Activity goals: Wildlife viewing, Salt desert traverse, Andean Pre-history
- 16 nights in hotels and lodges
- Average daily drive: 6 hours
Remains of disappeared oceans, the red deserts of Sajama, Uyuni, Lipez and the salt flats of Coipasa and Uyuni: all are results of the huge tectonic crush between the Pacific block and the mass of the high Andes. The volcanoes rise over colourful deserts and salt fields where pink flamingos can also be found. The natural beauty and the culture of Chipayas and Carangas will all make this unmissable trip feel like an "austral Tibet". The Uyuni salt flat consists of a compact crystallized crust 10 metre thick that expands for more than 10,500 square kilometres. Coipasa is smaller than Uyuni. Sajama National Park is home to a rare range of wildlife including pumas, huemules, viscachas, vicuñas, guanacos, rheas and tattoos. The microclimates that exist in this region give birth to the endemic types of polylepis trees and lepidophyllum bushes which form the highest forest of the world. We will move from La Paz in 4X4 cars fully equipped towards the Bolivian Atacama desert. We will drive on abandoned miner's roads and tracks. The Azimut Explorer staff and you will hike to the crater of volcanoes, forests of keñua trees, and set foot on the salt flat of Uyuni. Before setting off on the trip, we will acclimatize beside the fabulous Lake Titikaka.
