Best of Bolivia: Santa Cruz to Uyuni

Arriving into either Cochebamba or Santa Cruz (Bus or flight to Santa Cruz)

Morning: Arrival at Santa Cruz airport, reception at the airport and transfer to the hotel. Free time in the morning to rest.

Afternoon: 1:00 p.m. Pick up from the hotel to visit the city of Santa Cruz and Güembé Biocenter, there you'll visit the butterfly farm and the Biological area (Anthill, Termite Hill), after our visit return to the hotel. ...more ...less

After breakfast, pick up from the hotel and tourist transportation to go to San Javier, passing through the typical towns of the tropics, arriving at San Javier and visiting the town and church founded by the Jesuit Francisco de Arce in the year 1691 as the first Jesuit mission that It meant the beginning of evangelization in the territory of Chiquitos, later you'll have lunch and then continue our journey to Concepción, arrival and accommodation at the hotel.

After breakfast you'll visit the Church of La Concepción, an authentic architectural jewel and the most important restoration workshop of the Jesuit Missions, and you'll be able to enjoy the tropical climate, the beauty of this small and cozy town, Santa Cruz.

After breakfast transfer hotel - Airport.
A.M. Flight Santa Cruz - Sucre. Arrival at the airport, reception and transfer to the hotel. Free until the start of the tour.
2:00 p.m. City Tour. Sucre is without a doubt one of the most beautiful cities in Bolivia and South America. On our walk through the city we will visit the charming streets and places of importance where transcendental events in the history of Bolivia and America took place, there one can feel welcomed by the aura and beauty expressed by the neoclassical facades and the magnificent colonial churches and the main historical monuments. Sucre also known as the "White City" with a historic center that still maintains the colonial architecture of past centuries.

After breakfast, pick up from the hotel to visit the Dinosaur Footprints.
Another very interesting place to visit on the outskirts of the city of Sucre is the Dinosaur Park located in Cal Orck'o (Cerro de Cal) 6 km from the city, where you can see a great variety and quantity of footprints. of prehistoric animals of different species, these footprints belong to prehistoric animals that lived in this area 65 to 70 million years ago. After our visit you will have free time until departure time to Potosí.
Afternoon: 2:30 p.m. Transportation Sucre - Potosí. (Duration of the trip is 3 and a half hours, arrival and accommodation at the hotel.

08:40 am. Pick up from the hotel/hostel in the city of Potosí to begin our great and interesting adventure to the mines of Cerro Rico de Potosí, starting with a visit to the Mining Market, where hundreds of miners gather to obtain the necessary work material or equipment such as be: dynamite, ammonium nitrate, detonator, carbide lamp, drilling holes, coca leaves, liquor. Later we will visit the “ingenios” mineral refinery, which has been active for many years, here we will be able to observe the process of amalgamation of the minerals. After our visit we will continue our circuit to the silver mines, where we will observe the forced labor of the miners extracting the mineral manually as in past centuries.

Afternoon: Visit to the Mint.- Without a doubt, it is the most important building of colonial architecture in South America, its builder and architect was Don Salvador de Vila, who had designed and built the Mints of Mexico and Lime. The construction of the Mint in Potosí was due to the surprising extraction of silver from Cerro Rico.

Breakfast at the hotel and free in the morning.
11:00 am. Transfer from your hotel/hostel - bus terminal.
11:40 am. Shared bus Potosí-Uyuni (Trip duration is 5 hours)
16:00 pm. Arrival in the town of Uyuni and transfer to the chosen hotel.

Breakfast at the hotel and free until the tour start time.
11:00 am. Departure to our tour to the largest desert of Sal, in mobility (Land Cruiser - 4x4). On the way we will visit the following tourist attractions.
Train Cemetery.- Where you can see very old trains and locomotives from the years 1899, most of the trains circulated with wagons loaded with minerals but this lasted a very short time, these trains were part of an industrial past, today they are They have now become a tourist destination.
The town of Colchani.- Located on the shores of the great Salar, it is the main entrance to the salt desert, where we will observe the artisanal salt extraction activity. The residents will teach us the process of drying, grinding and bagging ready for consumption.
Salt Hotel.- Located in the heart of the Salar, built with blocks of salt, both externally and internally as well as its walls, floor, beds, tables and chairs, all made of salt.
Incahuasi Island (Fish Island).- Located in the middle of the salt desert, Incahuasi Island known as "The Fish Island" populated by numerous giant cacti with heights greater than 10 meters, from the top you can contemplate the wonderful landscape of the Salar, after our visit to the island we will have lunch and in the afternoon we will continue to the town of San Juan where we will spend the night in family houses.

After breakfast you'll continue your adventure to the Laguna Colorada, along the way we will observe the active volcano of Ollague, the lagoons of Cañapa, Hedionda, Chiarcota and Honda, these lagoons are populated by flamingos, at midday we stop along the way to have lunch and in the afternoon we will continue our tour passing the Siloli desert where we will observe an interesting rock formation known as the Stone Tree, in the afternoon we will arrive at La Laguna Colorada located in the Eduardo Avaroa Andean Fauna National Park. Where we will spend the night.

This day you'll leave very early for our tour (05:00 am). To appreciate the Geysers - fumaroles (volcanic area), better known as "Sol de Mañana" then we will continue to the thermal baths - Polques, there we will have breakfast and then continue to the "White and Green" Lagoons located at the foot of the volcano Licancabur, at an altitude of 4,350 meters above sea level, the green color is due to the high magnesium content that the geological formations of the area have. After our visit to the lagoons we will return to Uyuni and on the way we will make a stop to have lunch and continue Our trip, arrival in the town of Uyuni approximately 6:30 pm. And tonight you'll have the bus to La Paz to make your forward connections.