London – Lima – La Paz
Your journey starts with a flight from London to La Paz (via Lima), Bolivia’s colourful capital city enclosed by the Cordillera Real mountain range. You’ll be staying in a colonial-style hotel just a stroll away from San Francisco Square. Enjoy a tour of the city taking in the Gold Museum, San Francisco Church, Murillo Square and the Witch Doctor’s Market where you’ll find an interesting array of artefacts, handicrafts and woven textiles.
Stay: Two nights in a double room at La Casona Hotel – bed & breakfast
Today you will make the overland journey to the shores of Lake Titicaca – the world’s highest navigable lake – where a hydrofoil cruise will be waiting to take you to Sun Island. You’ll be staying at a charming eco lodge at the top of the island where you’ll be surrounded by the majestic peaks of the Andes.
Stay: One night in a double room at La Posada del Inca Eco Lodge – half board
La Paz
This morning you will have time to explore the treasures of the Sun Island, a designated archaeological heritage site home to the Inca ‘Grand Stairs’ as well as the Sacred Fountain – believed to grant eternal youth to those who drink from it. In the afternoon you’ll take the hydrofoil cruise to Moon Island where you’ll discover the Sun Virgins Temple, and later you’ll make the overland journey back to La Paz.
Stay: One night in a double room at La Casona Hotel – bed & breakfast
Salar de Uyuni
Your adventure in Bolivia now brings you to the incredible Salar de Uyuni, which holds the title for the world’s largest salt flat at a staggering 11,000 square kilometres. This surreal, vast expanse with its blue skies, 12-metre-high cacti and deep lagoons is sure to capture your imagination. Your hotel – built almost entirely from salt – is nearly as impressive.
Over the next two days you will have plenty of opportunity to explore this unique wilderness. You’ll first visit the fascinating Isla Pescado. Situated in the centre of the salt pan, this rocky outcrop is studded with giant cacti and offers a fabulous view of the surrounding salt flats. The following day you will visit the small village of Tahua, situated at the foot of the Tunupa Volcano, and hike to the cave of the Coquesa Mummies.
Stay: Two nights in a double room at the Luna Salada Salt Hotel – half board
La Paz
Today you return to La Paz. You will enjoy an afternoon excursion to the Moon Valley, a unique area with lunar-esque landscapes and incredible geological formations.
Stay: One night in a double room at La Casona Hotel – bed & breakfast
La Paz – Santiago – London
Bidding goodbye to La Paz, you will fly to Santiago where you will meet your connecting flight back to London.
First class in every respect
- NH, Indochina, 2013
