Signature Highlands of the Andes & Salt Flats

Arrive Puno, Peru transfer to your hotel. (This is the perfect add on to our Signature Peru programme)

Puno lies on the shores of Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world. It is the largest city in the Southern Altiplano and an important agricultural and livestock (llamas and alpaca) region. It sits at an altitude of over 3,800 metres and is a picturesque hillside city and a melting pot of the Aymara and Quechua culture.

Overnight in Puno

Spend a full day visiting Lake Titicaca’s islands and communities. You will be collected from your hotel and transported to the lake to board a speedboat. You will spend the day visiting various islands on Lake Titicaca, including the Uru people and a visit to the last authentic floating islands. There are optional tours in reed boats before we depart back to Puno. Lunch is included.

Overnight in Puno

Depart Puno and head for the Bolivian border and the world’s highest capital city – La Paz. Travelling along the Pan-American Highway through the Peruvian and Bolivian highlands, you will stop off at temples, ruins, and historical sites and arrive in La Paz late afternoon. La Paz has a spectacular setting in a deep bowl surrounded by snow-capped mountains of the Altiplano. It lies in the shadow of the towering 6,438m high Mt. Illimani, always snow-covered and visible from many parts of the city. There are no other activities planned for the rest of the day. Lunch included today

Overnight in La Paz

Embark on a city tour through La Paz, wandering through the street markets rich in handicrafts, weavings, and witchcraft items, followed by a visit to the colonial section of the city. Then, descend into the more modern, southern part of La Paz to reach and visit the Valley of the Moon, where a clay mountain has been impressively shaped by erosion. Ride by cable car for an excellent and beautiful view of La Paz.

Your tour will be conducted by a local English speaking guide and you will be joined by a 'Lustracalzado' or a shoeshiner, who can found on most street corners of the city. Often the lustras will wear a balaclava or face covering to hide their identities and the social stigma and discrimination that their profession attracts. We work with a social project, that helps to employ the lustras as tour guides. This allows them additional income and the project has even paid for some of them to pursue further study and learn English. We hope that by you taking a tour with a lustra guide that this will help break down the social stigmas in place and give them a better future.

Overnight in La Paz

Transfer to the airport for your flight to Uyuni.

Flight La Paz to Uyuni included

On arrival at Uyuni, you will be met and transferred to Colchani, located on the shores of the Uyuni Sat Flats. Visit the village and its surroundings to see locals producing salt. Travel through the salt flats to Isla Incahuasi (known as Fish Island), this is an oasis with a unique and isolated ecosystem that is populated by giant cacti which are up to 10mtrs high. Lunch will be served here in the middle of the Salt Flat.
Continue north to visit the mummies in Pucara de Ayque at the foothills of the Tunupa Volcano.
After witnessing an amazing sunset over the Salt Flat, you will be transferred to your unique hotel for the evening.
Lunch is included in today's service.

Dinner is included at your hotel this evening.

Overnight at Palacio de Sal

This is an amazing hotel with walls and ceilings made with salt. The purpose of this special construction is to be in balance with nature and the surrounding landscape, also to enjoy a pleasant and unforgettable rest.

Today is packed with jaw-dropping scenery. Pass through the Valley of Rocks, stopping off to view famous rock formations caused by wind erosion. Villages like Culpina, where the houses have been built from natural materials and San Cristobal, which was relocated from its original location because of the zinc and silver deposits in the vicinity. Tonight, your accommodation is unique as it has been built into a rock and offers warm, cosy and comfortable refuge from the desert night.
Lunch is included in today's service.
Dinner is included at the hotel this evening.

Overnight at Mallku Cueva hotel

Located in one of the most attractive and impressive path of Lípez gaps and nestled in a rock, rises Los Jardines de Mallku Cueva hotel, inspired by the rustic architecture and Andean regional.

This morning you will be transferred to Hito Cajon, the mountain pass on the border between Bolivia and Chile. Along the way you will be rewarded with some of the most dramatic and beautiful landscapes in the world, stopping off for plenty of photo opportunities. This high-altitude desert environment is home to dozens of colourful lagoons, snow-capped mountains, llamas, flamingos, hot springs, and geysers. After clearing Chilean immigration, make your way to the village of San Pedro de Atacama. This evening you will be collected from your hotel for Astronomy in the Desert, one of the best places in the world to observe stars, planets, and constellations.

Overnight San Pedro de Atacama

Start your day with a tour of San Pedro de Atacama, the archaeological capital of Chile. Located near the mouth of the main river that feeds the salt flat, this tour will orientate you and give you an understanding of the history, the town, and surrounding areas. In the afternoon, travel across the Salt Mountain Range to reach the Valley of the Moon in time for sunset when the sun brings out the best of the valley's incredible colours

Overnight San Pedro de Atacama

There are no activities planned for the morning, allowing time to wander the streets of San Pedro de Atacama and browse the local stores. In the afternoon you will visit the Salar de Atacama, one of the world’s largest salt lakes, home to a variety of bird species, including the three types of flamingos, and one of the most important lithium reserves in the world. En route you will stop at the picturesque village of Toconao, built from white volcanic stone and then on to Chaxa Lagoon, where we will be able to see another dramatic sunset.

Overnight San Pedro de Atacama

Transfer to the airport for your outward flight from San Pedro de Atacama