Apolobamba, isla del Sol, Uyuni salt flats, Sajama trekking and climbing in Bolivia

21 de noviembre de 2011 - 16:49 - Bolivia Treks & Expeditions

BOLIVIA ANDES & TREKKING

Discover the way

Koa Travel

Welcome to the country of contrasts. We invite you to discover Bolivia’s enormous potential, both on 4wd and on foot in the wonderful Andes Mountains, The Apolobamba Mountain Range. Also Sajama National Park, Uyuni Salt flats and the famous Potosí City.

The salar de Uyuni, or salt flat, will provide you with an unforgettable visual experience as well as one album of photographs friends will envy you for.

However,the experience is not for those who love luxury,pampering or comfortable temperatures. Suffice to say that god did not design the huge and barren salar, located at 3,660 meters above sea level, with the tourist in mind, and that in the eons since creation humanity has done little to improve on the Creator´s work. So get ready for a stunning visual experience-but also climatically bracing one. ( Mark Ceaser)....

Highlights:

Climbing Volcán Uturunku, 6.050 meters.

Four wheel drive adventure across the “Altiplano, the salt lakes and the red and green lagoon”

Visit of the train Cementery in Uyuni

Trekking and camping in nature. Apolobamba range in the Andes

Getting close to old cultures; Tiwanaku and Inca

The Sun Island (Isla del Sol); birthplace of the Inca culture

Tiwanaku ruins – One of the most important sanctuaries in South America

Getting close to llamas and condors

Day 1.- Transfer in from the Airport to the hotel.

Leissure day. B

Day 2.- La Paz city tours
Starting in La Paz, at 3.600 meters above sea level, you can join a city-tour and see the contrast in this city situated in a valley surrounded by mountains reaching over 6.000 meters.
The markets in this city are characterized by indigenous women in traditional dress. The colonial era has left its traces, most evident in the churches, buildings and cobbled streets.
Close to La Paz we have “The Valley of the Moon”, formed over seven million years ago. A valley of sandstone towers typical for the area. You will spend the night in Hostal República in La Paz. Food: B.

Day 3.- Tiwanaku – Copacabana

One hundred thirty-two tons of a single stone in Pumapunku is a summary of a glorious past of the cultures that did all in their constructions and ceremonial astronomical Kalasasaya.
In its semi-subterranean temple and tenon heads stand erect monoliths overlooking infinity.
The great agricultural knowledge, Twanaku allowed to be called as the "Culture of the potato". The great period of Tiwanaku lasted for over 1.500 years, until the collapse of the culture in 1.200 AD. There are temples and stone constructions which weigh over 130 ton. Inside the area of the ruins we find places like:

Kantataita.- A scale model shaped in one single piece of rock weighing over 15 tons, representing the famous Kalasasaya temple in Tiwanaku.

Akapana.- A pyramid, with each corner facing towards all the four cardinal points of the Earth. It is enormous, and only recently digging in its interior.

Subterranean temple.-

In the interior of the temple, the walls are made of 175 faces, shaped in lime- and tuff stone. This temple housed the monument of Pachamama. Inside the temple we find monument of the Andes God Barbado or Kontiki.

The kalasasaya temple.-

This as a sun temple, and it is aligned to the movement of the sun in the sky. Here we find the monument of Ponce, an anthropomorphic statue, and Fraile which is a richly decorated monument.

“The gateway of the sun” is the most famous part of this construction, a granite monolith of 3 meters tall and 4 meters wide weighing almost ten tons.

Tiwanaku archaeological museum.-

An exhibition of precious objects from the entire Tiwanaku period. In the afternoon we will continue by car to Copacabana peninsula on the shores of Lake Titicaca. Hotel Perla del Lago *** Food: B/L/D

Day 4 - Copacabana- Isla del sol

Copacabana, has been considered a holy site for thousands of years, and in this village we will see a church dating back to the colonial period. The church is home to “The virgin of Copacabana. From here after one hour trip on motor-boat, we arrive to Sun Island,

This Island is the largest in the Titicaca, with cultivation terraces, the ruins Pilkokaina and Yumani. After lunch we will continue exploring the island till the sunset from the top of the highest mountain of the island. Camping in Pilcocaina. Food: B/L/D

Day 5.- Sun Island trekking to la Chincana

After Breakfast, we start the trekking to the north area of the Island with Stunning views of the Andes and the immense Titicaca lake. It has an area of 8,300 km2. In the afternoon back to La Paz. Hotel. Food: B/L.

Day 6.- La Paz Pelechuco

The Cordillera of Apolobamba lies to the north west of that range, rising abruptly from the Altiplano, and straddling the Peruvian frontier at the northern tip of Lake Titicaca. This is one of the most spectacular trekking in the Bolivian Andes. You will walk through an Inca trail and abandoned spanish gold mines.

Near the pristine lakes many beautiful mountains, which have not been climbed yet. Along the trek you will visit some Kallawayas villages ( Medicine men of the Andes). They were the doctors of the Inca kings and priests. Now well known as the gypsies of South America. Lodge in Pelechuco. Food: B/L/D

Day 7.- Trek Pelechuco - Keansani - Illo Illo Valley (6-7 hours)

After a short visit to the house of Karl Frank, German Lord of the rubber and gold in the XIX century, our local guides load up the mules and horses in order to ascent to Keansany Pass at 4800m/ 15,744 ft.

Later a zig zag Inca trail will approach to the bottom of the Palka valley. We will set et up camp. Food: B/L/D

Day 8.- Trek Illo Illo - Piedra Grande (6 hours)

With a fantastic geological formation in their mountains. Hundreds of llamas and alpacas can be seen in this canyon, we will start to ascend through Sunsuchulli Valley. Food: B/L/D

Day 9.- Trek Sunchulli Pass – Viscachani- inka kancha (6-7 hours)

Today you undertake the highest pass of the trekking 5100mt./ 16728ft. After we get the Sunchulli Pass we will descent to the ruins of a gold mine destroyed in the XVI century by an avalanche of ice, mud and rocks destroying completely the settlement of the Spaniards. In the afternoon, we will descend in one of the most interesting zig zag Inca trail, Mil Curvas . We are near to Akhamani, the sacred mountain of the Andes 5880mt./ 19,286. Camping at 4500 mt./ 14,760 ft. . Food: B/L/D

Day 10.- Trek Muro Qarqa Pass- Mt Akamani - Lagunillas (6 hours)

Today we are leaving the high mountains, descending to the Curva Valley 3900mt./ 12,800 ft the Capital of the Kallawayas. Food: B/L/D.

Day 11.- Lagunillas – Charazani – La Paz

Departure by 4wd. to Charazani. Hot springs and return to La Paz 7 hours by car. Hotel. Food: B/L.

Day 12.- Day at leisure in La Paz.

Food:B

Day 13.- 4WD Altiplano Expedition: La Paz - Sajama Volcano.

Departure by bus to Sajama National park. The route was built on the basis of pre. Columbians road used since ancient times and today, can be seen from the vehicle several tombs “chulpares” from Aymara culture.

The frigid climate of the park comes in the winter night to 15 degrees centigrates below zero, but during the day bustle of life in the vast marshlands fed by crystal clear rivers that during the night are almost static for the ice that forms. It seems that nature be given a break from their evolutionary dialectic and the first rays of the sun, and other colorful birds flitting happily leaden between sheltered microclimates formed among the volcanoes like Pomarape, Parinakota, Quisiquisini which together form a horshoe beautiful glaciers and volcanic domes asleep waiting for the right moment to wake up again and takes its lava and ash, as it happened in the distant geological past where the glowing lava formed a dry crust rock on cooling in many parts of the Cordillera Occidental. Basic accommodation in Sajama Town. Food: B/L/D.

Day 14 Sajama – Salinas de Garcy Mendoza

Today we will take some hikes to the geisers, and the hotsprings, also the presence of Byzantines style churches with miniature domes, Christian paitings on its walls with passages from the bible which bore the times and pillage, because unlike many other churches in the highlands, they have their pictographs directly into their ocher walls with natural and mineral painted by the Indians, this is the case of churches of Curawara. These colonial paintings are unique. Many connoisseur of art history to refer to as the Sistine Chapel of the Altiplano. In the afternoon we will cross the Andean dessert arriving to Salinas de Garcy Mendoza at the shores of the salt lake. Food: B/L/D.

Day 15.- Salinas de Garcy Mendoza- Isla Incahuasi – San Juan

Departure from Salinas de Garcy Mendoz In order to visit the salt desert with an extension of 10,000 km2. You will visit "isla Incahuasi , San Juan Bassic lodge . At the end of the Pleistocene epoch, the whole extent of the Altiplano was covered by a vast lake, Ballivián, the present remnants of which are Lake Titicaca, straddling the Peru/Bolivia border, and Poopó, a salt lake that extends south of Oruro, Bolivia. Salar de Uyuni, locally known as "Salar de Tunupa", as well as Salar de Coipasa are two large dry salt flats formed as well after the Altiplano paleolakes dried out.( Wikipedia) Food: B/L/D.

Day 16 San Juan – Laguna Colorada- laguna Verde

Departure from San Juan, Siloli desert, on the way some wear rock formations, and arrival at 17:30 to laguna Colorada.

This is a red colored salt lake,because of the presence of minerals and algaes. In these lagoons live flamingo’s (flamingos at that high and cold altitude!) creating a very unique scene of spectacular beauty!.

from Laguna colorada – we will visit of the geysers, "Sol de mañana", Laguna Verde (Green Lagoon) is a beautiful green colored salt lake on the Chilean border at the foot of the volcano Licancabur. Its color is caused by sediments, containing different minerals like magnesium. Accommodation in Laguna Verde. Food: B/L/D.

Day 17 Llicancabur Volcanoe - Quetena

Early morning to climb to Llicancabur Volcano. This is very hard experience to 5916 mts above see level. It takes 7 hours to the arrive to summit of Licancabur. In the afternoon we will continue to Quetena village at the base of Uturunku Volcano. Basic Accommodation in Quetena. Food: B/L/D.

Day 18.- As the first attempt in Licancabur to climb a volcano in Bolivia, there is another chance to get the summit at 6050 metres above see level. Today we will ascend by car through an old route mine. We will arrive to 5800 metres, from here just 200 metres to get the summit of the holly mountain Uturunku, It will be the most important experience to observe the Altiplano, volcanoes and the different colors of the Altiplano lakes. After lunch we will continue our trip to Villa Alota. Basic Accommodation in Villa Alota. Food: B/L/D.

Day 19 Transfer to - Potosi

Today is a long day, but interesting to look old silver mines and the train cemetery in Uyuni, also on the way you can see Pulacayo, here the the train that Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid robbed a consignment of miners. but the joy did not last long, as the army ended their lives. At the end of the day we will arrive to Potosí, the most important city during the boom of the silver during colonial period. Hostal Turista . Food: B/L/.

Day 20 City Tour - Mine Tour in Potosi

The visit to Potosí; discover the glorious past of the city cultural heritage of mankind, as its colonial architecture, museums and a visit to the mines, we will discover how important Potosí during the the colonial period 1545- 1825. Hostal Turista . Food: B.

Day 21 .- Transfer out La Paz

Departure by private bus from Potosí – La Paz (8 hours)by asphalt over the Altiplano. Hotel Food: B.

Day 22 Transfer out La Paz - Airport

The price includes:

 transportation in private medium size bus: ( Not a Minivan) (See photo )

- La Paz – Pelechuco, Lagunillas - La Paz

-La Paz - Sajama

-Potosí – La Paz.

4wd expedition vehicle the rest of our expedition in Uyuni Area. ( Four people every 4wd).
All accommodation described in the tour
All meals mentioned below
English speaking guide.
Bolivian professional cook

What is not included: