Along the way, you will enjoy panoramic views of the majestic chain of volcanic formations and the rainforests that surround them. You will pass through forests with countless plants and animals in their natural habitat. You’ll see monkeys, lots of lizards basking in the sun, and you can watch condors soar over the valley’s reddish gorges. Then you will return to the lodge for lunch. In the afternoon, you can swim in three beautiful waterfalls with refreshing water (1 hour walk). Here you can stay as long as you want. When water levels allow, you can swim in these natural pools.
Afterwards a short walk along the Elvira River awaits you. You will be able to admire the wild orchids (blooming period June-November). Return to the lodge and at the appointed time transfer to the Santa Cruz Viru Viru airport and fly to Sucre, the capital of Bolivia.
Sucre is a modern and very lively city with colonial decorations. The conquistadors chose the ideal place for construction: a picturesque valley in the mountains at an altitude of 2800 meters with a very mild and warm climate. The view of Sucre is pleasing to the eye: neat narrow streets, old houses with white walls and red tiled roofs and green mountains surrounding the city. In 1991, Sucre was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and was placed under protection.
The next stop is Cactus Island.
In the days of the Incas, when lama caravans and messenger-chasers crossed the Altiplano, this island in the middle of the salt desert served them as a refuge for a little rest.
The island is covered with a forest of giant cacti, and its summit offers truly magical views of the salt marsh and mountains around it.
Uyuni is the largest salt marsh in the world. It covers 12,106 km2, which is five times the size of Luxembourg. The huge mountain lake of Minchin almost completely dried up 25,000 years ago, leaving behind a couple of small ponds and two giant salt marshes: Uyuni and Koipasa. The desiccated Uyuni Salt Lake is Bolivia’s main attraction. Hundreds of tourists come here every day to see the ethereal scenery of the salt marsh. People most often seek to get to Uyuni during the rainy season – from late January to February – during this time the salt desert is covered with a layer of water and becomes a giant mirror in which the blue sky contrasts. But even in the dry season, the Uyuni salt marsh is incredibly beautiful, and there are even more photo opportunities in the borderless, blindingly white desert.
The scenery of Eduardo Avaroa National Park is beautiful and mesmerizing. One place is even called “Salvador Dali’s Desert” – because the views are as surreal as that artist’s paintings. There are so many colors here: colorful fields of quinoa, red, yellow and green lagoons with pink flamingos, snow-white mountain peaks and dark volcano tops.
Herds of wild vicuñas, pet llamas and alpacas with colored pompoms and tassels in their ears graze in vast desert fields, wild foxes and – quite surprisingly! – wild ostriches. Flora and fauna have adapted to the harsh local climate: piercing winds, scorching sun, and freezing nights. Some months the temperature at night drops to -25C.
Just as water sharpens stone, gusts of wind have changed its shape over the centuries. Photos of the famous “stone tree” can often be seen on postcards and in guidebooks. The huge block of stone standing on a thin “leg” is amazing.
The largest of the colored lagoons, Colorada Lagoon, covers 60 km2, with a maximum depth of only 80 cm and an average depth of 20 cm. The rich red-orange color of the lagoon is given by seaweed and plankton, which also provide food for numerous flamingos.
The Valley of Geysers Sol de Man’ana.
Here it smells of sulfur and the ground is covered with bubbling puddles of mud in puffs of steam. But the view of the dawn valley with columns of steam shooting out of the ground here and there deserves an early ascent.
Then you can rest and warm up in the pool of hot thermal springs Polkes. After resting, the Green Lagoon and the Salvador Dali Desert await you.
It is named after the great artist because the views are as surreal as his paintings. There are so many colors: colorful fields of quinoa, red, yellow and green lagoons with pink flamingos, snow-white mountain peaks and dark volcano tops. Herds of wild vicuñas, pet llamas and alpacas with colored pompoms and tassels in their ears graze in vast desert fields, wild foxes and – quite surprisingly! – wild ostriches.