Peru → Bolivia → Chile

Dakar Monument (Monumento al Dakar), Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia.

One route. Three blogs. Zero shortcuts.

This journey runs from the Inca heartland of Peru, climbs onto the Bolivian Altiplano, crosses salt, volcanoes, and myths, and ends where Chile gets very dry and very serious about mining. Our in-depth account of this journey is presented in a three-part blog series; links to the three parts are provided below.

Total road distance (including all loops): ~3,800 km / ~2,360 mi
Total rail distance (round trips included): ~86 km / ~54 mi
Highest point: Sol de Mañana — ~4,950 m / ~16,240 ft
Lowest point: Santa Cruz — ~416 m / ~1,365 ft

Blog 1

72 Hours in Peru: Land of the Inca

👉https://thevagabondcouple.blogspot.com/2023/01/72-hours-in-peru-land-of-inca-cusco.html

Journey starts with us flying into South America.

19,334 feet (5,893 meters) Nevado Veronica peak (Wakaywillka) and Andes foothills seen from  IncaRail 360° train (Ollantaytambo → Aguas Calientes/Machu Picchu → Ollantaytambo).

Route sequence (with context)

1. Cusco (former Inca capital; UNESCO city; Andean power center)
2. Pisac (agricultural terraces; astronomical planning; market town)
3. Urubamba (Sacred Valley floor; river-fed farmland)
4. Ollantaytambo (fortress-town; living Inca settlement)
5. Aguas Calientes (rail-only access town; Machu Picchu base) – IncaRail 360° panoramic train
6. Wiñay Wayna (ceremonial terraces; Inca Trail complex)
7. Machu Picchu (royal estate; solar observatory; granite engineering)
8. Cusco (return loop)
9. Flight to Lima (coastal capital; altitude reset)

Distance, altitude & terrain

Road odometer (Cusco → Sacred Valley → Ollantaytambo → Cusco loop): ~155 km / ~97 mi
Train distance (Ollantaytambo ↔ Aguas Calientes round trip): ~86 km / ~54 mi

Altitude range:
Cusco: 3,399 m / 11,152 ft
Sacred Valley: ~2,800 m / ~9,186 ft
Machu Picchu: 2,430 m / 7,972 ft

Terrain: paved mountain roads, river-gorge rail corridor

The Sacred Valley was the Inca food engine. Terraces managed frost, water, and crops better than most modern systems.

Machu Picchu wasn’t hidden. It was precisely placed, aligned with solstices and sacred peaks (apus). It only became “lost” when paperwork stopped.

Map

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Blog 2

Bolivia – Part 1: La Paz, Lake Titicaca & Tiwanaku

👉https://thevagabondcouple.blogspot.com/2023/01/bolivia-part-1-of-2-la-paz-huatajata-on.html

Anthropomorphic (human-like) carved stone heads (protomes) embedded within the masonry of Templete Subterráneo (Semi-Subterranean Temple) in Kalasasaya Temple complex within Tiwanaku, Bolivia

Route sequence (with context)

1. Flight: Lima → Santa Cruz (lowland Bolivia; tropical plains)
2. Santa Cruz de la Sierra (customs & immigration; economic hub)
3. Domestic flight: Santa Cruz → El Alto (altitude shock, complimentary)
4. La Paz (administrative capital; canyon city)
5. Plaza Murillo (political core; colonial power center)
6. Lake Titicaca (basin) (highest navigable lake on Earth)
7. Huatajata / Sanca Jahuira (lakeside Aymara communities)
8. Return to La Paz (loop closed)
9. Tiwanaku (pre-Inca ceremonial city; state-scale ruins)
10. Puma Punku (precision-cut megalithic complex; explicit, non-negotiable)
11. Return to La Paz (second loop closed)
12. Flight to Uyuni (Altiplano entry point)

Distance, altitude & terrain

Road odometer (La Paz → Titicaca → La Paz → Tiwanaku → La Paz loop): ~284 km / ~176 mi
La Paz ↔ Lake Titicaca: ~140 km / ~87 mi
La Paz ↔ Tiwanaku: ~144 km / ~89 mi

Altitude range:
Santa Cruz: ~416 m / ~1,365 ft
El Alto Airport: 4,061 m / 13,323 ft
La Paz city: ~3,650 m / ~11,975 ft
Lake Titicaca: 3,812 m / 12,507 ft

Terrain: paved high-altitude highways, open plateau driving

Tiwanaku peaked around 500–1000 CE, long before the Incas. Raised-field agriculture, solar calendars, and stone joints tight enough to annoy modern engineers.

Lake Titicaca is sacred because it’s old, vast, and central to Andean origin stories. Viracocha didn’t create the sun somewhere boring.

Map

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Blog 3

Bolivia – Part 2: Salar de Uyuni & Andes Altiplano to Chile

👉https://thevagabondcouple.blogspot.com/2023/01/bolivia-part-2-of-2-salar-de-uyuni-and.html

Laguna Chulluncani, Potosi, Bolivia with 17,848 foot Cerro Caquella volcanic peak in the Bolivian Andes and Cordillera Occidental ranges looming over it

Salar de Uyuni core

1. Uyuni (rail town; logistics hub)
2. Train Cemetery (abandoned mining-era locomotives)
3. Colchani (salt processing village)
4. Salt Hotel (Salar de Uyuni area) (built entirely of salt; maintenance is ongoing)
5. Salar de Uyuni (world’s largest salt flat; lithium basin; three capable offroad vehicles stuck here, rescued by a fourth to procee with the journey!)
6. Ojos de Agua (brine springs)
7. Plaza de las Banderas (symbolic waypoint)
8. Monumento Dakar (modern rally marker)
9. Isla Incahuasi (fossil coral island; giant cacti)
10. Volcán Tunupa (sacred volcano; Salar viewpoint)
11. Coqueza (Aymara village; llama economy)
12. Colcha K (salt-worker settlements; hotel de sal zone; supply stop)
13. Salt Hotel (Salar de Uyuni area) (built entirely of salt; maintenance is ongoing)

Southbound Altiplano

1. Julaca (rail junction; wind management zone)
2. Villa Alota (last services before emptiness)
3. Volcán Ollagüe (active stratovolcano; border skyline)

Lagoon circuit

1. Laguna Chulluncani (remote high-altitude lagoon)
2. Laguna Hedionda (sulfur-rich; flamingo habitat)
3. Laguna Cachi (mineral-crusted lagoon)
4. Laguna Kara (Q’ara) (isolated saline lake)
5. Laguna Capina (KMZ-verified; mandatory stop)
6. Desierto de Siloli (wind-eroded volcanic desert)
7. Eduardo Avaroa Reserve (protected volcanic ecosystem)
8. Laguna Colorada (red algae lagoon; breeding flamingos)
9. Huyajara (ranger outpost; altitude reality check)

Geothermal & border

1. Sol de Mañana (active geothermal field; steam and sulfur)
2. Salar de Chalviri (salt basin)
3. Laguna Chalviri (thermal-fed lagoon)
4. Termas de Polques (hot springs; morale repair)
5. Desierto Salvador Dalí (surreal volcanic plain)
6. Laguna Blanca (mineral lake)
7. Laguna Verde (arsenic-rich emerald lake)
8. Hito Cajón (high-altitude land border crossing)
9. San Pedro de Atacama (oasis town; tourism resumes)
10. Calama (mining city; route ends)

Distance, altitude & terrain

Overland odometer (Uyuni → Calama): ~500 km / ~311 mi
Local driving & Salar loops: ~120 km / ~75 mi

Altitude range:
Uyuni: 3,656 m / 11,995 ft
Laguna Colorada: 4,278 m / 14,035 ft
Sol de Mañana: ~4,950 m / ~16,240 ft
Hito Cajón: ~4,480 m / ~14,698 ft

Terrain: salt crust, volcanic gravel, sand, tracks with confidence issues

The Salar is the dried body of prehistoric Lake Minchin, formed over tens of thousands of years. Beneath it sits lithium. Above it sits perspective.

Tunupa wept, legends say, and her tears became salt. The Altiplano allows the story.

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Final Stop

Calama, Chile

Chile Ruta 23 cuts through the Atacama Desert.

Copper mines. Flat light. Thin air no longer arguing.

The route ends here because geography says so. We fly out of South America.