Hello Thorn Tree,
I am planning a trip to Bolivia in August and will be there for ten days. I would like to visit Lake Titicaca, Uyuni and the salt flats, and the Cordilleras for some hiking. I know this is quite a bit to squeeze into ten days so I'm looking for some general feedback, transportation information, and tour suggestions.
I land in La Paz and since it's not too far and the most laid-back, I was thinking of heading out to Lake Titicaca the following day for one night. I'm thinking of just staying in Copacabana to keep it simple.
Then my initial thought is to visit the salt flats next and hike/trek last, so that any soreness doesn't affect the rest of my trip ;) but I guess what may be a more important factor is transportation. I've been using, for the most part, my South America Lonely Planet guidebook and usually the "getting there/away" information is to/from La Paz. Are there trains/buses that connect Lake Titicaca more directly with Uyuni or the Cordilleras, probably more specifically Coroico?
I thought I might just do a one day tour of the salt flats but it sounds like I'll need a day just to travel to Uyuni (flights are too expensive) so perhaps the standard three day tour would be more worthwhile. Should this be organized in advance before I depart for Bolivia or might I be better waiting until I arrive in La Paz or Uyuni? Lonely Planet estimates these trips to be $100-120 USD - can I still expect prices to be around this range? What are the more reliable overnight bus companies?
As for the Cordilleras, I don't want to do a trek longer than three days or too far from Laz Paz, so Takesi sounds like a good option. I should mention that I won't be bringing any of my own gear, and am traveling solo, so I would go with an organized tour. However, I'm also open to just doing day hikes near La Paz/Coroico if that may keep my itinerary less overwhelming while still satisfying my thirst to get out in nature, see some beautiful scenery, and amazing views.
Thanks for your time and advice!
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No, there are no faster ways from Titicaca to Uyuni or Coroico, you must travel via La Paz.
Should be no trouble organizing a salt flats tour once you arrive in Uyuni. I don't know the current going rate. Quality of the tour is a bit of a crapshoot and depends a lot on the character of your driver.
Logistically the easiest trek for you to do would probably be the 3 day/2 night El Choro trail that finishes near Coroico. It is quite popular and hence a bit crowded (although I only saw a handful of people here... but that was in 1999). I hired a guide in La Paz and they arranged transport, tents etc. Frequent buses back up to La Paz from Coroico.
I say this a lot on these forums, but Bolivia is not the best place to travel if you are in a rush. Buses break down, roads get blocked, people go on strike. Your itinerary is feasible on paper, but if anything goes wrong you could miss your flight home.
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It does seem silly to me to travel all the way to Uyuni just to spend half a day or so touring the salt flats. So yes, the 3 day tour is a better use of time once you factor in the transport time need to go to/from Uyuni. And it also seems silly to me to travel up to Lake Titicaca and not go for an overnight visit on Isla del Sol.
It seems to me like you're trying to fit in a bit too much, once you include the travel time to go from place to place. Maybe you should consider flying one way to Uyuni. The flights on Amazonas aren't expensive if you book in advance, maybe costing US $75 one way.
You could go to Corioco and just do some quick dayhikes from there, because it does sound like you don't have time for an organized multi day hike. Corioco is only about 3 hours from La Paz.
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Completely agree with mstep. You are trying to fit a little too much in and in doing so not actually seeing it (e.g. travelling to copacabana to then not go to isla del Sol which is arguably the highlight of the lake).
Also you have no time planned for acclimatisation. Unless you are coming from somewhere at altitude you may want to reconsider this.
I don't think you have the time for a multi day trek (unless you drop lake Titicaca or uyuni). There are plenty of single day hikes. I would suggest heading to cordillera real (but I like mountains so may be bias). Also you might want to consider cycling the death road, starting up in the mountains and descending over 3000m into the jungle you get the full range of spectacular views.