Northern Chile, Bolivia and Southern Perú

Land cost per person: $2,595 (2008 price)
16 Day Hiking Adventure
(No camping)

All inclusive cost, with airfare:
Los Angeles: $4,200 Miami: $4,100 (2008 prices)
* International & South America flights

August 29 to September 13, 2009

Click Here for Detailed Itinerary

Laguna Colorada, Eduardo Avaroa National Reserve

Interactive Andean Triangle Map

 

Includes ground transportation in Chile, Bolivia and Perú, quality hotels, all meals, guided tours, and on-trail support. See our FAQ and the detailed itinerary for complete information.

This adventure combines some of the world’s most impressive landscapes. We go through expansive deserts, impressive dunes, deep gorges, isolated mountain passes and other natural marvels of the high “altiplano” in the Andes:

• Atacama Desert – the driest desert in the world. (Northern Chile)
• Salar de Uyuni– the largest salt flats in the world. (Southern Bolivia)
• Lake Titicaca – the highest navigable lake in the world. (Perú and Bolivia)
• Colca Canyon – 11,155’ (3400 m) deep and one of the deepest in the world. (Southern Perú)

We begin in San Pedro de Atacama - the driest place on earth. As we approach San Pedro we will have views of the Cordillera de la Sal and its magnificent reddish clay and salt mountains. We will hike in the Valley of the moon, the Valley of Death and the Kari Gorge, a narrow canyon formed by water erosion and surrounded by enormous salt walls.

Rock Formations, Calchaquíes Valleys, Argentina

We continue to Bolivia, and enter the Eduardo Avaroa National Reserve crossing active geothermal fields, Laguna Colorada and other lakes. We reach the Salar de Uyuni, a 4,700-square-mile area of salt flats reputed to be the largest in the world. Some 40,000 years ago the area was part of Lake Minchin, a gigantic prehistoric lake. When the lake dried it left behind two major salt deserts. The largest one is the Salar de Uyuni. The mineral-rich lakes around the “salar” (salt flats) are breeding grounds for three species of South American flamingos: the Chilean, James’ and Andean.

In Bolivia, we visit the towns of Potosi and Sucre and then fly to La Paz. In La Paz we'll see steep cobblestone streets, and remnants of the Inca Empire and the Spanish colonial period. We will enjoy a walking tour of the colonial section, and the San Francisco and Murillo plazas (squares). Afterwards, we drive to the Valley of the Moon in the lower section of the city and walk through the strangely eroded sandstone formations.

We drive across the highlands to visit Tiwanacu (also known as Tiahuanaco), and from there continue to Lake Titicaca. At 12,500' (3810 m) Lake Titicaca the highest navigable lake in the world. We arrive in Copacabana on the Bolivian side of the lake. In Inca mythology, Manco Capac and Mama 0cllo, children of the Sun, emerged from the depths of Lake Titicaca to found the Inca Empire. With imposing snow-capped peaks along its far shores, the vast blue lake with its sparkling sapphire waters is one of the Andes' most enchanting scenes. (60% of the lake lies within Perú and 40% in Bolivia). The following day we take a boat to the Island of the Sun for a hike around the island.

We return to Copacabana and continue to Puno on the Perú side of the lake. In the afternoon we will visit the "floating islands" of the Uros people – builders of the famous "totora" reed boats. The Uros and other lakeside residents depend extensively on the totora reed. It is used to make fishing boats and homes, as well as the amazing floating islands of reed.

Reed Boats, Uros Islands

Our next destination is one of the deepest canyons in the world, Colca Canyon.

We end our journey with a flight from Arequipa to Lima and connect with our flights home.