural rock formations eroded by the powerful winds.

We end our day at the Red Lagoon, a breathtaking 40 square kilometre area which has been declared a Wildlife Sanctuary and is home to three endemic species of Andean Flamingo. We stay close to the shores of the lagoon in Wayllajara Village in basic accommodation. (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)

Overnight: Basic accommodation

DAYS 9
WAYLLAJARA VILLAGE TO UYUNI
Today we have an early start to catch the first rays of sun on the Sol de Manana Volcano Crater. The route takes us to almost 5000m above sea level at one point! Beautiful steam geysers and colourful boiling volcanic mud pools await us at the top and we'll be staggered by the extraordinary power of the earth which has been partially harnessed to generate electricity.

We enjoy breakfast on the banks of Challviri Lagoon where those of us that want to can enjoy a hot spring!

Passing through the barren volcanic environment of Dali's Desert, so-called as the landscapes are reminiscent of the famous artist’s surreal works, we are presented with fantastic photo opportunities as we approach the southwest tip of Bolivia and at the foot of Licancabur Volcano (5900m), where we also see the breathtaking Green Lagoon. From here we head back to Red Lagoon and take another route back to Uyuni via Rock Valley, stopping off in some small villages along the way.

We return to Uyuni in time for dinner, where there is hopefully still time to visit the highest pizza restaurant in the world before we head to the bus station to catch our ride back to La Paz. (Breakfast and Lunch)

Overnight: Overnight bus

DAYS 10
ARRIVE IN LA PAZ. CABLE CARS AND FREE TIME
We arrive back in La Paz in the morning and transfer to our hotel to shower, rest and have breakfast before we head out for a city tour taking the famous cable car up to El Alto and explore the markets and enjoy great views over the city. Instead you may wish to take a day tour to Chacaltaya to see the towering Huayna Potosi mountain. For outdoor lovers, La Paz is also a great base for mountain-biking or hiking. It is also possible to take a day trip west to Tiahuanaco, a pre-Colombian archaeological UNESCO World Heritage site. (Breakfast)

OVERNIGHT: Rurrenabaque hotel

DAYS 11
FLY TO RURRENABAQUE, TO THE AMAZON PAMPAS
It’s time now to see Bolivia's tropical side and enter into a different world; The Amazon Jungle. Early in the morning we head to the El Alto international airport to fly to Rurrenabaque Town. This small town is located at the shores of the impressive Beni River which is a tributary of the Amazon River and the entrance to the pristine Madidi National Park. Once we arrive to the town we get on a vehicle and drive towards the Pampas. After around 3 hours we arrive at our lodge near the entrance to the Municipal Reserve of the Yacuma River. Here we have lunch and relax a little. In the afternoon we take a boat trip to observe the wild fauna, and depending on the season, we can hope to see Caiman, Turtles, Capybaras, Pink Dolphins, different species of monkeys, and countless bird species.

DAYS 12
AMAZON PAMPAS
After breakfast we go for a walk to learn about, and experience, another Amazonian Ecosystem well known as Pampas. This area is characterised by its wetlands and as the jungle becomes less dense our opportunities for spotting tropical wildlife become much greater. Here we are going to search for more fauna, such as birds, caiman, and the famous Amazonian Anaconda. In the afternoon we get back to the river and we look for a good spot for fishing piranhas and swimming with the extraordinary Pink Dolphins known as Bufeo. After dinner, we'll need our torches as we explore the river in search of caiman! (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)

Overnight: Pampas Lodge (or similar)

DAYS 13
PAMPAS TO MADIDI NATIONAL PARK
After breakfast we drive back to Rurrenabaque and then continue our jungle adventure by heading to the shores of the Beni River to board a boat to Madidi National Park. On the way we'll see the impressive Estrecho del Bala, which is a pass where the Beni River becomes narrow and deep. We navigate Beni and Tuichi rivers for approximately three hours to arrive at our lodge where we'll take our lunch and rest a little preparing ourselves for our adventure in the Bolivian Amazon.

In the afternoon, we follow jungle paths to learn about the rich flora of the region, medicinal plants, toxic plants, mushrooms, and much more. Later we return to the lodge for our dinner, before venturing out on a night walk to feel and hear the sounds of the Amazon and to observe nocturnal animals. (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)

Overnight: Amazon Jungle Lodge

DAYS 14
PAMPAS BACK TO RURRENABAQUE
This morning we continue exploring the?beautiful jungle?learning from our indigenous guides about the trees, leaves, flowers and plants as well as visiting a place called Caquiawara which is a natural clay lick where we can observe several species of?macaws, parrots and parakeets?licking the salty clay to help with their digestion. After walking up to a lookout point we’ll have a spectacular view of the area, and we’ll have good chances to photograph to the macaws and parrots which come to the Clay Lick. Later, we return to our lodge to enjoy a final lunch and relax before we have an afternoon boat trip back to Rurrenabaque Town. (Breakfast, Lunch)

Overnight: Rurrenabaque Hotel

DAYS 15
FLIGHT RURRENABAQUE TO LA PAZ
After breakfast we head to the local airport to board the plane which will take us back to La Paz city; arriving in the city before lunch. The rest of the day is free for you to explore independently and perhaps pick up some souvenirs of your time in Bolivia. (Breakfast)

Overnight: Berlina Hotel (or similar)

DAYS 16
LA PAZ. TRANSFER TO THE AIRPORT
The tour ends in La Paz after breakfast, and your time is free to enjoy the city until your included departure airport transfer. If your flight departs after hotel checkout (12:00), there is safe luggage storage for your bags until you are ready to go to the airport. If you want to stay longer in La Paz we can book post-trip accommodation for you, or if you are travelling on in South America the city is well-connected and a great place for onward travel. (Breakfast)