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Travesía Explora - Journey To Uyuni Bolivian Altiplano - 11D/10N
Explora the magnificence of the Andes Ridge. Over the side located in Chile, the Salar (Salt Field) de Atacama, framed by volcanoes and colorful lagoons, has been sheltering for centuries the Atacama Culture. Its villages seem to have been frozen on the times when the local indigenes and the Spanish conquistadores joined in the pursuit of finding their particular way of living within the desert. While climbing towards the high mountain crests, we will start to discover a new world beside the grasslands in which wildlife as well as human life found a safe haven. The Aymara Culture still keeps its ceremonial centers located in these places, which are only dwelled in the summer season. Over the Oriental side of the Ridge, the vastness of the Salar de Uyuni will strike us with the deafening silence that surrounds it. This trip will take you through all these remote and magnificent landscapes with the comfort and style of Explora.
The Atacama oases, in the middle of the driest desert in the world, have a peculiarity that makes them unique: they are situated at 2,500 meters above the sea level. The climate at this altitude is pleasant year round, the air is crystal clear, the natural light is extremely bright, all of which give the extraordinary landscape of volcanoes, salt flats and wetlands a diaphanous and mystical quality when viewed with the naked eye.
The program at explora en Atacama, with its base at the Hotel de Larache in the oasis of San Pedro, puts visitors in the middle of a fantasy where the journey of exploration, the leaving and returning, acquires a purpose of its own.
But the oasis of San Pedro is merely an introduction. It is that last frontier where human life is still possible; where a visitor can still be harbored. Once you leave San Pedro towards the altiplanos and the volcanoes, you can truly perceive remoteness, where one experiences an entirely different world, an untamed place far from civilization as we know it.
The altiplano is more a metaphor than a geographical entity. More than a physical exploration, the trip through the altiplano is an introspective spiritual exploration in an unearthly world. The altiplano reveals that behind the complexity of life there exists a simplicity that compels us to “reconsider our place within the rand scheme of things”. And that is what makes the trip to Atacama one of the most magnificent things that one can ever be able to achieve.
Hotels: 4 nights in Explora en Atacama (Vistas and Silencio Rooms) - 5 nights in Explora Camping - 1 Night In The Hotel Iquique.
Included: Transfer from the airport to the Explora Lodge located in Atacama - Hotel Explora Lodge – Full Board and open bar during the whole program - Dining room open until 21:00 - Bilingual guides –Daily excursions including vehicles and meals during excursions. There are various options of excursions for the passengers to choose from – Transfer SIB from hotel in Iquique to Iquique Airport. Transfer length is around 90 minutes - Family rates for children (until 18 years old) accompanied by their parents (subject to availability, children in separate room not applicable to single room).
Not Included: Any airfares - Passport and visa expenses - Any personal expenses and any items not specifically mentioned as included in the program.
Notes:
Season: All year round. Due to the climatic phenomenon known as “Bolivian Winter”, it is suggested to do this program from April to December.
Services: S.I.B. (Seat In a Bus).
Minimum 1 Passenger.
Journey to Uyuni Salt Flat is recommended for people over 18 years of age due to weather conditions and height.
Some of the excursions offered by Explora Atacama:
El Tatio geysers - Atacama Salt Flat - Visit to Pukará de Lasana and Chiu Chiu
Plains of Turi - Caspana Village - Toconao and Quebrada de Jeréz
Star Gazing - Visits to Tulor and Quitor - Quebrada del Diablo
Departure Day: Fixed.
Meeting Point: Calama Airport. Fly to Santiago on an international flight, and connect with a national flight to Calama, which take about 2 ½ hours from Santiago. The explora shuttle takes guests by van to explora en Atacama hotel, a 1 hour trip. After completing the trip across the Bolivian altiplano, our journey concludes at the Chilean city Iquique, where guests can take a 2 ½ hour flight to Santiago. An explora shuttle will take guests to the airport in the morning of the 11th day. Flights not included.
Day by day Itinerary:
- Day 1 Atacama - Arrival at Explora en Atacama. Passengers arriving in flights after 09:00 PM will not be served dinner, but will get a snack in their rooms instead.
- Day 2-4 Atacama - Full days of exploration in the Atacama Desert.
- Day 5 Bolivia - Leave Explora in Atacama. Enter Bolivia through the “Hito Cajón.” Cross the high plains, passing through active geothermic fields, the Colorada Lake and many other sites. Trekking excursion. Arrive at the first campsite.
- Day 6 Bolivia - Trekking excursion. Travel through the high plains. Second campsite.
- Day 7 Bolivia - Arrival at the Salar de Uyuni. Cross the salt flat (110 km). Visit the islands in the salt flat. Excursion. Arrival at the third campsite on the shore of the salt flat.
- Day 8 Bolivia - You can either cross the Salt Flat toward the town of Uyuni, or climb the Tunupa Volcano (5,432 meters high), or travel around the volcano, for a lighter excursion. Lodging at the third campsite.
- Day 9 Chile - Leave crossing the salt flat, toward the Chilean border. Cross the Salar de Coipasa. Numerous natural attractions. Trek. Enter Chile at Colchane. Lodging at 4th campsite.
- Day 10 Iquique - Tour the Chilean Altiplano. Visit the geothermal camp Puchuldiza or the Berenguela thermal baths, depending on climatic conditions. Arrival at Iquique in the afternoon. Overnight.
- Day 11 Iquique - Santiago - Departure on morning flight to Santiago.
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