Highlights
Explore Salar de Uyuni, the world's largest salt flat
Learn more about the daily life of the people in Tuni
Visit of Bolivia's historic colonial towns of Potosi and Sucre
Enjoy a sightseeing tour of La Paz
Itinerary
Discover the soul of South America on the Best of Bolivia: 15-Day Tour, a comprehensive journey through the country’s cultural and natural marvels. Beginning in La Paz, explore vibrant markets and panoramic viewpoints before venturing to Lake Titicaca—the world’s highest navigable lake. Marvel at the surreal salt flats of Uyuni and the colorful, volcanic landscapes of South Lipez. Your adventure concludes with colonial gems like Potosi and Sucre. The unique selling point? This private, guided trip offers an immersive experience into Bolivia’s diversity, from high-altitude lakes and deserts to historic cities, making it the perfect tour package for those seeking depth and discovery.
day 1 - La Paz arrival
Welcome to Bolivia. A driver will pick you up from the international airport of El Alto and drive you to your hotel in La Paz (private transfer).
day 2 - La Paz city sightseeing tour
Meet your tour guide at your hotel lobby at 09:00 am. Time to discover the history, culture and natural beauty of La Paz. Your first destination is the indoor market of Plaza San Francisco (Mercado Lanza). You will then take a cable car to El Alto to enjoy great views of the city and the mountains that surround it.
Travel through different neighbourhoods of the city and explore the historic centre of the city. Explore Los Andes Street, known for shops selling colourful costumes and masks. This tour comes to an end in the Witches Market (Mercado de las Brujas) where the locals buy offerings for Pachamama (Mother Earth).
day 3 - La Paz – Copacabana – Yumani
We will pick you up from your hotel at 9:00 am and drive you to Copacabana, a Bolivian town on Lake Titicaca. Take a boat to Isla del Sol (Island of the Sun), where lies an old Inca palace by the name of Pilkokaina. A 40-minute walk brings us to the village of Yumani, from where you can enjoy amazing views of the lake.
Enjoy apthapi, a traditional meal of the Aymara people. The meal consists of corn, cheese, fish, fried or dried meat, quinoa and a great variety of potato dishes. After lunch, attend a ceremony dedicated to Pachamama that is officiated by a traditional healer.
day 4 - Yumani – Copacabana – Chunavi
Hop on a motorboat and visit the Pilkokaina Temple, which was built by Topa Inca Yupanqui. We then head for Isla de la Luna, where we visit the temple of Nustas, the Inca virgins, before returning to Copacabana.
Head for the small Aymara village of Chunavi, where you will be welcomed by Marisol, the woman of the community. She will share with you the details of her daily life in the heart of the Cordillera.
Later, enjoy a typical Andean meal with the women of the village. The meal is prepared with seasonal, local products.
day 5 - Chunavi – Tuni – La Paz
Drive from Chunavi to Tuni, a small community of about 50 people. Learn more about their daily life and culture before it is time to head for La Paz.
day 6 - La Paz – Oruro – Uyuni
Drive to Oruro in the morning. Please note that your pickup time depends upon the schedule of train that leaves for Uyuni from Oruro. The pickup time is 9:00 am on Tuesday and 10:00 am on Friday. On Wednesday and Sunday, you will leave La Paz at 2:00 pm.
You will take the night bus from La Paz to Uyuni on other days, in which case you will leave your hotel at 8:00 pm. Please note that we highly recommend taking the train over the night bus.
Your driver will pick you up at the train or bus station in Uyuni and drive you to your hotel.
day 7 - Uyuni – Villamar
Start the day at 9:30 am with a visit of the cemetery of trains on the outskirts of Uyuni. See a collection of old, rusted train engines that remind us about the glorious mining past of the region. We will then head south with stops along the road. Visit the community of Culpina K, where people have left mining for agriculture and community-based tourism.
Have lunch in the village of San Cristobal and cross the region of Rio Grande to reach the village of Villamar. The total distance you will cover today is 190 kilometers. Stay tonight in Las Piedritas Hostel.
day 8 - Villamar – Siloli Desert
On our second day in South Lipez, we will discover the most famous highlights of the region. Start the day with a visit to Laguna Colorada, an immense lake of pinkish water that owes its name to the presence of light-sensitive phytoplankton, which also attracts thousands of flamingos.
Then visit the geysers Sol de Manana, a volcanic crater with sulphur springs and boiling mud. Your next stop are the thermal springs of Polques. Then jump back into the jeep and ride past Laguna Salada and through the Dali Desert. See how strong winds have created surreal rock formations that remind one of the work of the Spanish master.
Reach Laguna Blanca and Laguna Verde, located at the foot of Juriques and Licancabur volcanoes, shortly before midday. Then drive 90 kilometres back to Laguna Colorada and 70 kilometres further to the north to reach the Siloli Desert, where you will spend your night.
Please note that double beds cannot be guaranteed tonight.
day 9 - Siloli Desert – San Juan
Continue to enjoy the landscapes of South Lipez as you head north along the Chilean border through the scenic "Route of Jewels”, which owes its name to the lagoons along the way. These lagoons are home to three species of flamingoes. Stop at a viewpoint to see Ollague, an active volcano and one of the world’s highest open pit copper mines.
Drive past Salar de Chiguana, located at the foot of the Tomasamil volcano, to reach the village of San Juan. Spend your night at La Cabaña de Sal Hostel.
day 10 - San Juan – Uyuni
Leave South Lipez and drive across the world’s largest salt flat, Salar de Uyuni, for half an hour (34 kilometres) to reach the Island of Incahuasi. This island in the middle of Uyuni offers an incredible view over the salt flat and several volcanos that surround it.
Reach the city of Uyuni in the afternoon. Stop by the village of Colchani and see the only hotel built out of salt blocks (closed since 2001).
day 11 - Uyuni – Potosi
Leave Uyuni in a private car at 08:30 am and cross Cordillera de los Frailes to reach Potosi, a city that became famous in the 16th and 17th century when it had the world’s largest silver mine.
On the way, we will stop in Pulacayo, which once had the second-largest silver mine in South America. It is now almost a ghost town but its museum preserves the remnants of its glorious past. Reach Potosí after three to four hours on the road (205 kilometres).
Your guide will pick you up at 2:00 pm to visit Casa de la Moneda, one of the most important historical buildings of the city and a Unesco World Heritage site. It was here that until the 19th century the coins of the Spanish crown were minted.
Please note that Casa de la Moneda is closed on Sunday and Monday.
day 12 - Potosi – Sucre
Learn more about the mines of Cerro Rico with your tour guide. See miners at work. Please note
that although it is possible to visit the mine everyday, the miners do not work on Sunday while Saturday and Monday sees less activity.
Leave Potosi for Sucre late in the afternoon. You will reach there after three hours on road.
day 13 - Sucre
Spend the day exploring the city of Sucre. A Unesco World Heritage site, Sucre is famous for its beautiful colonial architecture and numerous churches.
Your guide will pick you up at 9:00 am and take you to the most famous buildings and museums of the city. Start with Convento de la Recoleta, a monastery of the Franciscan order built in 1601. Learn more about the history and culture of the region in the Museum of Indigenous Art (ASUR) and Casa de la Libertad, where the Independence Act was signed in 1825.
End the day with a visit to the Monastery of San Felipe Nery. Enjoy a beautiful view of the city from its terrace.
Please note that Convento de la Recoleta, ASUR museum and Monastery of San Felipe Nery are closed on Sunday while Casa de la Libertad stays closed on Monday.
day 14 - Sucre – La Paz
Your guide will pick you up at 9:00 am and drive you to the airport from where you will take the flight to La Paz. Check into your hotel on arrival in the city.
day 15 - La Paz departure
Enjoy a private transfer to El Alto Airport for your flight home.
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Customer Reviews
Read what other travelers have to say about Best of Bolivia: 15-Day Tour
Best Trip of My Life!
This tour operator organized a cultural, spiritual and community immersion for me, my husband, my adult daughter and her boyfriend for 16 days in late February/early March of 2023. It was the most exciting trip I’ve taken. This is saying a lot considering I have spent a lifetime of travel, both personal and professional, focusing on Latin America. Everything ran smoothly, even with chaotic settings and complex logistics. A big part of this was by providing us with amazing guides, starting with Jahel Amaru, who met us at the La Paz airport to whisk us across the altiplano to Oruro for its truly spectacular Carnival. Jahel is knowledgeable, patient, down-to-earth, smart patient, funny, and an extremely enjoyable person to spend time with. She guided us through the hectic Oruro Carnaval during its culminating weekend - with boundless energy and contagious enthusiasm. We had the time of our lives cheering on the colorful characters as they paraded and danced thanks to Jahel knowing exactly where to go, when, and providing invaluable context. Community tourism (where visitors are connected with everyday Bolivians to learn about their lives) - has started to blossom in Bolivia, and this company is one of its pioneers. We got to experience it in Potosi, where we had another excellent guide, Marlene Quispe. She took us through Cerro Rico mine, which was the world’s leading supplier of silver. Marlene has close ties to mining: her brothers, parents and even she has worked there. As we ventured deeper into the earth, we learned from her about the mining process and cooperatives involved with it. She also introduced us to one of the mine's “tios” (“uncles” who are believed to protect miners), to whom she made an offering as she explained his importance. Marlene took us to the Quechua community of Phuto Phuto, one of several in the rural district Cabanias that welcomes visitors as part of its community tourism program. Families take turns showing visitors their homes and traditions, including cooking huts with steaming pots, whose contents you later share for lunch. Marlene and one of the family members we met then led us on a beautiful hike to a spot where they invited us to participate in a ritual offering to Pacha Mama (Mother Earth). It was an incredible day I will always remember. Another wonderful community tourism experience was in the majestic Cordillera Real (Central Andean range), where we appreciated both the nature and culture of the region by staying near the town of Tuni with the multi-generational Quispe family (not related to Marlene). Family members share with guests Aymara traditions like placing fishing nets, spinning yarn, making quinoa flour, and shearing alpaca fleece. Patriarch Jaime is a charismatic host and a certified mountain guide who along with his adult son Denys, also a certified mountain guide, have expertise leading visitors of different ages and abilities. We loved staying with them! There are a few other places that stood out on our trip: Hostal Las Olas in Copacabana on the shore of Lake Titicaca with gorgeous, artistic “cabins” and lovely views Templo del Retiro Espiritual Cruz Andina (the Andean Cross Spiritual Retreat Center), in Tiwanaku steps from the ruins and owned by spiritual and cultural guide Rosse Mary Vargas Vilela. It’s filled with cats and crystals and offers delicious vegetarian meals. This is not a stop for everyone, but worth visiting or staying in if you are interested in mindfulness, ancient healing, and/or new age spirituality.
Great trip of key places around Bolivia
What a wonderful trip with a wide variety of experiences! We traveled all over Bolivia and were able to see and learn about the very diverse parts of the country, from Lake Titicaca to the salt flats and La Paz to Sucre. We had great guides and the trip truly exceeded our expectations.
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