Description

4 days private tour to the Uyuni Salt Flat, beginning and ending in San Pedro de Atacama. It includes transport, accommodation in hotels and all meals.

Tour to the Uyuni Salt Flat, starting and ending in Uyuni. It includes transportation, hostels accommodation and meals.

How to book

Select the departure date from the calendar.
Select the number of people.
Click on “Add to cart”.
Pay online an advance deposit of the total price of the program.

Once paid, the booking is subject to confirmation according to the availability. If you want to check the availability before paying, write us an e-mail at reservas@southtreks.com.
You can reschedule or cancel the tour (with full refund) until 31 days before it starts.

Optional services

English speaking driver/guide: US$ 162 per group.

*Despite the 4×4 vehicle has space for 6 passengers plus the driver/guide, the last seat of the vehicle is narrow, so, in case you want comfort for all the travelers, our suggestion is to make the tour in two groups of 3 people each (two separated bookings).

RESTRICTIONS

Minimum age required of 7 years old.
Not recommended for people suffering hypertension, heart failure, asthma or similar, for whom visiting places above 4000 meters of altitude may present a risk for their health (the tour is made mostly above 4000 meters of altitude, even reaching 4850 meters of altitude one of the days of the tour).
Not allowed for pregnant women.

Itinerary

Start: Day 1 at 7:00 am at your hotel in San Pedro de Atacama.

End: Day 4 at 1:00 pm in downtown San Pedro de Atacama.

Day 1 ■Crossing Border Chile & Bolivia – Polques Hot Springs –

Pick-up will be at your hotel and then we will set off for the border crossing between Chile and Bolivia, where we will go through customs and border procedures and then begin the tour that includes a visit to the Verde and Blanca Lagoons and the Polques Hot Springs.

Then, we will continue on to the Sol de Mañana Geysers, the Colorada Lagoon, and the “Stone Tree” before reaching our hotel.

Day 2 ■Andes Mountain Range – Chiarkota Lagoons – Chiguana Salt Flat

We will leave in the morning to begin the visit to a number of Altiplanic lagoons in the middle of the Andes Mountain Range.

We will see the Cachi, Honda, and Chiarkota Lagoons and we will also make stops at the Hedionda and Cañapa Lagoons so we can take pictures and stretch our legs after the time spent traveling in the vehicle.

Finally, we will stop at the Chiguana Salt Flat before going to our hotel to have dinner and then get some sleep.

Day 3 ■Sunrise – Incahuasi Island – Salt Museum & Dakar Monument – Town Colchani

We will start the day very early in the morning to enter the Uyuni Salt Flat and get set up in a superb spot to see the sunrise.

After giving a warm greeting to the sun, we will cross the endless white stretch of the salt flat until reaching Incahuasi Island.

We will be able to explore the trails and climb up to the highest part of the island where we will have a 360° view of the salt flat.

Then we will visit the Salt Museum and the Dakar Monument, and we will leave the salt flat to visit the town of Colchani.

We will then continue on until reaching our hotel to get some sleep.

Day 4■Return

Like the Uyuni Salt Flat (4 days) standard tour, this day is dedicated solely to the return trip from Uyuni, which is why we will leave very early from the hotel to get on the road to the border.

Here we will go through the corresponding procedures and then continue on to San Pedro de Atacama, where we will end the tour.

FAQ's

What days of the week the tour is available?
As it is a private service, it is possible begin the tour any day of the week, every month of the year.

How much time in advance should I book the tour?
Because of the hotel high demand in the area, we recommend you to book at least one or two months in advance.

Do I need to be vaccinated against yellow fever for the tour?
The vaccine against yellow fiebe is not required for the tour to the Uyuni Salt Flat. It is only required if you subsequently plan to visit the Bolivian jungle.

What kind of car is used to do the tour?
The tour is made on a 4×4 (Toyota Land Cruiser) in Bolivia.

How is the infrastructure of every program?
The program with hotels has a similar level of structure for every accommodation. The rooms are private, single, double or triple, according to the availability, all have heating and private bathroom with warm water. The hostels, on the other hand, have double private rooms, with twin beds or queen size bed, according to availability, no heating and private bathroom with hot water. There is no internet access.

What type of sockets have the accommodations?
The accommodations have sockets type C, compatible with the types E and F. Anyway, our recommendation is that you carry an adapter to avoid any inconvenience.

How many bags or suitcases can I bring?
Each passenger may carry at most 1 bag or suitcase of 18 kilos which will go above the 4×4.

Why is it necessary to bring a sleeping bag?
The beds in Refugio Huayllajara (accommodation of the first night) do not include sheets, only include blankets and bedspread. If you don´t have sleeping bag, you can rent one directly in San Pedro de Atacama, the day before the tour. The rent has a price of CLP$ 5.000 per person, for the 4-day tour.

How is the weather along the tour?
In summer (December to March), the temperature ranges from about 4 °C as a minimum, to 23 °C maximum.

In winter (June to September) the temperature ranges from about -20 °C as a minimum, to 16 °C maximum.

How much money should I bring to the tour?
We recommend to bring 300 bolivianos per person for expenses not included in the tour, as entrances to parks (186 bolivianos per person), access to toilets and buying of souvenirs.

How likely is suffer “puna” or altitude sickness during the tour?
Most of the tour is made above 13,123 ft. of altitude so it is quite likely to suffer from altitude sickness specially the first day of the tour. To avoid or reduce the general feeling of discomfort, we recommend acclimate to the altitude one or two days above 8,202 ft., drink lots of water before and during the tour, eat light meals (avoid meat) the previous days, and do not drink alcohol the night before the beginning of the tour.

What is it about the meals?
The meals are varied, and includes tea, coffee, bread, cookies and fruit for breakfast, and meat, pasta, rice, soup and vegetables for lunch and dinner. In case you need a vegetarian menu, you must ask for it writing at reservas@southtreks.com at the moment you make the online booking.

What about the tour in case it rains?
In case of rain, the order of the places visited and the accommodation places are subject to change, because some of the roads might be closed. Added to the previous information, water in the Uyuni Salt Flat is an important obstacle and the Incahuasi Island (located in the center of the salt flat) remains closed. This means the Incahuasi Island cannot be visited and we enter to the salt flat only for a certain distance, so the passengers are safe.

When is it possible to see the mirror effect on the Uyuni Salt Flat?
The mirror effect occurs when there is water on the salt flat. This happens only in rainy periods (January and February) and after them (March).

Why all the restrictions to make the tour?
The tour is made in the Altiplano area, at an altitude above 9,842.5 ft. Just with this, our body is submitted to an abnormal stress, which can cause discomfort and risk in people with the conditions mentioned in the restriction’s section. Moreover, the tour does not have health insurance and there are not health centers to treat this kind of situations in a proper manner on the route.

Is it possible to do the tour in another language?
Yes. The English-speaking guide service for the whole tour, has an additional cost of US$ 162 per group and it is subject to availability when booking.