Itinerary Chile, Bolivia and Peru ± 3 months, looking for feedback.

I have not been to Chile so some of my comments may be wrong. I did travel extensively in Bolivia and Peru.

You say 4 days Uyuni? Because you are doing the 3 day jeep tour? Would it not make more sense to do the 3 day jeep tour from San Pedro to Uyuni? And you don't need any time in Uyuni (in the town).

I would certainly go to Potosi as well. I actually liked Potosi better than Sucre.

You have 7 days in La Paz. I liked La Paz but I am assuming you are doing some trekking there? We loved the El Choro trek.

You need half a day, maybe a day for Copacabana. I recommend an overnight on Isla del Sol. The island is still mostly off-limits to tourists but we still liked it a lot.

I am confused about how you would go from Copacabana to Lauca. We were going to go to Sajama (which you could consider instead of Lauca, I guess) and were going to go to Oruro (so you would do that before going to La Paz), take a bus to Patacamaya and the noon minibus to Sajama. If you are in Copacabana won't you have to go back to La Paz?

We enjoyed our Colca Canyon trek (we spent two nights in the canyon). You will want at least 3 days and a day for Arequipa.

We loved Cusco and the Sacred Valley and did a one day hike to Aguas Calientes (on our own). At MP we hiked up Montana.

Cusco to Ica would be 17 hours or so by bus. Consider flying to Pisco. I am not sure why 4 days in Ica. An afternoon in Huacachina is enough. I would go to Paracas (Ballestas Islands, Paracas Reserve).

If you have 3 more weeks: either the Amazon (Iquitos or Puerto Maldonado from Cusco or Rurrenabaque from La Paz). Northern Peru is great and you will already be in Huaraz. Trujillo (Chan Chan, Huaca de la Luna), Chiclayo/Lambayeque (Tucume, Lord of Sipan museum...), Chachapoyas (Kuelap, Gocta Falls...), Leymebamba, very scenic road to Cajamarca... That took us 11 days.

In Bolivia we loved Torotoro from Cochabamba so consider adding that. Amazing park.

Do you mean Santa Cruz de la Sierra? The city is okay but what we liked most was our trip to San Jose de Chiquitos and Chochis but all that takes time. If you went there also consider Samaipata (great hiking).

you should spend 1 day visiting Viña del Mar in Chile, that zone is beautiful

Atacama dessert (5 days) – Travel to Uyuni (12 hours night bus)

Yes, sonia is right: the way to reach Uyuni from Atacama is the 3 day jeep tour from SPDA. By the time you reach Uyuni, you will already have experienced the salt flats and the high altitude lagunas w/ flamingos. Take warm clothing for the freezing nights.

Cobacabana (3 days) – Travel to Lauca National Park (Putre) (No Idea how many hours it takes, but there should be an international bus)

Yes, there are buses that go from La Paz to Arica. Not sure if they use the direct route, or the route through Peru. If the direct route, you'd get off at Lauca NP. Otherwise you'd need separate buses from Arica to/from Lauca NP

Is Santa Cruz missing in this itinerary? How are the wild life and hiking possibilities there?

No, Santa Cruz itself isn't a tourist city, and it's way far out of your way. There are natural places to visit from there like Samiapata, and a route to see historic missions stretching way east of the city, but again, out of the way for you. In Bolivia there are much closer places to include, like Potosi for the historic mines, and Corioco in Las Yungas, which is a beautiful high jungle region only a few hours from La Paz.

Thanks for your reply! This is very useful for planning our trip!

You say 4 days Uyuni? Because you are doing the 3 day jeep tour? Would it not make more sense to do the 3 day jeep tour from San Pedro to Uyuni? And you don't need any time in Uyuni (in the town).

This makes many sense indeed, will dig into this in more detail!

I would certainly go to Potosi as well. I actually liked Potosi better than Sucre.

Hmm, I saw many people visited Potosi indeed. However, most of them are talking about the mines, which did not look that interesting to me. What are other good spots near Potosi?

You have 7 days in La Paz. I liked La Paz but I am assuming you are doing some trekking there? We loved the El Choro trek.

Yes this was indeed the plan! Heard many good stories about the el Choro trek.

I am confused about how you would go from Copacabana to Lauca. We were going to go to Sajama (which you could consider instead of Lauca, I guess) and were going to go to Oruro (so you would do that before going to La Paz), take a bus to Patacamaya and the noon minibus to Sajama. If you are in Copacabana won't you have to go back to La Paz?

This suggestion is great. Especially looking at the high way system, it makes more sense to get there from the East. The Sajama and Lauca NP are basically next to each other, any idea about getting easily from the one to the other?

If you have 3 more weeks: either the Amazon (Iquitos or Puerto Maldonado from Cusco or Rurrenabaque from La Paz). Northern Peru is great and you will already be in Huaraz. Trujillo (Chan Chan, Huaca de la Luna), Chiclayo/Lambayeque (Tucume, Lord of Sipan museum...), Chachapoyas (Kuelap, Gocta Falls...), Leymebamba, very scenic road to Cajamarca... That took us 11 days.

We have been thinking about Northern Peru, it is however less popular than the South. Less information available, I will look into those names!

Thanks for your comments, very helpful!

Yes, there are buses that go from La Paz to Arica. Not sure if they use the direct route, or the route through Peru. If the direct route, you'd get off at Lauca NP. Otherwise you'd need separate buses from Arica to/from Lauca NP

As said by Sonia, she suggested to go to the NP in Bolivia, Sajama. This perhaps is better, and wouldn't require to cross the border to Chile again. Are these border crossings in Peru/chile/bolivia time consuming?

Potosi: we did not visit the mines but I loved Potosi. It has so much character. We loved just walking all over. It is unique and colourful. Crumbling charm. And of course Cerro Rico always looming above. I also enjoyed the Casa Nacional de la Moneda but we did have an excellent English-speaking guide.

El Choro was amazing. We did it on our own (3 days). We rented a tent, sleeping bags and pads in La Paz. It is exhilarating to go from snow-capped mountains and hardly any vegetation to ferns and bushes, more and more plants and flowers, then subtropical plants, bromeliads, vines, cloud forest. It is one of those hikes where the scenery keeps changing so it is very captivating.

I don't know if you can easily get from Sajama to Lauca. Tours do it so it must be possible.

Yes, northern Peru is less popular but it was one of the highlights of our Peru trip.
My trip report (it starts with Lima and northern Peru): https://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/forums/americas-south-america/peru/trip-report-very-long-part-1

As said by Sonia, she suggested to go to the NP in Bolivia, Sajama. This perhaps is better, and wouldn't require to cross the border to Chile again. Are these border crossings in Peru/chile/bolivia time consuming?

So if you went to Sajama NP, that would be easier, and you'd do it on the way between Sucre and La Paz, as a detour via the city of Oruro. Then you'd use one of the 2 border crossings into Peru right by Lake Titicaca. No these borders are not usually time consuming.

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