BEST OF
Bolivia
Extension possible to Jesuit Missions
9 nights program
SANTA CRUZ / LA PAZ / COPACABANA / UYUNI / POTOSI / SUCRE
Daily transport time
Day 1: Arrival in Santa Cruz de la Sierra.
Day 2: Santa Cruz de la Sierra/ flight La Paz (1 hour flight can be booked by QUIMBAYA BOLIVIA).
Day 3: La Paz / Tiwanaku / Copacabana (4 hours drive).
Day 4: Copacabana / Sun Island / La Paz (about 1h10 navigation, road to La Paz 3:30).
Day 5: La Paz / Oruro / Uyuni (road about 9 am, stop in Oruro).
Day 6: Uyuni / Salar / Incahuasi / Potosi (road about 7 am, including visiting the Salar).
Day 7: Potosi / Sucre (road 3h30).
Day 8: Sucre.
Day 9: Sugar / flight Santa Cruz de la Sierra (1 hour flight).
Day 10: Santa Cruz de la Sierra Out (flights not included).
TECHNICAL INFORMATION
- Air: This program has been designed for an arrival in the morning on D1 and a departure on D10.
- Formalities: Passports must be valid at least six months after the date of return to your country.
- Health: No vaccine is mandatory. The majority of the trip steps in altitude (3000 meters). Arriving in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, in the plain, enables a smoother adaptation to altitude.
- Climate: The dry season runs from May to November. The Andean winter is June to September (cold weather in the Andes). Tropical climate in the region of Santa Cruz de la Sierra and the Missions.
HIGHLIGHTS OF YOUR TRIP IN BOLIVIA
- The assistance throughout the journey of our local team, all English-speaking professionals.
- The services of English tour guides and, starting at 15 participants, an English speaking assistant guide throughout the tour in Bolivia.
- Discover the tropical Bolivia (Santa Cruz de la Sierra and in extension, the Jesuit Missions)
- Visit the historic center, the street Los Andes and the Witches market in La Paz.
- Visit the amazing Valle de la Luna.
- Discover the major sites of Bolivia: Tiwanaku and the Island of the Sun, legendary birthplace of the Incas.
- Navigation on Lake Titicaca, the highest in the world (over 3400 meters).
- Visit the Sanctuary of the Virgin of Copacabana, the Mecca of Latin American pilgrimage.
- Travel on the train of the Andes from La Paz to Oruro.
- Exploring the Salar de Uyuni, the vast pristine salt lake in the Bolivian Altiplano.
- Visit of two major historic cities Sucre and Potosi.
- Typical and exclusive lunches to taste the original dishes of the Aymara Indigenous Bolivians: salty cakes of Santa Cruz, a lunch “aphtapi” to share with the community of the Island of the Sun, a “stone soup” in Potosi, etc.
- Accommodation in comfortable hotels, some of the most charming of the country.
HOTELS
Santa Cruz de la Sierra
LP COLUMBUS***
The hotel is located just five minutes away from downtown. It shows a modern and minimalist décor. The establishment offers private rooms with bathroom, air conditioning, cable TV, Wi Fi. Customers can enjoy a bar and a restaurant.
Web Site: www.lphoteles.com
La Paz
CASA DE PIEDRA***
Built in an ancient XIX century restored house. It is located near to the most important tourist area of La Paz city, and just a few steps from San Francisco church. It has 15 rooms with private bathrooms, TV, phone and room service. There is also a restaurant and Internet.
Web Site : www.casadepiedrahb.com
Copacabana (Titicaca Lake)
HOTEL GLORIA***
Located on the shores of lake titicaca, this hotel offers 32 rooms with private bathrooms, a restaurant with international and national cuisine, gardens and a playground area. A comfortable and cozy hotel, perfect to enjoy your stay.
Web Site: www.hotelgloria.com.bo
Uyuni
JARDINES DE UYUNI***
This hotel is located in the center of Uyuni with rooms around its central roofed patio. All of them are painted with bright colors, have private bathrooms with hot water 24 hours a day and central heating. The hotel also offers a small bar and a restaurant with a “grilled lama” as a specialty dish.
Web Site: www.jardinesdeuyuni.com
Potosi
COLOSO POTOSI****
Located at the heart of the city, Coloso Potosi has 55 comfortable rooms with an amazing view of the “Cerro Rico” mountain. All rooms are carpeted and equipped with private bathroom, hot water, central heating, safe-deposit box and cable TV. You can also enjoy a pool, sauna, bar and a souvenir shop. A new option longtime expected for high demanding customers.
Web Site : www.potosihotel.com
Sucre
INDEPENDENCIA****
Located in the historic center of the city. The building was built during the XIX century , showing a beautiful fountain in the middle of the patio and a rich vegetation. All rooms are equipped with TV and mini bar. Guest can also enjoy the Terrace with a panoramic view of Sucre.
Web Site: www.independenciahotel.com
EXTENSION : JESUIT MISSIONS
Concepcion
GRAN CONCEPCION
Rooms are fitted out around a luxuriant garden, are comfortable and tastefully decorated. Restaurant and swimming pool.
Web Site : www.granhotelconcepcion.com.bo
San Ignacio
LA MISION****
The Hotel La Mision is situated near the main plaza of San Ignacio de Velasco the Capital of this province called the Chiquitania, Bolivia.
All 32 rooms and luxury suites are made up in colonial style, each equipped with private bathroom, Mini Bar, Air-Conditioning, Cable-TV and Telephone.
Web Site : www.hotel-lamision.com/
Day 1 – Arrival to Santa Cruz de la Sierra
Morning arrival at the international airport of Viru Viru Santa Cruz.
Meet your guide and transfer to hotel LP COLUMBUS*** or SIMILAR.
Lunch at the hotel.
In the afternoon, visit Santa Cruz, the economic capital and most populated city in Bolivia.
Promenade on the Plaza “24 de septiembre” to admire the historic buildings that surround it as the Basilica Menor de San Lorenzo and the Casa del Gobierno, and the streets and houses in the architecture arena.
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Tasting of typical appetizers of the region in a traditional bakery in the city.
They are elaborated with cassava flour and cheese. A delight!
Dinner in a local restaurant.
Overnight at hotel.
Day 2 – Santa Cruz / La Paz
Transfer to the airport. Flight to La Paz. Meet your guide and transfer to hotel CASA DE PIEDRA*** or SIMILAR.
Panoramic tour of the historic center of La Paz, capital of Bolivia that touches the clouds (located at 4000m altitude). Enjoy the excitement and atmosphere of its bustling colonial streets. Walk on the Murillo Square to admire the cathedral and the presidential palace. Then visit the Museum of Precious Metals which holds many secrets of jewelry and ceramics of pre-Columbian Bolivia. Discovery of curious “Witches market” where you will find amulets, potions for Aymara rituals and many souvenirs. Finally, visit the San Francisco church, built in 1745, considered the most beautiful colonial building in La Paz. Its imposing baroque facade features Métis style influences.
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The visit to La Paz ends with a ride on the street Los Andes, where artisans and embroiderers are working all year in making costumes for folk festivals and the Carnival of Oruro.
Lunch in a typical restaurant.
Afternoon dedicated to the trip to the Valley of the Moon, lunar landscape located south of La Paz. It is known for its rock formations eroded by wind and rain, which form a series of craters, pits and carved columns.
Dinner not included. Overnight at hotel.
Day 3 – La Paz / Tiwanaku / Copacabana
Breakfast at the hotel.
Route to Tiwanaku through El Alto, a city populated by the Aymara.
Discover the magnificent ceremonial center of Tiwanaku, which offers an impressive testament to the history of this pre-Inca civilization.
Walk between the temples and statues of this mystical site and visit the Regional
Museum which houses the monumental pieces found at the site.
Lunch in a restaurant near the site.
Departure to Copacabana, a village on the edge of Lake Titicaca and one of the most important pilgrimage sites in Latin America.
Visit the sanctuary where Bolivians come to worship the Virgen Morena, the country’s patron saint.
Walk in the village to soak up its mystical atmosphere.
Dinner not included.
Overnight at hotel GLORIA COPACABANA*** or SIMILAR
Day 4– Copacabana / Sun Island / Copacabana / La Paz
Breakfast at the hotel.
Navigation on Titicaca Lake to the Sun Island, legendary sacred place of the creation of the world and the first Incas. Visit the Inca Palace, Pillkokaina, with superb views of both the lake shore.
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Typical lunch “aphtapi”. This is an easy way to share food with the local community. Dishes are made from local vegetables and corn, along with fish, eggs, chicken, etc. Stroll through the beautiful gardens of Yumani to the sacred water source before descending by the impressive staircase of the Inca era.
Return to Copacabana and departure to La Paz. Along the way, pass through the strait that connects the two banks of Lake Titicaca.
Dinner not included. Overnight at hotel CASA DE PIEDRA*** or SIMILAR.
Day 5 – La Paz / Oruro / Uyuni
THE EXCLUSIVE OF QUIMBAYA LATIN AMERICA !
At breakfast in the hotel, salteñas tasting, slipper stuffed vegetables and meat (yes, Bolivians eat it in the morning).
Lunch in a local restaurant.
Departure to the city of Oruro, crossing the Altiplano and the beautiful landscapes of the Andes.
Panoramic tour of this mining town deep in popular traditions like the famous Carnival party classified by Unesco.
Continuation on the train to Uyuni.
Dinner not included.
Overnight at hotel JARDINES DE UYUNI *** or SIMILAR
Day 6 – Uyuni / Salar / Incahuasi / Potosi
Breakfast at the hotel.
Early departure for the memorable crossing of the Salar de Uyuni! Crossing this dazzling salt desert of shimmering white, one of the most magical places of our planet. You will be dazzled by this singular place that fantasize almost all travelers and lovers of beautiful scenery.
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Lunch in a spectacular location in the middle of the Salar. Wine included.
Visit the island of Incahuasi, nicknamed the “Isla del pescado” lost in the middle of the salt desert. This is the most visited of the Salar de Uyuni. The place is covered with cactus, some exceed ten meters. End of the visit to the village of Colchani, where the community works that extracts nearly 20 000 tonnes of salt per year. Visit a salt refinement center. Departure to Potosí always through the beautiful Andean landscapes.
Dinner not included. Overnight at hotel COLOSO POTOSÍ*** or SIMILAR.
Day 7 – Potosi / Sucre
Breakfast at the hotel.
Discovery of Potosi, one of the most important cities of the colonial period in Latin America thanks to mining and silver of Cerro Rico.
Visit the Casa de la Moneda, the building used for the crafting of silver.
Continue to the main square and the surrounding streets to enjoy the facades of the churches of San Lorenzo, San Francisco and the refined architectural ensemble.
Visit a small cooperative mine.
This will give a clear idea of the difficult working conditions of miners still extract money from the mountains. Equipment needed to visit this mine provided.
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At lunch, tasting of “stone soup” in a restaurant in the mining area.
It is a thick soup made from purple corn flour and served inside a heated stone bowl which braises and cooks the soup keeping it warm.
Drive to the city of Sucre.
Dinner not included
Overnight at hotel INDEPENDENCIA*** or SIMILAR.
Day 8 – Sucre
Breakfast at the hotel.
Day dedicated to the visit of Sucre, one of the most beautiful historic cities of Latin America, belongs to the cultural heritage of humanity by UNESCO. Visit the textile Asur museum exposing the artisanal production of local indigenous communities, as works of high aesthetic value and traditional art. Sucre impresses with its collection of historic buildings where you can admire the view of Recoleta. Walk through the historic center, visit the Cathedral, administrative buildings and Freedom House, the birthplace of the Bolivian independence.
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Visit the central market of Sucre, lively and colorful by the great variety of fresh fruits and vegetables presented in an attractive way.
Lunch in a restaurant in the heart of the historic center.
The afternoon will be devoted to a walk by the Bolivar park, public garden where Sucre people come to walk. Visit the convent of San Felipe Neri, from the terrace you can enjoy a splendid panorama of the city and its churches.
Dinner not included. Overnight at hotel.
Day 9 – Santa Cruz
Transfer to the airport. Flight to Santa Cruz (Flight recommended: Z8 221 9h40 / 10h20, not included).
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Transfer to town lunch at Casa del Camba restaurant, point of meeting for locals in the weekends. The food is Amazonian and the atmosphere is much appreciated.
Afternoon free for personal discovery of the city.
Dinner not included.
Overnight at hotel LP COLUMBUS*** or SIMILAR
Day 10 – Santa Cruz – Madrid – France
Breakfast at the hotel.
Morning transfer to the international airport of Viru Viru. Assistance with formalities and boarding flight to Paris via Madrid (flights not included).
END OF OUR SERVICES. POSSIBLE EXTENSION: JESUIT MISSIONS