BOLIVIA FOR STUDENTS

Bolivia for students: 8 Days Tour

Day 1 Sucre Footprints
Description

Back to the Cretaceous Cal Orcko - Dinosaur Footprints

Transfer in to the hotel of your choice.

Visit to the Cretaceous Park.

The largest site with dinosaur footprints in the world.

This area contains an impressive group of different species dinosaur footprints located in the almost vertical calcareous wall of Cal Orcko. Investigations suggest that they are 65 million years old, belonging to the Cretaceous period.

There are examples of both biped and quadruped prints, indicating that the different species co-inhabited the area, including the mighty Rex Tyrannosaurus.

From the Cretaceous Park it is possible to admire these prints, as well as real size models made by experts. The park shows not only the features of the dinosaurs, but also the typical flora of the time.

The visit lasts 2 hours.

Lunch at a local restaurant.

Afternoon visits to some places in the city, the Textile Museum of Asur, The House of Liberty (closed on Monday), the Monastery of San Felipe Neri, and some local markets.

The visit lasts 2 hours.

Dinner and overnight at the hotel of your choice.

Day 2 Sucre History and Traditions, Half Day
Description

Breakfast at the hotel.

Visit the charming and colonial city of Sucre, the route of museums and churches!

Some places we recommend are the Museum of Treasures, The Monastery and Lookout of la Recoleta, the Charcas University Museum with its Colonial, Anthropological and Modern Art Sections.

The visit lasts 3 hours.

Lunch.

Transfer from Sucre to Potosi with a short stop at the Castle of La Glorieta and at Puente Mendez, natural limit between Sucre and Potosí.

Arrival to the hotel in Potosi.

Dinner at a local restaurant and overnight.

Day 3 Sucre – Potosi - Uyuni
Description

Breakfast at hotel.

Departure from Sucre to Potosi.

It’s worth a Potosi! This was a well-known expression in colonial times to show the great value something could have.

That was Potosi, a city of great value, with so much wealth that it attracted people from all over the world in search of fortune.

Lunch at a local restaurant including full meal.

Visit to the Miner´s market and an active Colonial mine to see the way miners extract minerals with the same procedures used in colonial times.

Visit to the Casa de la Moneda, where the procedure used for minting coins in different periods is seen.

Afternoon drive to Uyuni. If desired continue to Colchani where the Salt Hotels are.

Dinner and overnight at the hotel of your choice.

Day 4 Uyuni - Incahuasi Island - Coquesa - Colchani
Description

Departure from the hotel and visit to Colchani. Walk on a plant where salt with iodine is processed by the locals. Visit to the small market where handcrafts are made on salt.

Enter the magnificent Sal Flats, see the way local people gather salt for processing it. Discover why the eyes of the Salt Flats are boiling. Continue your journey on the Salt Flats and have a unique photo session in a great plain of Salt where perspective is only a theory.

Visit Incahuasi Island where gigantic cacti grow making the landscape even more unique.

Walk on a petrified coral path and drive to the northern shore of the Uyuni Salt Flats to Coquesa where the views of Salar de Uyuni are again different and just as impressive.

Short hike on the hillside, to the entrance of the Cave of the Coquesa mummies.

Enjoy lunch in the middle of the Salt Flats.

Return to Colchani watching the amazing sunset on the Salt Flats.

Dinner and overnight at a Salt Hotel in Colchani.

Day 5 Uyuni - Train Cemetery – Laguna Hedionda – Uyuni
Description

Departure from Uyuni and visit to the train cemetery.

Drive by San Cristobal, a colonial town, now the largest source of silver in the world, where it is possible to visit the church that has original frescos on the wall.

Walk along the Alota River where we see mainly birds of the region.

Visit on route the Valley of the Rocks and Black Lagoon.

Lunch on route.

Continue to Laguna Hedionda known for its natural inhabitants: the flamingos that parade on the shore on the company of other smaller birds.

Return to Uyuni passing by an Altiplano landscape where we see the small Andean towns.

Exact route will be adapted to weather conditions at the time of your visit.

Dinner and overnight in Uyuni.

Day 6 Potosi and Sucre
Description

Breakfast and return to Sucre passing by Potosi.

Lunch in Potosi.

Afternoon return to Sucre.

Overnight at the hotel of your choice.

Day 7 Sucre - Potolo or Maragua, With a Hike of your Choice
Description

Towards the northwest of Sucre is the Frailes mountain range. This area is remarkable for the intense colors of the mountains due to their mineral wealth.

The colors and the mountains create an amazing landscape where one can do hikes that have different levels of difficulty. Combine a visit to one of the indigenous villages of Potolo or Maragua, with one of the following hikes.

  • Incamachay Pumamachay Pictographs

The area has interesting pictographs that correspond to cultures that existed from 2.500 to 1.500 years ago.

After driving 1 hour, a walk of 4 to 6 hours starts in a fascinating erosion sculpted mountain landscape that presents curious and surprising landforms. The walk covers an area of about 8 Km., ending in the valley of Chaunaca, where we enjoy a picnic lunch.

  • Inca Trail

After driving 1 hour from Sucre, we start descending on the Inca Trail, a road built for transporting obsidian stones. The walk on the trail covers a distance of approximately 6 Km. (3.7 mi.), descending from the summit of the mountains of Chataquila to the Valley of Chaunaca.

The great landscape of Los Frailes mountain range offers amazing views of the area and of the Maragua Crater. It is also a good chance to learn about the native flora of the region. Walking time 2 to 4 hours (easy). Picnic lunch at the end of the hike.

  • Dinosaur Footprints of Maragua

The hike starts after visiting the village of Maragua and enjoying a picnic lunch on route. It lasts 3 to 4 hours, following the footsteps of the first inhabitants of this area: Dinosaurs.

The indigenous communities of Potolo and Maragua, that belong to theJalq'a ethnical group maintain the elements of their traditional culture in the architecture of the houses, the agricultural techniques and especially in the handmade textile production, which is totally unique.

After a 1 ½ hour drive from Sucre and once we have visited the small valley of Chaunaca, we take the road to either Potolo or Maragua. Visit to the indigenous homes in the area, where, besides admiring the textile art they produce, one can shop directly from the weavers.

The village of Potolo is a mestizo town where local women weave the so well-known Jalq´a textiles. This tour visits some homes and it is possible to see a bit of the everyday life in the area (1 hour from Chaunaca).

Maragua is a smaller indigenous town where one can see one of the highlights of the area: the crater of Maragua. The visit includes indigenous homes where women produce their wonderful textile art (30 min. from Chaunaca).

Afternoon return to Sucre.

Disco night with pizzas for dinner.

Overnight at the hotel of your choice.

Day 8 Sucre Local Handcrafts and Factories
Description

Breakfast.

Visit to the Beer and Chocolate Factory.

Crafts and technology, the other face of Bolivia!

The route includes a visit to the site where the most traditional manufactures of the city are handmade.

This visit includes the Textile Museum of Asur, The Chocolate Factory and a local handcrafts shop.

Shopping in each site is also a treat.

The visit lasts 3 hours.

Departure transfer to the airport.

Note: Additional lectures and/or activities can be added to this program.