Uyuni & Atacama Express

Uyuni – Villa de Candelaria. Upon arrival in Uyuni, make your way to the meeting point. From here, we depart Uyuni at 10:00 AM and begin our journey across the vast salt flats of southern Bolivia. Our first stop is the Train Cemetery, where abandoned locomotives sit scattered across the desert, offering a stark reminder of Uyuni’s railway history and a striking photographic setting.

We then continue to the village of Colchani, where we learn how salt is extracted and prepared using traditional techniques that have supported local communities for generations. Nearby, we visit small workshops displaying a range of handcrafted items made from salt.

Travelling deeper onto the flats, we stop to view the salt mounds that mark collection areas, as well as the Ojos de Sal, where water surfaces through openings in the salt crust. Later, we reach Isla Incahuasi, a rocky island rising from the flats, where giant cacti grow, and elevated paths provide wide-ranging views across the white landscape.

By late afternoon, we arrive at our salt-built hotel in Villa de Candelaria. After settling in, we enjoy dinner together at the hotel.

Meeting point: Av. Ferroviaria, Uyuni, Bolivia (between Sucre and Camacho)

Villa de Candelaria – Polques. After breakfast, we depart at 8:00 AM and continue across the high-altitude Altiplano. Our route takes us toward Volcán Ollagüe, an active volcano that dominates the surrounding terrain, where we stop to take in the scenery and photographs.

We then visit a series of mineral lagoons — Cañapa, Hedionda and Honda — where flamingos are often seen feeding in the shallow waters, creating vivid contrasts against the stark landscape.

Continuing through the remote Siloli Desert, we pass through an isolated region shaped by erosion and strong winds. We stop at El Árbol de Piedra, a solitary rock formation carved into a tree-like shape by natural forces. Lunch is taken during the day.

In the afternoon, we arrive at Laguna Colorada, a lagoon known for its reddish tones caused by mineral content and algae. Flamingos are frequently found along its shores. We spend the night at the Albergue Laguna Colorada, a basic lodge with shared bathroom facilities.

Polques (Bolivia) – Atacama (Chile). We leave early at 5:00 AM, travelling through the cold morning air to reach a geothermal area where steam vents and geysers are most active at sunrise.

We then visit nearby thermal springs, where there is time to bathe in the warm water or simply enjoy the surroundings. Breakfast follows before we continue our journey.

Next, we visit the Rocas de Dalí, a landscape of unusual rock formations shaped by wind and time, before continuing to Laguna Blanca and Laguna Verde, located at the base of Licancabur Volcano and known for their contrasting colours.

Our route then passes through the Valle de Rocas, where erosion has formed towering stone pillars, and continues through the villages of Culplina and San Cristóbal, offering brief insight into life in this remote region.

By approximately 5:00 PM, we arrive in Atacama, bringing our three-day journey across Bolivia’s dramatic high-altitude landscapes to an end.