The Vagabond Couple: Bolivia

Two open Tintin comic books, The Seven Crystal Balls and Prisoners of the Sun, resting on the bright white salt crust with distant dark mountains under a deep blue sky, Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia

Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia: Waiting out a salt-flat recovery with Hergé's Andean two-parter, The Seven Crystal Balls and Prisoners of the Sun, open on the world's largest salt flat

Alright, buckle up, buttercups. After we finished part one of our Bolivian bonanza - which involved not falling out of a reed boat on Lake Titicaca and staring at ancient rocks in Tiwanaku (seriously, go read Part 1, it's good for you) - we pointed our travel-hungry noses toward Uyuni. The mission? To drive across the world's largest salt flat, the Salar de Uyuni, like a bunch of modern-day explorers, but with significantly less dysentery and much better Instagram opportunities. This included sleeping in hotels made of salt (licking the walls is optional, but tempting) and a multi-day, off-road 4x4 saga across the Andes altiplano and the Atacama Desert, all the way into Chile. It was less "Thelma & Louise" and more "Family Truckster on a geologic bender."

Bolivia Part 2 — Post Summary

This second half of our Bolivian journey crosses the Salar de Uyuni, the world's largest salt flat, then climbs south across the Andes Altiplano through coloured lagoons, steaming geysers and the Salvador Dalí Desert, before crossing the Hito Cajón pass into Chile and the Atacama town of San Pedro de Atacama. Five days, two countries, and roughly 700 kilometres of salt, sand and altitude.

What's Covered
🧭	December 28 — Arrival at Uyuni — Flight from La Paz, first drive onto the Salar de Uyuni, sunset on the mirror flats
🚂	December 29 — Uyuni to the salt crust — Train Cemetery, Ojos de Agua springs, Dakar monument, Isla Incahuasi cacti, and getting three 4x4s stuck on the salt
🌋	December 30 — Across the Altiplano — Julaca, Estancia Chakha, Volcán Ollagüe, the coloured lagoons, Siloli Desert, and Laguna Colorada in the Eduardo Avaroa reserve
♨️	December 31 — Geysers, Dalí Desert, into Chile — Sol de Mañana geothermal field, Termas de Polques hot springs, the Salvador Dalí Desert, Licancabur, and the Hito Cajón border into Chile
🔭	January 1 — San Pedro de Atacama — Atacama stargazing tour, the old plaza and church, and the Ruta del Desierto drive to Calama

Restaurant at Tiwanaku archaeological complex, Bolivia - Gateway to a civilization that vanished, now serving llama steak and mysteries

Having spent 72 hours in Peru among the Inca stonework of Cusco, Ollantaytambo and Machu Picchu, we crossed into Bolivia to meet the civilisation that came first. Our Bolivian adventure kicked off in the kind of place that makes you feel small in the best way possible. We're talking about the Andean Altiplano—a high-altitude plateau so vast and stark it feels like another planet. This is where ancient empires rose, where llamas outnumber cars, and where the air is so thin you get winded tying your shoes. Our first stop covered three iconic spots: the mind-bending city of La Paz, built in a bowl of mountains; a quiet Aymara village on the shore of legendary Lake Titicaca; and the head-scratching, awe-inspiring ruins of Tiwanaku. That last one, especially the Puma Punku area, is famous for stones cut so precisely that some TV shows wonder if aliens helped out. (Spoiler: the local archaeologists have other ideas, but it's fun to imagine!)

Bolivia itself is a country of superhero-level geography. It's landlocked, but has a navy (practice makes perfect!). It's home to the largest salt flat on Earth, mountains that scrape the sky, and a lake so high it's called "the birthplace of the sun." The culture is a vibrant mix of indigenous Aymara and Quechua traditions and Spanish colonial influence, all spiced up with modern politics and some of the friendliest people you'll meet.

Bolivia Part 1 — Post Summary

This first of two Bolivia episodes covers the Andean Altiplano at its most extreme: an arrival at El Alto, the world's highest international airport, the plunge into the canyon that holds La Paz, a cruise on an Aymara reed boat at Lake Titicaca, and a full day among the megaliths of Tiwanaku and Puma Punku, a civilisation that was already ancient when the Inca arrived. It closes with Mi Teleférico, the largest public-transit cable-car network in the world.

What's Covered
🛬	Arrival in La Paz — El Alto airport at 13,325 ft, fixed-fare taxi, descent into the canyon
🏔️	La Paz, Bolivia — Autopista Héroes del Chaco, Illimani and Huayna Potosí, the world's highest administrative capital
🛶	Lake Titicaca and Sanca Jahuira (Huatajata) — cruise aboard an Aymara totora reed boat, Ra II and the Heyerdahl connection
🚗	The Chinese automobiles of Bolivia — why the roads fill with brands you have never heard of
🏛️	Plaza Murillo, La Paz — Palacio Quemado, the Legislative Assembly, Pedro Domingo Murillo and 1809
🕑	The backwards moving anti-clockwise clock — the Reloj del Sur on the Legislative Assembly facade
🇧🇴	Flag hoisting ceremony — Colorados de Bolivia, the Wiphala, and a borrowed Westminster chime
🗿	Tiahuanaco (Tiwanaku) and Puma Punku — Akapana, Kantatallita, the Semi-Subterranean Temple and 175 tenoned heads
🚡	Around La Paz on foot and by cable car — Mi Teleférico, the Guinness-record network, and Multicine

Peru → Bolivia → Chile

One route. Three blogs. Zero shortcuts.

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