BOLIVIA: LA PAZ/SALAR DE UYUNI

OVERVIEW

• When: 24 August – 28 August, 2026
• Where (accommodations): La Paz: Atix Hotel, Stannum Boutique Hotel and Spa; Uyuni(Colchani): Hotel Luna Salada
• Transportation: Avianca Airlines from Cusco, Peru (CUZ) to La Paz, Bolivia (LPB); Boliviana de Aviacion flight (BOA) from La Paz (LPB) to Uyuni (UYU); Boliviana de Aviacion flight from La Paz (LPB) to Lima, Peru (LIM), via Santa Cruz (VVI)
• Sights/attractions: La Paz: Mi Teleferico, Calle Jean, National Museum of Ethnography, Plaza Murillo, Museum and Basilica of St. Francis, Mercado de las Brujas, Cholita’s Fighting (Lucha Libre) in El Alto, Sopocachi neighborhood; Uyuni: Uyuni downtown and market, Train Cemetery, Salt factory, Uyuni Salt Flats – Ojos de Sal, Dakar sign, Flags of Uyuni, Hotel Palacio de Sal.
• Food/drinks: La Paz: Santo, Moe’s, Popular Cocina Boliviana, Manq’a Restaurante, Biofilia Cafe

Bolivia marks the 86th country for me, and combining it with Peru was a very smart decision (if I may say so myself). Not only because these are neighboring countries and neither requires a visa for Americans or Lithuanians, but because both are at high altitude, which means you don’t have to readjust to altitude. El Alto, where you will land when flying to La Paz, is the highest international airport in the world, with an altitude of 13,325 feet (4,061.5 m). If we were not coming from Cusco, we would’ve been really struggling. Sean still felt like he needed his inhaler, and sleep quality was not great throughout the trip, but despite the physical challenges, we loved Bolivia, and I would recommend it for everyone!

You can cross the land border from Peru to Bolivia, and there are many bus tours that include Lake Titicaca, but since we didn’t have enough time, we chose a short, direct flight from Cusco to La Paz on Avianca. We arrived in the afternoon, and the weather was not great for exploring- clouds, rain, and even hail greeted us on the way to the hotel. The Taxi driver said it hasn’t snowed for two years, but the morning of our arrival, they got snow. El Niño was mentioned again; just as in Peru, Bolivia’s weather was atypical this August.

We spent one night at The Atix Hotel located in the upscale Calacoto neighborhood in La Paz. It is located in the Zona Sur (South Zone) of the city, which is in the valley and therefore it is warmer and at a lower altitude.

Atix Hotel

I can’t recall the specific reason we chose this hotel, but I am pretty sure it was their spa/pool. I think we wanted to relax before the flight the following morning, and that’s exactly what we did.

This hotel also has a great restaurant where we had our very late lunch.

It is also located only about a 10-minute drive from the Valley of the Moon. In hindsight, we probably should’ve taken an Uber there, but with bad weather and sunset quickly approaching, we chose to relax in the spa and just left the hotel for dinner.

We were a bit tired of Peruvian food and missed Japanese food, so Sean found Santo, a Japanese- inspired restaurant a short walk from the hotel.

Our gluten-free diet was forgotten for this delicious dinner. It was worth it!

Uyuni Salt Flat (Salar de Uyuni)

As excited as we are to explore La Paz (we will return to this city later), the most exciting part of Bolivia was the Uyuni Salt Flat. Covering more than 10,500 square kilometers (4,000 square miles) at an altitude of 3,656 meters (11,995 feet) above sea level, it is the largest salt flat in the world.

As with Machu Picchu, August is typically considered a dry month in Uyuni. We expected to see a dry salt flat, hexagons for miles, and a perfect opportunity to take funny perspective photos. What we did NOT expect was that Uyuni would get a bunch of snow just a few days before our arrival. We got double lucky. One was that we were not scheduled to arrive during the snowstorm, because flights were canceled. Two, the snow had melted, leaving puddles of water on top of the salt, allowing us to see both the dry and wet sides of Uyuni, including the famous mirror effect.

But back to the beginning.

We flew from La Paz to Uyuni on Boliviana de Aviación (BOA), the fastest and most convenient way to reach the salt flat. It is not the cheapest, so if you have more time and want to save money, there are overnight buses that can get you there. When we were planning this trip over 6 months earlier, Bolivia was experiencing political turmoil. There were road closures and protests, so we eliminated the overnight bus option then and there. Reviews of the airline are not that great, but we had no issues. The flight actually took off early because everyone was already on board.

Hotel Luna Salada

Currently, there are three salt hotels in close proximity to the Uyuni Salt Flat. One of them was already fully booked when we started making reservations, but it is an older hotel, so it worked in our favor. Hotel Luna Salada is in Colchani, about a 30-minute drive from the airport, but the road is bumpy and not fully paved. I am glad we pre-booked airport transportation with the hotel, because getting a regular taxi there would’ve been a hassle.

Our room faced the Uyuni Salt Flat, though the salt part is quite far away. It was our first time staying in a hotel made out of salt bricks, where the staff swept salt off the hallways every morning. Lots of space, lounging areas, multiple fireplaces, and, of course, a heated pool and a sauna/steam room.

There were some interesting rules about the spa, if I remember correctly. The sauna and steam room are only available after 5pm, while the pool closes between 2pm and 5pm (which we found super odd). Luckily, we arrived in the morning and, because we didn’t have any tours booked that day, were able to enjoy the spa for a few hours before lunch.

Breakfast is included in the stay, but lunch and dinner are not; compared to other places in Bolivia, it was quite expensive. Both nights, we chose the buffet option for dinner because the à la carte menu was identical to the lunch menu. It was $40 USD per person without drinks, which might seem cheap in the USA, but after eating in La Paz and having incredible meals for $7 USD pp, this hotel definitely charged significantly more. Regardless of the cost, we really enjoyed our stay at Hotel Luna Salada.

Uyuni Day Trip

This day trip was possibly the best excursion out of the entire trip (besides Machu Picchu in Peru). And to think it almost didn’t happen! I booked the shared excursion (with 4 other people) through Salarmanta Tours months before arriving in Bolivia. I confirmed and re-confirmed with them a couple of days before our flight to Uyuni. They assured me that everything was all set; they would pick us up from the hotel, and we would have a full-day excursion. Then, the evening before the scheduled trip (as we were getting ready to go to bed), I get a WhatsApp call. Salarmanta Tours representative proceeds to tell me that they are unable to fulfill the entire scheduled itinerary because our hotel is too far away; it is not in Uyuni as they thought, but in Colchani (30 min away). I stopped them mid-sentence. I am sorry- what? Is there another hotel by the same name (no, there is not)? How are you finding out where our hotel is located when this tour was booked so far in advance? Why can’t you pick us up earlier, so that we can still see all the planned stops? There was no good answer; they told me they would call me back.

I was not about to trust the company that treats its customers this way. We basically ran to the hotel’s front desk and begged them to arrange a tour for tomorrow. We were in such luck! They found a guide available to take us, and since nobody else signed up, it ended up being a private tour. The price, of course, was not Salarmanta’s, but we were sure we would be able to spend the day seeing the Salt Flats that we came here to see. We also liked how the tour was structured- first we went to Uyuni town, saw the downtown, the market, the Train Cemetery, and the salt factory. After that, lunch at our hotel, followed by Salt Flat drive and photos, and finally sunset picnic on the salt flat.

Right across from the Train Cemetery, there is a recently created sculpture park, where we had a good time taking some funny photos.

Train Cemetery was one of the sites our pre-arranged tour company would’ve missed. I am SO glad we didn’t end up going with them. It was definitely an incredible destination. Somehow we beat the rush and arrived before buses of people showed up. These British early-20th-century trains have been abandoned since the 1940s and are now a popular tourist attraction around Uyuni.

You can climb on top of the trains (at your own risk); there are a couple of swings – I am pretty certain this would not be allowed in the USA, but since we are in Bolivia, why not climb on a rusty train?!

The salt factory and a little market were next. Bolivia’s prices are by far better than Peru’s- too bad we don’t have much space remaining in the luggage.

My love affair with chocolate and coca continues…

Before we went out to the Salt Flat, we returned to the hotel, changed clothes, and had a 3-course lunch that was included in the tour price. The price was $150 USD pp, which is a lot, considering that a shared tour would’ve been $ 45 pp, but at least we are on our own schedule and not starving all day.

At 2 pm, the tour resumed, and this time we went straight to the Salar. I am glad our driver remembered props for the perspective photos, because these pictures were definitely high on my to-do list.

First, we stopped by the “Salt eyes” (ojos de agua, or “eyes of water”) in Bolivia, which are bubbling underground springs that naturally occur in the Salar de Uyuni. Then we took the funny perspective photos. I had some ideas from seeing them online; the rest was our guide, who did all the photography and the funny videos.

We had a lot of fun doing this, and most of them were good from the first take! I think the secret is the extremely flat, white surface (plus the photographer, who is used to doing these shots every day).

There were a couple of typical tour spots that we were not able to visit- one was the island with the cacti. Unfortunately, due to the recent snow, there was too much water to drive there. We also decided not to go see the sculptures, because we still had to get to the Dakar sign, Flags of Uyuni, and Hotel Palacio de Sal– the first salt hotel in the world.

And finally, my favorite part of the day was the sunset in the Salt Flat. We found a spot with enough water on the salt’s surface to take reflection photos, and we waited for the sun to set.

The driver and our guide set up a table with snacks and Bolivian wine (which I shared with them both); we had a full moon rising behind us and the sun setting in front of us. All the while reflecting off the thin layer of water.

It is indescribable how peaceful and beautiful this sunset was. Our guide kept saying how lucky we are to be able to see both the dry and wet parts of Salar. He said tourists (especially from Japan) flock to the Salt Flat in January- the rainy season- when they get the chance to catch the reflections like this. But they often deal with cloudy, rainy skies, which we did not have. It was truly magical.

It also reaffirmed that we lucked out by not doing the shared group tour. We would not have had this peaceful moment if we had been with the group.

La Paz Heights and Cholita Fights

After two nights in Uyuni, we flew back to La Paz to explore this interesting city, the administrative capital of Bolivia (Sucre is the national capital). This time we stayed in a different area, not in the valley as before, because by now we are more or less adjusted to the altitude. Sean insisted that he never fully adjusted, which might be true- we didn’t sleep well the entire trip, which is one of the effects of high altitude.

Stannum Boutique Hotel and Spa

Located in Sopocachi/downtown area, this hotel was very nice but had a few pet peeves. We arrived at 11am, and check-in was at 2pm. We booked a Junior Suite- one of the most expensive rooms with a jacuzzi. Having woken up early for the flight, we hoped the room would be ready, and it was! However, we were told we needed to pay a $30 USD early check-in fee! I’ve heard about late check-out costing money, but to pay for early check-in, when the room is ALREADY ready, nobody needs to rush to clean it- that was a bit annoying. Of course we paid, since we wanted to shower and explore the city, but I feel like that was completely unnecessary.

That was not all. Once we entered the room, we saw the signs about their policies. A LIST of prices for damage to their white linens! 10-30 USD for the towel ‘damage’. What constitutes damage? If makeup gets on the towel, does that mean the towel is no longer good? Staying in a Junior Suite and paying around $300 a night, I did not use a facecloth for fear of ‘damage’.

They also give a drink ticket for their bar, which, we came to find out, isn’t a free drink but a buy-one-get-one with a discount. But these little annoying things aside, we liked the room and really enjoyed that jacuzzi after a long day of sightseeing. The front desk woman was also helpful with booking the tickets for ‘Lucha Libre’ or ‘Cholita Flight’, so I would not discourage staying here; just be aware of the odd upcharges.

La Paz Heights

La Paz and nearby El Alto (where you fly into to reach La Paz) sit at an altitude of 10,170 ft to 13,450 ft (3,100 m to 4,100 m), and to get around, there is an amazing aerial cable car system called Mi Teleferico! Think subway or train, but above the ground. There are multiple lines; it’s cheap, convenient, you avoid the traffic, and the best part- the views are spectacular!

We used Mi Teleferico all day to get around the city, and we also went to El Alto. It was incredibly easy and efficient.

Since we didn’t have that much time in La Paz, we dropped off our luggage and started with Calle Jean. Cute little street with colonial-style buildings and little souvenir shops.

We didn’t plan to visit the National Museum of Ethnography, but somehow stumbled upon it and ended up loving it!

There was a room full of ceremonial masks, one scarier than the next (but still very cool to see).

Plaza Murillo was ok, but not that impressive, and the Cathedral was closed, so we were not able to visit.

What we REALLY enjoyed was the Museum and Basilica of St. Francis. The unfortunate thing was that you needed a guide to explore the grounds (as it is an active convent), and photos were not allowed in many places, including the very impressive church.

The guide part was kind of funny. He spoke only Spanish, and it was quite absurd- he was explaining EVERY painting on EVERY wall, in the most ridiculous way- ‘here is Jesus, surrounded by the angels, ‘ etc. We did not have all day to spend here, but really wanted to see the tower (which was the LAST part of the tour). So we asked him to make it faster, which ended up with him speed-talking about every object, and I completely gave up translating to Sean, who does not know Spanish.

Finally, we walked up to the tower, enjoyed the views, and our tour ended. I would recommend visiting, but allow for some extra ‘guided’ time.

Mercado de las Brujas (Witches’ Market) is another popular destination in La Paz, so we stopped by briefly. Apart from the regular vendor stalls and cute boutiques, there are some ‘witchy’ vendors selling dried animal corpses, herbs, and other paraphernalia for which we had no idea what they were used for, but I did ask about dried baby alpacas.

The woman explained that they are used for ‘offerings’ to Pachamama (Mother Earth). She gave an example of building a new house and praying for good luck, etc. Also, the animals are not killed (according to the same woman), but have died of natural causes (which made us feel better).

There are a lot of cute regular stores, and the prices were so much better than in Peru; we almost considered buying extra luggage.

Cholita’s Fight (Lucha Libre)

I’ve heard about this activity when researching things to do in La Paz, and when I told Sean, he was immediately interested. We are not much into wrestling (I have never been to a wrestling match, until now that is!). Cholitas are indigenous women in Bolivia who perform intense, theatrical Lucha Libre wrestling matches. There are a few places in La Paz and El Alto where these matches take place, and according to my research, they usually happen on Thursday and Sunday evenings. Luck would have it that our last evening in Bolivia is on a Thursday, so we asked the hotel to help us book tickets. I’ve heard that in El Alto they are more entertaining, so the hotel called someone and put our name on the list. They are not expensive; if I remember correctly, it was around $12 USD.

We took the Mi Teleferico cable car to El Alto and, after a bit of walking, found the place. Sure enough, our names were on the list, and we took our seats a few rows from the ring. There were a lot of ‘warm-up’ shows; the guys fought first. You could see the good vs. evil theme, and, of course, the good one won each time!

And then came cholitas! Of various ages, dressed in very large dresses, they fought each other and the men! The grand finale was one of the cholitas jumping off the balcony into the ring. The two-hour spectacle was loud and fun. Honestly, I doubt I would have so much fun if it were regular men’s wrestling, but this was great entertainment, which is clearly geared for the tourists- there were very few people who looked local. Touristy as it is, we had a lot of fun, and I would recommend this if you are in La Paz on the day that Lucha Libre is happening.

La Paz Eats

I have nothing but positive things to say about food in La Paz. And the prices were something we hadn’t encountered in a very long time, and definitely not in many countries. Popular Cocina Boliviana served an exquisite 3-course lunch for $7.50 USD per person. We had to do the conversion a few times because we could not believe it was real.

Dinner at Manq’a Restaurante was just as delicious and again cost us only $18 USD, including a 20% tip, which was not expected or required.

On our last morning in La Paz, we walked around the Sopocachi neighborhood and did a little shopping, but also tried delicious traditional Bolivian food – salteña and ended with a sweet treat at Biofilia Cafe.

Initially, our flight was direct from La Paz to Lima, but BOA Airlines discontinued the route and rerouted us via Santa Cruz. It didn’t disrupt our plans too much, but we lost a few hours in La Paz. Probably better for our waistlines and our wallets, because I wanted to buy everything!

CONCLUSION

We loved Bolivia. So much so that I might dare to say we liked it a bit more than Peru. Of course, we only explored La Paz and Uyuni, but we felt that people were very warm and friendly, the sights were incredible, and the prices were unmatched. If it were not for the altitude, I would happily return to explore more of it, but Sean is not ready to deal with altitude any time soon, and frankly, neither am I. It was an excellent idea on my part to combine Peru and Bolivia, which allowed us to enjoy it much more than if we had come here straight from Boston. I know that this country is often under political unrest, but when it is stable, it’s a wonderful place to visit.