The Uyuni Ancient Salt Route

An early morning transfer to El Alto Airport for the Boliviana de Aviación flight to Uyuni, around one hour. A private 4x4 meets you on arrival and heads south on Route 5 toward San Cristóbal, where the original 1600s colonial church still stands alone at the old townsite: in 1999 the entire village was relocated 14 kilometers to clear land above one of Bolivia's largest open-pit zinc, silver and lead deposits. South of here the paved road ends. The Río Grande crossing is reliably good for vicuñas and ñandus, the large flightless birds of the altiplano, before arrival at Villamar in the mid-to-late afternoon, a sheltered valley at 3,700 meters where llama herds graze against the surrounding volcanic formations.

The flight from La Paz to Uyuni is included.

Pre-dawn departure from Villamar south into Eduardo Avaroa Andean Fauna National Reserve, the longest and most visually intense driving day. First light at Laguna Colorada finds the brick-red algae most vivid and all three Andean flamingo species feeding along the mineral-stained shore. On to the Sol de Mañana geysers at 4,850 meters, Bolivia's highest geothermal field, where sulfur vapor and boiling mud pools are most active in the early morning. The route continues via Polques thermal baths, the Dalí Desert, Laguna Blanca, and Laguna Verde at the foot of Licancabur volcano (5,916m). The return drive north passes the Árbol de Piedra, a five-to-seven-meter ventifact shaped by millennia of wind-driven sand. Arrival at Hotel Tayka del Desierto in the early evening.

North along the Chilean border on the Ruta de las Joyas Alto Andinas: five extraordinary high-altitude lagoons inside and adjacent to Eduardo Avaroa National Reserve. Ramaditas, Honda, Charkota, Hedionda, and Cañapa are home to all three Andean flamingo species. Laguna Hedionda is the best location in Bolivia for close approach to James's flamingo, the rarest and smallest of the three species. The viewpoint of Ollagüe volcano (5,868m), still active, with fumaroles steaming near its summit, breaks the northern section of the drive. We cross the Salar de Chiguana at 3,690 meters before arriving at Hotel Tayka de Piedra in San Pedro de Quemez.

We leave the Sur Lipez and drive north into Nor Lipez toward the quinoa-farming community of Santiago K, crossing a landscape that shifts from volcanic desert to open high Andean plain with vicuñas common along the route. Justino and Eva Calcina welcome the group into their adobe home. Justino's family has run llama caravans in this region for generations, following trade routes that once connected the Salar to the Pacific coast and the Argentine valleys. He also participated in archaeological excavations at the nearby Laqaya site. Dinner is cooked from the family's own royal quinoa, a variety native to this landscape. An early night before the physical demands ahead.

The morning is spent at Laqaya, a pre-Hispanic archaeological site where Justino participated in excavations. The settlement reveals centuries of Altiplano community life in the same landscape the group is about to walk through on the ancient trade routes. After lunch, the afternoon is dedicated to caravan preparation: meeting the animals individually, learning the waraka (the traditional slingshot used to redirect stragglers), practicing load balancing, and understanding the rhythm and pace of caravan travel. An early dinner and early rest before the first walking day.

Early morning begins with loading the llamas. Getting the loads balanced and the herd moving requires patience, a shepherd's whistle, and occasional use of the waraka. The route follows ancient trade paths that once connected the Salar to the Pacific coast and the Argentine valleys, traveling at the pace the llamas set through a landscape that has barely changed in centuries. The night is spent at a high-altitude bivouac at Sutullcha. Tents, sleeping bags rated to -10 degrees Celsius, and sleeping mats are provided. Temperatures drop sharply after sunset. A support vehicle follows the caravan route throughout both caravan days.

Walking time: 6 to 7 hours at 3,500 to 3,900 meters, with 350 meters of climbing.

The second day with the caravan covers similar terrain but delivers one of the defining moments of the tour. After a long climb, the landscape opens suddenly onto a view of the Salar de Uyuni, its white surface stretching to the edge of sight. You have walked to the world's largest salt flat by llama caravan, following routes used for exactly this purpose for centuries. The afternoon arrives at Jukil Lodge at the edge of the salt flat, where the group sleeps in proper beds while the llamas rest in an outdoor enclosure. The Calcina family returns to Santiago from here.

Walking time: 6 to 7 hours, with about 500 meters of climbing and descent combined.

The llamas are left behind and the group switches to bicycles. Cycling across the Salar is disorienting in the best way: no roads, no edges, and no clear sense of distance. The guide navigates by landmark and compass across 10,582 square kilometers of crystalline white salt. The destination is Isla Pia Pia, one of the Salar's larger cactus-covered islands. Camping equipment is included. A fire, total silence, and zero light pollution at 3,650 meters produce some of the darkest skies in the southern hemisphere. Tonight you sleep on an island in the middle of the world's largest salt flat.

A 4x4 arrives at Isla Pia Pia at first light. The drive north crosses the remaining width of the Salar in a completely different register from yesterday's cycling. The pace is faster, and the full scale of the flat is now visible from inside it. We stop at the Coquesa cave burial site on the slopes of Tunupa volcano, where remarkably preserved 500-year-old pre-Columbian mummies rest in a cave reached by a short steep hike with a community guide. The afternoon brings arrival at Hotel Tayka de Sal on the northern shore, with Tunupa volcano rising behind and the entire Salar spread below. Optional stargazing on the salt flat after dark.

A final morning on the northern shore of the Salar before the drive east to Uyuni airport, approximately two and a half hours on mostly unpaved road. The Boliviana de Aviación flight returns to La Paz by mid-afternoon. Check-in at Hotel MET La Paz for a few hours of rest, or a swim in the indoor pool, before the farewell dinner at Gustu, Bolivia's flagship restaurant built around ingredients from all five of the country's ecological zones.

The flight from Uyuni to La Paz is included.

After ten days in some of the most remote terrain in South America, the final morning is a quiet one. Breakfast is at Hotel MET in the Zona Sur, with time for a swim in the indoor pool or a last look at the Cordillera Real from the rooftop terrace if your flight leaves later.

Then a private transfer up to El Alto International Airport, at 4,061 meters one of the highest commercial airports in the world, timed to your onward flight. Your guide comes with you and helps through check-in before you say goodbye.