Best of Bolivia & Argentina

Welcome to Bolivia!! La Paz and its surrounding areas will take you back to an enchanting past. With an adventure on every corner, each street has a story to tell going back to pre-Hispanic times. To walk these streets is to immerse yourself in their traditions and customs. 

You will check-in at your selected hotel and in the afternoon you will travel through indigenous, colonial and contemporary areas, all beneath the gaze of the imposing snow-capped Mount Illimani. You will visit the fruit and vegetable markets and see the biodiversity with which Bolivia is blessed. There is also an art and contemporary design market offering  impeccable handicrafts. The Witches' Market is a mandatory stop on the route: though we can’t guarantee the potions, incantations and voodoo dolls will work their magic, the experience is fascinating, and the locals will be happy to tell you about their significance.  Your tour will continue to the Moon Valley, whose clay formations resemble the surface of the moon. Here you can easily disengage from modern life and enter a parallel universe in another time and dimension. 

Return to your hotel. Evening is at your leisure to relax. 

Breakfast at your hotel.  This morning is at your leisure so you’re free to discover La Paz at your own pace. Perhaps visit the Museo de la Coca, which isn’t too far from your hotel. This unusual museum delves into the history of the coca plant that grows in the region – a plant that’s played a huge role in the rise and fall of governments, and was one of the original ingredients in one of the world’s favourite soft drinks.
At 13:30hs you will be transferred by land from La Paz to Huatajata, on the shores of Lake Titicaca. This lake is as big as an inland sea and guards the most interesting secrets and experiences. On this trip you can explore every detail and will have time for some calm reflection.
Upon arrival,  you will visit the Eco-Village "Raices Andinas"; the Altiplano Museum; the Artisan town. You will meet personally the Limachi family, builders of RA II and Tigris, and other epic expeditions across the Atlantic. Enjoy our elegant vicuñas, llamas, alpacas and the mythical Suri.
Audiovisual and night experience of the "Mystical World of the Kallawayas", ancestral healers of Bolivia, who believe that the soul must first be healed, before the body. Our Kallawaya Tata Benjo will bless you, predicting the future with their sacred coca leaves.  Welcome  drink and dinner.
Night visit of the Native Observatory "Alajpacha", to learn about the Andean worldview and observe the constellations of the South Hemisphere.
Overnight at Hotel Inca Utama & Cultural Resort.

Breakfast at your hotel.  After breakfast,  you will be transferred by bus to Cocotoni.  You will board a Hydrofoil to start a cruise on Lake Titicaca.  Arrival at the Isla del Sol (Sun Island), walk through the "Great Staircase of the Inca" and visit the Sacred Fountain, whose underground waters would grant youth and eternal happiness.   Lunch will be served at the Uma Kollu archaeological restaurant.  After lunch, you will  visit the small artisan market.   You will continue  your journey to the Isla de la Luna (Moon Island) where you will visit the Temple of the Virgins of the Sun Iñak Uyu.  Continue to Copacabana  by hydrofoil.  On arrival visit the sanctuary and the Virgin Morena (Brown skin Virgin)  Return by land to  your hotel in La Paz, enjoying the road that boards the imposing snowy  peaks of the Andes Mountains.

Breakfast at your hotel.  At scheduled time transfer to La Paz Bolivia airport to board your flight to Uyuni (flight is not included).  
Upon arrival at Uyuni Airport you  will be welcomed by your experienced tour guide to start your journey to the Salt Flats.   Uyuni is the world's largest salt flat, on Bolivia's Andean plateau, and covers an area of 12000 square kilometres. The deep silence makes your heart beat faster and plunges you into a surreal landscape where the sky is reflected by the land, playing with your sense of perspective and imagination. Lunch at Inkawasi island, an oasis surrounded by islands full of algae formations and fossils. It is covered by thousands of giant cacti, some of them being  more than a hundred years old,  and over 12 metres high. The landscape of Uyuni merges into the horizon, making this an ideal place for serious photographers.

After this stunning experience you will check-in at  your hotel. Dinner and overnight stay  in an authentic salt hotel on the edge of the salt flats.

** Please be aware that from December to March, there’s a risk of the Salt Lake being flooded. If this is the case, the itinerary will be adapted to accommodate.

Breakfast at your hotel.

Today you will enjoy a full day excursion to the small village of Coquesa at the foot of Thunupa volcano. Stroll around the village and walk to the cave where the Coquesa mummies were found. Box lunch.  In the afternoon,  return to your hotel to relax and enjoy the stunning colours at sunset time.  Dinner and overnight stay at the exclusive Salt Hotel on the edge of Uyuni salt flats.

Breakfast at your hotel.

Rise and shine and prepare for a long travel day as you cross the border into Argentina. Set off at 6 am from Uyuni town on a long trip to Villazon and cross the border to La Quiaca (Argentina) arriving around 1.30 PM.   You will be welcomed  and tranferred to your hotel in Huacalera,  one of the tiny villages of Humahuaca Gorge.  Welcome dinner and evening to relax after the long journey. 

Breakfast at your hotel. 
Day at leisure.

Different circuits and activities are offered (at an additional cost) to enjoy privileged settings such as the Quebrada de Humahuaca and the Puna, impressive for their immensity and beauty. They also offer the possibility of living and learning about the Andean culture, discovering the history and traces left by time in northern Argentina.

-Walk with Llamas: 
A short walk along the path behind the Hotel to the Huacalera and Los Amarillos cemetery.

-Demonstration of work on looms: 
The weavers will be in the gardens of the Hotel with a demonstration and first approach to the work in the traditional family looms. 
They will demonstrate basic work with yarn and the process that they carry out with natural dyes.

-Visit to Finca Lamas: 
Walk for approximately 1,5hs through the Quebrada de La Huerta to the Lamas family farm. 
There they will receive you with the preparation of a traditional Pachamanka. While the food is cooking, you will visit the family farm where you can see the work done with the animals and garden. 
Lunch will be offered with hotel service, in the gardens and under a gazebo to protect you from the sun. At the end of the day, a musician will liven up the evening.

-Afternoon Meditation in Salinas: 
Yoga and meditation workshop with musical accompaniment at sunset. 
Begin with a visit to a plot worked by a family from the salt extracting community, with an explanatory talk about the geological processes of salt and its extraction, refinement and production tasks. 
Later you will take a yoga class in the middle of the salt flats, closing with a meditation and deep relaxation at sunset with musical accompaniment.

Breakfast at your hotel. 

Transfer on excursion from Huacalera to Salta, touring the Quebrada de Humahuaca with stops in Tilcara and Purmamarca.
Today you will visit the UNESCO World heritage site Quebrada de Humahuaca, a narrow mountain valley that leads down from the high plateau which was an important trading route in and out of Bolivia for many years. Dotted along the Quebrada you can find several quaint Indian villages and towns to explore. Purmamarca is one of the most appealing being famous for its Cerro de Siete Colores (Hill of Seven Colours). In the towns there usually is a daily crafts fair where you can buy regional handicrafts such as pottery, rugs made with looms, ponchos, musical instruments and typical clothes from the Quebrada. Another Indian town to visit is Tilcara with its adobe buildings and mud tiled roofs. Just outside the town there is a pre-Inca fortification with ruins dating back 1000 years (Pucara de Tilcara) to explore.

Arrival to Salta & check-in at your hotel.  
We highly recommend to visit the MAAM Museum containing the well preserved mummies of "The Children of Llullaillaco". 
In the afternoon, you will visit the city of Salta.  Its main churches and historical monuments: Old Cabildo (Town Hall), Cathedral, San Francisco Church, San Bernardo Convent. Panoramic view from San Bernardo Hill and handicraft market ending your tour at  San Lorenzo Village – summer borough located 12 minutes drive from downtown area.

Evening is at your leisure to enjoy the city.  

Breakfast at your hotel.  Get ready for an incredible experience around the Calchaqui Valleys.  Today you will visit Los Cardones National Park on the way to Cachi, located on the east slope of a  snowy mountain (6720m) of  same name.   In this legendary town, there are white buildings, adobe houses, paved streets and impressive architectural and cultural constructions that will make you admire and contemplate the scene.  After visiting Cachi, you will continue your journey to Molinos, another tiny village by the Calchaqui River; the magic site of Angastaco and the Arrow's Gorge, the peaceful village of  San Carlos to finally arrive in Cafayate.  Located at 1,660 m above sea level, Cafayate is well known because of its famous torrontes wine product of the exquisite combination of temperature and humidity that provides the ideal environment to the growth of the sweet and deep fruit flavor.  Check-in at your hotel.

Breakfast at your hotel. 

Today is at your leisure to enjoy the hotel facilities and the surrounding vineyards.   You may also walk around Cafayate:  getting to know its streets, its houses and mainly its people is a pleasant experience due to the fact that tourism is an important activity for the town.  You cannot miss to observe the unique architecture of the Cathedral, the flowery main square, the picturesque stone mill or the wine museums.

Among other interesting excursions, you can visit wine cellars, taste wines, go for a stroll among Quilmes Archaeological Ruins while enjoying the outstanding waterfalls of Colorado river or Santa Teresita Hill.

Breakfast at your hotel. 

Check-out from your lovely hotel and get ready for one of the most beautiful journeys of the trip.   Today we will drive back to Salta through Las Conchas River Ravine  where you will observe the tracks left by the wind, which eroded and gave shape to the mountains of unique colors as if they were leaves, easy to manipulate. Winds from time immemorial have visited them long before man did.   As the road begins to narrow down and get surrounded by high walls, going from one side to the other along the ravine,  you will see how man has managed to impose the simplest shape on the best slope in order to get through: a road which is paved nowadays. This does not mean it was an easy task.  You will be delighted by the strange rock formations like the Amphitheater, the Toad, Devil's Throat, The Obelisc, The Castles, and many others.

Upon arrival to Salta you will be transferred to the airport to board the evening flight to Buenos Aires, your last  destination of this fabulous trip! 

Upon arrival in the big city, a guide will meet you at the airport and transfer you to your selected hotel.

"A touch of Paris in the Southern Hemisphere"

After breakfast at your hotel you will enjoy the City Tour of Buenos Aires.
Rising suddenly and dramatically out of the interminable flatness of the Pampas, Buenos Aires is a teeming, throbbing cosmopolitan city with a unique mix of European, North American and South American elements. It is one of the world’s great ports, the home of every third Argentine, and an increasingly popular travel destination. The soul of the city bears an irresistible allure to Argentines and visitors alike, its parks, cafés, streets, theatres, museums, markets, restaurants- and its homes- the elegant, the chic, the eccentric, the everyday. After breakfast, you'll visit the most important sites of this triumph of a city. The magnificence of the Northern Quarters, Palermo and the beauty of its parks and buildings, Recoleta with its French-style architecture, bars and cafes; the imposing Colon Theater, one of the five most important opera houses in the world; Plaza de Mayo surrounded by Government House (The Pink House), The Old Cabildo (Town Hall) and the Metropolitan Cathedral; San Telmo, residence of the aristocracy until the turn of the XIX century. The colors of La Boca, picturesque quarter of Italian immigrants; and the fashion area of Puerto Madero with its many chic bars & restaurants round off this heady excursion.
Buenos Aires' nightlife provides the local porteños and its ever-growing swarm of visitors with a seemingly endless array of quality entertainment options. Just as an example: this evening you'll be blown away by an unforgettable tango show performed by the best dancers and singers of this seductive genre, while tucking into a dinner no less seductive. This is the way one ought to live Buenos Aires, the city of tango. After the show has dazzled you sufficiently, you will be transferred back to your comfy hotel.

After your last sumptuous breakfast, make sure you save some time to buy your last-minute souvenirs and/or photos.  At the scheduled time, you'll be picked up from your hotel to be transferred to Ezeiza International

Airport to board your flight back home. It's certain you'll carry the warmth of Argentina's people in your soul, not to mention the natural beauties of this wonderful country in your camera! It wouldn't be too much of a surprise if you're back over this way some time soon.
Argentina’s waiting...