Day 1 – Departure from the UK.
Day 2 – Arrival in Santiago and transfer to your hotel. Afternoon city tour to include La Moneda (the Government Palace), Plaza de Armas Square, the Metropolitan Cathedral, Santa Lucia Hill, the cultural and artistic neighbourhood of Bellavista and Providencia, with its top restaurants and elegant shops. Afternoon, return to hotel for overnight.
Day 3 – Day at leisure or take an optional excursion. (B)
Optional Full-Day Excursion to Valparaíso and Viña del Mar:
Full day excursion to Valparaíso, the oldest and most important port of Chile and to Viña del Mar, the famous beach resort. Valparaíso’s picturesque layout, enhanced by the surrounding hills that seem to dive into the ocean, remind you that this was once the most important maritime destinations on the Pacific coast before the Strait of Panama was opened to navigation in 1914. Viña del Mar, the most famous and visited seaside resort in the area, with its many parks containing huge trees and palms that gave Viña del Mar the well deserved name of ‘Garden City’.
Optional Full-Day Excursion to the Santa Rita Vineyard and Cavas Del Maipo Winery, including packed lunch:
Travel south on the Panamerica-Highway to Buin and east to Alto Jahuel village in the mountains. Pass through extensive vineyards and arrive at the Santa Rita Vineyard. Visit the gardens, vineyards, bottling plant and cellars. Continue to Cajón del Maipo valley by the Maipo River, at the foot of the Andes. Packed lunch picnic near one of the picturesque hamlets or villages. From the Maipo Canyon continue to Las Vertientes a picturesque spot in the foothills of the Andes, with fantastic view of the winding Maipo River. Tour the Cavas del Maipo Winery including wine tasting. Return to Santiago for overnight at hotel.
Day 4 - Transfer to Santiago airport for flight to Calama. Upon arrival, transfer to San Pedro de Atacama. San Pedro is an unusually colourful village located 2.440 m / 8.000 ft above sea level in the middle of a green oasis. Afternoon visit to the mysterious Valle de la Luna (Moon Valley). At sunset, climb a sand dune to see how the light intensifies the impression of a moonscape. Return to the hotel for overnight. (B)
Day 5 -After breakfast, visit San Pedro de Atacama – the centre of a Paleolithic civilization that built impressive rock fortresses on the mountains encircling the green valley includes the colonial church constructed in 1577 and the archaeological museum. Continue to the pre-Columbian village of Tulor. Afternoon visit to Toconao, a village where white volcanic stone sculptures are made followed by the Atacama Salt Lake, an inland sea formed millions of years ago in the driest desert on earth and one of the most spectacular and dramatic landscapes in Chile. Return to the hotel and overnight in San Pedro. (B,L)
Day 6 - Morning departure at 4:00 am to reach the El Tatio Geysers at an altitude of 4.300 m / 14.108 ft before sunrise. At dawn, powerful spurts of steam shoot out from various blowholes. The steaming ponds are encrusted with brilliant salt crystals reflecting the metal-blue sky at dawn. Visit the village of Machuca where the ancient llama caravans used to rest from their travels on the “Inca Highway”. Return to San Pedro de Atacama. Afternoon at leisure. Overnight (B)
Day 7 - Departure from the hotel in San Pedro to cross the border into Bolivia at Hito Cajones. Arrive at the Green Lagoon, at the base of the Licancabur Volcano. Continue to the ‘Ladies of the Desert’and the Thermal waters of Polques for a swim. See the Geisers of the Morning Sun. Visit the Crimson Lagoon centre of nesting for flamingos. The solar radiation, activated algae and the wind give both, the lagoon and the birds their peculiar red and pink colours. Proceed to Honda, Cañapa, Hedionda and Chiarkhota lagoons to see flamingos and other birds flanked by volcanoes with eternal snow. Lunch on the shores of a lagoon with Ollagüe volcano in view. After lunch, descend to the Chiguana Salt Flats and arrive at San Pedro de Quemez. Overnight at hotel. (B, L, D)
Day 8 - Today an unforgettable trip through the fantastic landscape of the blinding white Uyuni salt flats that resembles an immense glacier. In winter (May to October), the surface hardens forming geometric and in summer (rainy season from November to February) the saline desert becomes a gigantic mirror. Proceed to Mala Mala and reach Galaxy Cave, a sanctuary of cactaeandpetrified stromatolites. Experience wonderful colours at dusk. Continue to Colchani and Uyuni. Time for a rest in hotel in preparation for the overnight train departure to Oruro). (B, L, D)
Day 9 - Arrival in Oruro and transfer to the bus station for bus to La Paz. Upon arrival, transfer to your hotel. La Paz is known as the ‘City of contrast.’ Experience its unique blend of cultures and races. The city is located in a valley with breathtaking panoramas of the Royal Range of the Andes. City tour will include the native, colonial and modern areas, the Indian Market, the Open Air Museum of Tiwanacu, the Witch Doctor's Market and the famous Moon Valley. Overnight. (B)
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