Bolivia has some of the most unique landscapes we've seen all within one country. It is the fifth largest country in South America and completely landlocked. The El Alto - La Paz metropolitan area, is the highest city in the world, with more than two million people at an average of 3,869m. To put this into perspective, the top of Mt. Fuji is at 3,776m!
In one week, we went from the Bolivian Amazon to the largest salt flat (Salar de Uyuni) in the world at over 10,000 square kilometres. There almost couldn't be a bigger contrast between those two areas. After crossing Salar de Uyuni, we continued through the Bolivian altiplano to the Atacama Desert in Chile. Skip down to the pictures if you would like an idea of the different types of landscapes we crossed.
Day 1-3: La Paz & Death Road
La Paz
We flew from Buenos Aires to Santa Cruz, did a self transfer and then headed with a domestic flight to La Paz. Apparently most international flights land in Santa Cruz. From our experience this is perfectly doable. If you've ever had to transit in Australia or the US, it's likely you'll have had to do the same. You pick up your luggage from the baggage belts and drop it off just before you leave the customs area so the airport helps you bring it onto your next flight.
Note on face masks (March 2023): Bolivian airlines still requires you to wear face masks throughout the flight and in Bolivia also in taxis and buildings. However, 50/50 comply with this so just do as the locals do.
Now back to the fun stuff! We landed in La Paz pretty late and found out that they're not really night owls like in Buenos Aires so our dinner options were pretty slim. However, there was a place that still let us order takeaway 2 minutes before closing so they pretty much saved our lives (Carrot tree in Sopocachi, in case you were wondering).
The first day we explored the city, Oleg had been to La Paz before 7 years ago so he was in charge and decided we would walk uphill and take the cable cars (teleferique) back down. The streets are lined with little food and drink stalls typically ran by cholitas. They wear colourful pleated skirt, a shawl and a bowler hat. We made our way to the Witches' market where apart from souvenirs you can also browse through really bizarre and fascinating products used for Aymara rituals. When in Bolivia, you'll hear about the Aymara and Quechua cultures which are two of the 36 recognised indigenous groups.
Next stop: lunch at Popular Bolivia which we can highly recommend. They offer a 3 course lunch menu including a complimentary homemade juice for 79 Bolivianos (10,50 EUR). The food is locally inspired and presented fine dining style. We recommend coming right at opening time to secure a seat. When you get there you'll enter a courtyard and it's on the first floor.
After that we took the cable car back. We never really figured out how the pricing and ticketing worked due to our very limited Spanish. From what we understood, we had to get a ticket every time we decided to change lines. With one ticket you can travel along the whole line you've selected. The cable cars are a clean, fast and cheap way to travel through the city. The views were beautiful and as tourists, we were of course the only ones taking tons of pictures. For the locals, it's just like riding a bus.
How to get around:
Walking
Cable car
Uber (note that during certain hours, it may be more difficult to get an Uber but it's relatively easy to arrange a local taxi through your hotel. Traffic in La Paz can get very busy, so always have a buffer of about double the time you see on Google maps when travelling by car)
Where to stay:
El Museo Hotel Boutique - This place was an awesome stay. We had a room which could've hosted an entire family, it had 3 beds in it. Lots of windows and a great view, which comes at the expense of having to walk a lot of stairs at that elevation. The hotel used to be called Tinka hotel but it changed its name and it's because they have a small museum inside the lobby area. The complimentary breakfast is good and we also really liked that they had bathroom facilities outside of the rooms which meant that if you either come before check in time or are leaving late you can always freshen up.
For the foodies:
Breakfast/coffee
Cafeina Specialty Coffee Shop (this is in the Calacoto area of La Paz and may not be convenient depending on where you're located. However, this is where you'll find most ubers in case you need to go anywhere else afterwards)
Lunch/snacks
Bolivian Popular Food (hands down the best lunch option in La Paz, do yourself a favour and go here!)
Paceña La Salteña (they have multiple locations dotted around La Paz, it's a great affordable lunch option. Salteñas are like empanadas but much juicier as they contain a stew)
Dinner
The Carrot Tree Sopocachi (they serve everything from burgers to salads, Bolivian and Mexican style food. They also do takeaway and very graciously agreed to feed us 2 minutes before their closing time - absolute heroes!)
Akai Ramen (points for making their own ramen noodles and being one of the cheapest dinners we had in La Paz. It won't necessarily be the best ramen you've ever had but it hits the spot)
Efimera (apart from Argentinian style pizza, our experience is that South America doesn't do the best pizza but this place in La Paz is an exception. They serve great pizzas with non-traditional flavour combinations, we really enjoyed it)
Death road
Death road, Camino de la Muerte, or the Yungas road. What's the significance of this place? Drawing about 25,000 tourists a year, it's the place to go mountain biking!
Essentially there are 3 big tour operators offering this route. We have selected Altitude bikes and can definitely recommend them. Just make sure before you go that you wear full face helmet and your bike has double suspension (your bum will thank you later for this:) This tour cost us 98 USD per person.
Starting at 4600m and descending down to the Bolivian Amazon at 1500m, the route is about 64km long.
Before we set off we got dressed into some appropriate attire, adjusted our mountain bikes and received a safety and history lesson from our knowledgeable and humorous guides.
In the 1930s during the Chaco War, Paraguayan prisoners cut the road into the Cordillera Oriental mountain chain and was for a long time the main road connecting the Amazon to La Paz. Parts of the road are no wider than 3 metres and there are a number of switchbacks, sharp turns, plenty of blind corners, vertical drops of 1000m and a lack of guardrails. The weather conditions vary a lot so it can be foggy, rainy and the road conditions are often slippery and muddy.
Sadly, it is no surprise that it was estimated 200-300 people died each year travelling on these roads. Thanks to a road modernisation project, death road can be bypassed and the new road is wide enough for trucks and cars to pass each other.
"Till death do us part"
Starting on a tarmac stretch, you get some time to warm up. After that, you go back into the car and they drive you to the section where you start the downhill mountain biking.
The first part of death road is rocky and cold so we were wearing a lot of layers. There were plenty of breaks along the way and lots of photo stops where our guides were part time insta husbands and took a lot of photos for our group.
The middle section gets slippery, there are small waterfalls dripping onto the road and the advise is not to use your front brake at all unless you want to kiss the ground. The bonus section we got was that there was a landslide just a month or so before which we had to cross on foot and carry our bikes across.
The last section was more fine gravel with some very flat and very steep parts. In this last section Qiao-An took a corner a bit too fast and landed luckily gently on the hill side with her head and elbow nicely propped against the side so she was still standing straight up with the bike. After checking everything was still in tact, we finished the route and could officially call ourselves Death Road survivors! *que in I'm a survivor by Destiny's Child* (Oleg wasn't going to get rid of Qiao-An so easily)
After that we went to a simple hotel and camping resort where we got lunch, t-shirts, the chance to chill by the pool and have a shower before heading back to La Paz.
Was it worth the experience?
It was Oleg's second time, so absolutely!
Day 4-6: Salar de Uyuni and the Bolivian altiplano
8 important things to know before going to the Salar de Uyuni:
Stock up on water in Uyuni (or before) as there are a limited amount of shops.
Food options may be limited (depends on the tour company). We found that lunch was a good serving but dinners and breakfasts were quite small. Stock up on snacks in La Paz (if you can) as there isn't much choice in Uyuni.
Bring toilet paper! Toilets in the salt flats, generally are paid and you will get free toilet paper however it's a good idea to have some extra on you.
Altitude sickness pills, you will start at 3600m and go to an elevation of 5000m on day 2.
Baby wipes to freshen up. There will only be shower facilities on day 1.
One night will be in a hotel with a private room and shower, the second night will be more basic in a dorm style room with shared bathroom facilities.
Bring a travel towel if you plan to go into the hot springs. The hotel you stay in near to the hot springs do not have shower facilities so will also not provide you with a towel.
Bring cash for the entrance fees as these are typically not included in the tour packages. The tour company will give you an estimate (ours was 186 Bolivianos, 24 EUR per person). Bring extra for clean toilets and supermarket runs.
Day 4: Salar de Uyuni
If you've ever spent some time on social media looking at travel pictures, chances are you've seen pictures of the salt flats in Bolivia. But not just any pictures, most likely you will have seen the iconic reflection shots. If not, scroll down to see some and you'll know what we're talking about. What if we told you that like many online photos, it's a very specific time of year you can see the salt flats under those conditions. The rainy season is January - March and we visited in March. When the rain floods the salt flat, it creates the world's largest mirror and it's just breathtaking! When Oleg visited Bolivia before he didn't get to see it with water so we were on a mission.
We booked our 3 day trip and border crossing to Chile (210 USD per person) with Quechua Connection and we were really happy with them. English guided tours are more expensive than Spanish so alternatively, you can also book it with a Spanish provider if you're fluent. We met some people on the way who decided to go for the cheaper option without realising that the guide wouldn't be able to speak any English. It really takes quite a lot away from the experience as the guides are happy to tell you stories about the salt flats and surroundings.
First off, we took the overnight bus (36 USD per person) from La Paz to Uyuni with Todo Turismo. The bus had A/C, USB outlets to charge your phone, wifi connection (for basic messaging) and the ability to recline comfortably and proper foot rests. The price included dinner and breakfast the day after, nothing fancy of course. The bus has a toilet but make sure to bring disinfectant and toilet paper. It's a 9-10 hour bus ride and there are no breaks so we recommend trying to get a bit of sleep. We were warned that there were road blocks due to protests throughout the country. What the bus company had organised was that in case we would not be able to get through, there would be a bus waiting on the other side of the road block so the worst case was that we would have to walk for a bit with our luggage. Lucky for us, we managed to sleep straight through and weren't woken up to get out.
We arrived at about 6:00 in the morning and had a few hours to kill until we had to be at the Quechua Connection office. When walking through the town of Uyuni, it does feel like you're stepping back in time. With so many tourists passing through for the salt flats you would think the infrastructure would be a lot better. Expect bumpy roads and not a lot of cute cafes/restaurants.
At 9:00 (Bolivian time), we departed with 4 others on an adventure in a 4x4 that would carry all our food and luggage for the next 3 days. Our guide Michelangelo was very knowledgeable, funny and thoughtful. He made sure we had lots of memories on camera as well as setting up the coolest lunch spots and providing us with our meals.
The first stop was the train cemetery. As soon as we arrived, we saw a lot of other cars and tourists taking pictures. It's just one of those stops that every company makes on the day. Also, the first stops of the trip were a bit more touristy as a lot of day tours to the salt flats depart from Uyuni. Those groups will return after 1 day, and the further you go the less people you will see along the way.
The next stop was the spectacular salt flats. Due to the heat and the sun reflecting off the surface, you will see a reflection in the distance of the mountains. This made us think there was water on the salt flats but it's just an optical illusion. Our guide was trying to keep the best for last so he didn't mention anything about seeing water on the salt flats. In fact, he told us that there hadn't been as much rain this year and that we were lucky that we could drive this far into the salt flats. In January and February when it is flooded, they skip a few stops due to accessibility.
After stopping for lunch and taking some funny photos (we are still waiting for the photos from one of our favourite photographers of the tour) on the salt flats we headed to Isla Incahuasi, which is an island covered in giant cacti. It makes for a really beautiful change of scenery from the vast white salt flats. It is also special that an island like this exists where something can actually grow, as the rest of the landscape is pretty inhospitable.
Our guide was rushing us as we absolutely had to be in a "special" location for sunset. When we got to the location, there was a thin layer of water on the salt flat reflecting the sunset colours and clouds. It was picture perfect and our mission was completed. One of our favourite pictures was taken here by Will and he would proceed to give us an impromptu night sky photography workshop later that evening.
Day 5: Bolivian altiplano
This day was dedicated to showing us some of Bolivia's wildlife, mountains and lagoons. We also learned, what quinoa fields looked like and they're a lot more colourful than we thought! Whilst driving we saw llamas and vicuñas (related to the llama). A big difference is that llamas can be domesticated and vicuñas are virtually impossible to domesticate. They also yield a lot less fur so it's considered luxury and therefore expensive.
The first lagoon we stopped at was Laguna Cañapa to do some flamingo spotting! At this location, you could see little white islands in the water which is made of a mineral called borax. After that we had lunch at Lake Hedionda which literally translates to the smelly lagoon! This place also had more flamingoes. There are 3 types of flamingoes in the area: the Chilean, Andean and James'. Don't ask us the difference, we were told you can tell by the legs but we weren't very successful at identifying them.
One of our favourite stops that day was Viscacha mountain, and upon arrival we didn't see them straight away. We just needed a bit of patience as they're quite curious creatures and started coming out to say hello. They look like a cross between a rabbit and squirrel. They've got really long tails but climb and hop around like rabbits. One of the cutest animals we've seen on our sabbatical!
The last stops of the day were the Laguna Colorada and the Sol de Mañana geysers. The Laguna Colorada is known for its reddish pink colour and this is caused by the red sediment and red algae which together with the flamingoes and white borax islands just makes it look like you stepped into another world. If you've been to Iceland before, the geysers are nothing like the ones there where they shoot up every few minutes. These were mostly bubbling mud but nevertheless very interesting to see that there is geothermal activity in Bolivia.
The day ended at a hotel right by a hot spring (for a small fee). We didn't go in but were told it's pretty busy no matter what time of day you go. In the evening, it's because of the hotels in the area and in the morning it's all the people who stayed at accommodation further away.
Day 6: Good bye Bolivia, hello Chile!
There were a few more stops before we made our way to the border crossing. We had some time to take in the Salvador Dalí desert. Named after the famous painter because the landscape is so reminiscent to his paintings even though he never visited Bolivia. Look at the pictures below and let us know what you think!
Laguna Verde and Laguna Blanca were the last two stops. The reflections in these lakes were gorgeous and the main difference between the two is that there are no flamingoes in Laguna Verde because it contains arsenic.
After this we were dropped off at the Bolivian border crossing and after receiving our stamps we walked a short distance with our suitcases to a van picking us up to bring us to Chile. A good habit to get into is to remember (this goes for most border crossings) to not bring any fresh fruits, nuts, seeds and honey into other countries. Crackers, crisps and cookies are usually fine but it just saves you the hassle at the border.
Day 6 continued: San Pedro de Atacama
The drive from the Bolivian border to San Pedro de Atacama is about an hour. The Atacama desert is the driest place on earth and you can feel the heat in the town already. The roads are mostly dirt roads and have a red glow from the sand.
We booked a stargazing tour with Atacama Stargazing (Whatsapp them +56935880094, 25000 Chilean Pesos / 28 EUR per person) and can highly recommend it! They provide the tour in English and Spanish and what we liked is that they split the group up so you don't need to hear the same story twice in two languages. They had 3 stations:
1: Stargazing with a huge telescope and explanation of the different constellations
2: Local wine and snacks
3: Photography (they will take photos of you and share them afterwards)
How to get around:
Walking
Cycling
Where to stay:
Hotel Casa Algarrobo - It was a lovely stay but mostly due to the very basic shared bathroom facilities we had the day before and that they allowed us to check in early. The hotel is clean and comfortable but there was no A/C, internet did not reach our room and the swimming pool was very cold. That last one says a lot considering we were in a desert. Their lounge area and complimentary breakfast were good.
San Pedro de Atacama will not include a foodie section because the food was really average and relatively expensive. The last day we had really good pastries but a crap experience at the cafe where we waited 40 mins and still didn't have our food (note: we only ordered pastries which took them less than 5 minutes to get them into takeaway bags once we told them we had to leave). Feel free to leave your recommendations below if you did have a good food experience that you would like to share!
Day 7-9: Santiago de Chile & Valparaiso
The closest airport to San Pedro de Atacama is Calama. It is a small airport with no wifi (also not provided at the cafes) so we recommend not coming too far in advance.
Santiago
After a couple of days in the Bolivian and Chilean desert, it was good to return to civilisation and enjoy the hustle and bustle of the city again. To look at the city from a different perspective, head to Parque Metropolitano and walk up Santa Lucia Hill. Take the funicular back down or the cable car, or if you prefer you can do this the other way around.
Top sites to visit:
Santa Lucia Hill & Parque Metropolitano
Barrio Italia
How to get around:
Walking
Metro
Uber
Where to stay:
Hotel Casa de Todos - it was a good and central stay. The room was large and had a desk and A/C. We were a bit unlucky and had cold water in the shower for 24 hours which they were surprised about and couldn't figure out what caused it. The complimentary breakfast was good and the staff were very friendly.
For the foodies:
Breakfast/coffee
Black Mamba (we loved our coffee and avocado toasts here, there are limited spots inside and often taken up by people working behind laptops and having online meetings)
Dinner
Liguria (gastropub style food with generous portions and a good beer and wine selection. We got a discount off the total bill for sitting at the bar!)
Le Bistrot de Gaetan (French food in a cute area with lots of restaurants and cafes. We really enjoyed the moules frites)
Ramen Ryoma Providencia (a lovely and affordable ramen spot, too bad that they already close at 19:00)
Some recommendations from local friends:
Lusitano
Verde Sazón
Mestizo
Boragó
Valparaíso
Most people that visit Santiago also go to Valparaíso as it's an easy day trip. It's only about 120km away and takes 1-1.5 hours one way depending on traffic. The bus terminal is located in Pajaritos which you can easily reach by metro. At the bus terminal you can buy bus tickets to Valparaíso and if you know what time you're planning to return we recommend getting a return straight away (return tickets are 12 EUR per person). There are a couple of bus companies that you can choose from, we went with Turbus and were happy with them. The other two companies are Pullman and Condor. Buses leave every 15 minutes (make sure you check the bus schedule) and have A/C so bring an extra layer with you.
Depending on where you go Valparaíso is quite hilly and has a lot of stairs, so wear comfortable shoes! When you arrive at the bus terminal in Valparaíso, it is about a 20 minute walk to the main sites so you can also choose to take a bus or taxi. Walking is perfectly doable and gives you the chance to experience the city.
Valparaíso is the main port for containers and passengers (lots of cruise ships make stops here) in Chile. The city has vibrant coloured houses and has an artistic and bohemian vibe. Famous for its happies not hippies mural (it even has a location tag Google maps), there are many more murals to be admired. Just walk around and you will come across them yourself or take a free walking tour. Make sure to take the oldest funicular either up or down, it's called Ascensor Concepción and is only 300 Chilean pesos per person (30 euro cents). It was built in 1883, and it used to be powered by steam.
Top sites to visit:
Cerro Concepcion & Cerro Alegre
Ascensor Concepción
For the foodies:
Lunch/snacks
Delicias Express (back in the day the free walking tours would end up at this hole in the wall empanada place. Oleg confirms they're still just as delicious and whatever you pick make sure it has cheese in it. They have loads of choice! Added bonus: they have free Wifi)
Fauna Hotel & Restaurante (for pisco sours with a view! We also saw lots of people having lunch here, be sure to make a reservation as it gets quite busy)
Is it worth visiting?
If you have the time and you're only planning to visit Santiago, yes. But we would not go out of our way to visit Valparaíso. It's good for a half day trip and for a change of scenery.
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