Uyuni Salt flat(Bolivia) & The Atacama Desert (Chile)
Bolivia
Region
Uyuni salt flat
Season
March to December
Duration
9 days
Briefing
To be defined.
Tour description
This program combines two special South American destinations. The picturesque town of San Pedro de Atacama is the gate to explore the Atacama Desert, considered the driest desert on Earth, but hosting a surprising diversity of landscapes and geological formations, including vast salt flats or "salares", volcanoes, geysers, red sand dunes, deep canyons and "Moon-like valleys". The lack of life is an illusion as we can find fascinating endemic life forms such as the vicuña (the smallest member of the camel family), Puna rheas, colorful lizards and lakes inhabited by an abundant diversity of birds, including 3 species of flamingos. Puna teals, Andean gulls, Puna plovers, Andean geese and Puna ibis, among many others. We will explore the Tatio Geysers (the third largest on Earth), Chaxa Lake (home of an abundant birdlife in the Atacama Salt Flat and the stunning geological formations of the Pacana Guardians and the Moon´s Valley.
Remote high plateau lakes-Laguna Verde and Laguna Colorada-are vividly colored by minerals and algae and host a remarkable variety of birds, especially photogenic 3 different species of flamingos. The red-tinted water of Laguna Colorada is home to rare James' flamingos as well as of the Andean flamingo. Here, on the edge of civilization, we will also meet the rugged people who call this land home. Quechua salt miners, shepherds, weavers and artisans.
Later we will cross the border and visit a unique, almost surreal place in the southwest of Bolivia where the arid Atacama Dessert joins the extremely high Andean Plateau at over 3,300 metres. Here lies the largest natural salt flat on Earth, the Uyuni´s Salt Flat, where the immense white space is broken in some places by islands crowned with huge cacti, poking through the salt. Here, adventurous travelers-naturalists and wildlife photographers alike-encounter unearthly landscapes and unusual wildlife, as well as engaging cultural experiences, in one of the least-photographed destinations on the planet. You will find towering volcanoes over 6,000 meters high that are still active, sulphur geysers, wetlands with endemic birdlife and llama and alpaca shepherds.
We invite you to explore this fascinating region combining it with the neighbouring Chilean region of San Pedro de Atacama, a unique experience you will never forget!