Chile - Bolivia
Overview
TravesĂa Atacama to Uyuni
Go Deeper with Explora
Designed by Explora’s experts to authentically reveal the high desert and infinite salt flats, our TravesĂa AtacamaUyuni invites you to discover two of the most fascinating places on Earth in the journey of a lifetime.
Few adventures reveal such contrast and scale as the route between the Atacama Desert and the Uyuni Salt Flats. This trip crosses one of South America’s most remote regions, moving from terracotta desert landscapes to an endless white horizon.
Traveling by 4x4 with an Explora guide and a local driver, explore the world’s highest desert, cross the Altiplano, and reach the largest salt flat on Earth.
Committed to the highest standards for social and environmental performance.
Along the way, carefully located lodges serve as a base for daily explorations, combining walks, drives, and moments of quiet observation that reveal the depth of the region’s natural landscapes and offer meaningful encounters with local communities.
Stay exclusively at our Uyuni lodge for an immersive experience in the salt flats and their surroundings, or embark on a multi-day journey that crosses borders between Chile and Bolivia, staying at our mountain lodges along the way.
The World’s Leading Expedition Company for seven consecutive years.
TravesĂa: The Ultimate Way to Explore the Altiplano
Our TravesĂa is the most complete and immersive way to experience the Altiplano in depth. A nomadic lodge-to-lodge journey designed to reveal the territory progressively, beginning at Explora Atacama and continuing through two intimate mountain lodges before arriving at Uyuni.
Starting at seven nights stays.
Only want to visit the Uyuni Salt Flats?
With Explora, there is another way to experience the Altiplano: A private, exclusive stay at the northern edge of the Uyuni Salt Flats, at the foot of the Tunupa Volcano. From this remote setting, the Salar and its surrounding can be explored in depth, focusing on one of the most striking areas of the region and maintaining a strong connection to the territory.
Starting at three-night stays.
Ramaditas Mountain Lodge
Accommodations Along the Jouney
2 Explora Lodges and 2 Explora Mountain lodges
A Variety of Explorations with different activity levels
Round-trip Airport Transfers at scheduled times
Spa Facilities in Explora Atacama
All Meals and Beverages
Entrance Fees to national parks
Fully Private Service across Bolivia
Inquire for additional services.
Ramaditas Mountain Lodge
A Cross-Border TravesĂa Through the Altiplano
The journey is best approached as a gradual passage through four interconnected landscapes, each offering its own geography, terrain, explorations, and way of inhabiting the land.
Explora Atacama
2,422 m.s.n.m / 7,946 f.a.s.l
Explora Uyuni: Mountain Lodge in Jirira
3,681 m.s.n.m / 12,077 f.a.s.l
Uyuni Mountain Lodge in Chituca
3,732 m.s.n.m / 12,244 f.a.s.l
Mountain Lodge in Ramaditas
4,075 m.s.n.m / 13,369 f.a.s.l
U yuni Salt Flat
HILE
BOLIVI A
Atacama:
An Elevated Desert Experience
Set within some of the world’s clearest skies, this zone opens onto vast landscapes of volcanoes, salt flats, and sculpted valleys. High-altitude lagoons and shifting light amplify a powerful sense of scale. Guided explorations include hikes, scenic drives, e-bike routes, visits to Puritama Hot Springs, and stargazing at our private observatory.
Explora Atacama, Chile
Starting at three nights stays.
Set just outside San Pedro de Atacama, this 50-room desert lodge serves as the starting point of the journey and an ideal place for acclimatization. Thoughtfully designed for comfort and recovery, it combines refined local cuisine, open-air pools, spa facilities, and an observatory, offering multiple ways to engage with the desert landscape.
8,000 ft a.s.l. | 2,440 m a.s.l.
Ramaditas: Volcanoes and High-Altitude Lagoons
This high-altitude zone unfolds among volcanoes, mineral-rich lagoons, and vast Andean valleys, where color and silence coexist at scale. Geysers, salt flats, ancient trade routes, and sculpted rock formations trace the landscape. Here, altitude becomes part of the experience, setting the rhythm for a deeper immersion into the Altiplano.
Explora Ramaditas Mountain Lodge, Bolivia
A remote four-room mountain lodge in the Altiplano, conceived as a point of transition as the journey moves into higher elevations. Set among multi-colored lagoons, Ramaditas emphasizes remoteness and altitude.
13,370 ft a.s.l. | 4,070 m a.s.l.
Chituca: Villages and Altiplano Culture
Closer to the salt flat, this zone offers a more human scale to the Altiplano. Traditional quinoa and potato plots dot the landscape, connecting small Quechua and Aymara villages, ancient settlements, and long-used trade routes. Subtle scenes of daily life bring depth to the journey, closely connecting it with living culture and local communities.
Explora Chituca Mountain Lodge, Bolivia
Once a lookout across the Altiplano, this intimate four-room lodge offers a warm, understated pause along the route. Oriented toward open views, Chituca feels grounded and human in scale.
12,244 ft a.s.l. | 3,730 m a.s.l.
Uyuni: The Salt Flat
This zone encompasses the Uyuni Salt Flats and their surrounding features, including volcanic formations, salt islands, wetlands, and small highland settlements. Vast white plains meet mineral textures, shifting skies, and distant mountain silhouettes, creating a landscape defined by openness and visual contrast.
Explora Uyuni in Jirira, Bolivia
Starting at two nights stays.
A six-room mountain lodge overlooking the Uyuni Salt Flats, where the journey reaches its most expansive horizon. Jirira conveys openness and arrival.
12,077 ft a.s.l. | 3,680 m a.s.l.
A Collection of Explora Lodges
Along the route, Explora’s mountain lodges offer carefully placed pauses within the Altiplano. Modest in scale and intentionally remote, each lodge responds to its surroundings in a distinct way, supporting the rhythm of the journey while allowing the landscape to remain the focus.
Modern Design & Architecture
Explora’s three mountain lodges—Ramaditas, Chituca, and Jirira—were conceived by Chilean architect Max Núñez as a respectful architectural presence within the Altiplano. Their design engages quietly with the surrounding landscape and nearby communities, allowing the territory to remain the central focus of the experience.
Flexible Daily Itineraries with Your Expert Guide
Choose from a wide range of expertly guided explorations, all included as part of the journey. Tailored to match your interests and fitness level, these full- and half-day experiences unfold in small groups and are led by Explora’s certified bilingual guides alongside local drivers.
Explorations move across distinct zones of the Altiplano, from high-altitude deserts and volcanic landscapes to salt flats, lagoons, and remote valleys, with opportunities for walks, scenic drives, e-bike routes, and more.
Discover Unique, Crafted Explorations
Guided Explorations Across the Altiplano
Explorations unfold progressively along the route. Each zone and trajectory offers its own selection of explorations, allowing you to personalize the journey around the places you wish to explore. Classic Explorations offer a considered introduction through accessible walks and overland journeys, while Signature Explorations, crafted exclusively by Explora, extend the experience further, reaching more remote areas and deeper layers of history on longer programs.
More Than 30 Explorations
Fully private explorations throughout the stay in Bolivia
Led by Explora’s Expert Guides
1 dedicated guide and 1 dedicated driver per group
Curate Your Daily Explorations Each Evening
Classic Explorations
Classic explorations include a selection of walks and overland journeys across the Altiplano and the Uyuni Salt Flat. “Manto Blanco” explores the vast white expanse of the Salar by e-bike, riding across its open surface.
“Laguna Colorada” reaches one of the Altiplano’s most striking landscapes, where red-hued waters contrast with mineral shores and flocks of flamingos gather against a backdrop of volcanoes and wide skies. In Uyuni, “Killa” takes place at sunset, when the salt flat shifts in tone and the moon rises over the white expanse.
Manto Blanco Laguna Colorada
“Colores del Tunupa” begins in the village of Coquesa, following a communal route across elevated viewpoints of the Salar, passing ancient Andean burial sites and offering a close encounter with the region’s living traditions and ancestral culture.
See all explorations.
Killa Colores del Tunupa
Signature Explorations
Signature Explorations developed by Explora offer deeper access to the remote landscapes and cultural traces of the Altiplano and Uyuni. “Yardangs” departs from Ramaditas toward Pastos Grandes, crossing wetlands on foot and moving among windsculpted formations and ancient petroglyph sites, with frequent wildlife sightings—exclusive to programs of ten nights or more.
In the Altiplano villages zone, “Jawincha” follows a walking route from the secluded village of Ikala into Jawincha Valley, passing former shepherd settlements, quinoa fields, and rock art. “Los Apachetas” leaves from the Chituca Mountain Lodge, stopping in
Yardangs Jawincha
San Pedro de Quemes before hiking an old communal trail into the valley and visiting the local cemetery and museum, while “Laguna Honda” ascends on foot to a high-altitude lagoon, crossing inner mountain passes where yareta moss contrasts with the surrounding arid landscapes—both explorations exclusive to programs of ten nights or more.
For those craving more adventure, a climb on the multicolored Tunupa volcano rises to 17,822 ft a.s.l.
See all explorations.
Las Apachetas Laguna Honda
Additional Information
Getting Here and Onward Travel
The journey may begin in Chile or Bolivia. From Santiago, a short flight connects to Calama, where the expedition starts in Explora Atacama before crossing the Altiplano and concluding in Uyuni, with onward flights to La Paz. Travelers starting in Bolivia arrive in Uyuni to begin the route, which finishes in Atacama, with connections to Calama and then back to Santiago. Airport transfers at both ends of the journey are seamlessly arranged as part of the experience. If you stay only at Uyuni, you must arrive at the airport near the town, where we will be waiting to welcome you.
Best Time to Travel
The route is accessible year-round. From December to March, warmer days and brief summer storms associated with the Altiplanic Winter may occur; in Uyuni, seasonal rains can create the Salt Flats’ mirror effect, though peak rainfall may occasionally limit certain routes. During the rest of the year, the dry season brings clearer skies, more stable conditions, and broader access to remote areas, allowing for deeper exploration.
Additional Information
Altitude
Starting in Atacama offers a smoother adaptation to altitude compared to itineraries that begin in Bolivia. The route is thoughtfully designed to support gradual acclimatization, beginning with hikes that allow the body to adjust naturally before the journey moves deeper into the Altiplano. Over the course of the expedition, altitude ranges approximately between 11,800 and 15,400 feet above sea level (3,600–4,700 meters above sea level).
Climate
The journey spans distinct climates according to altitude and season. Atacama is known for its clear skies and mild days, with daytime temperatures around 15–25°C (59–77°F) and cool nights throughout the year. As the route climbs into the Altiplano and reaches Uyuni, higher elevations bring colder conditions, especially after sunset, with nighttime temperatures often dropping below 0°C (32°F) and daytime highs near 10–18°C (50–64°F).
Contact Information
To book your stay or for additional information, contact us at reserve@explora.com
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