In January 2015 we spent a month backpacking staying in hostels or guesthouses, with a couple of nights in a tent while in Torres del Paine. We could easily have stayed for six months so our month trip was rather intense with no more than a couple of days in each location, and most plans made in real-time or booking 24 hours a head. We had a loose planned itinerary based around a few ‘must-do’s’ and save for a few travel hiccups it all fell into place.
Cuzco and Macchu Picchu lived up their expectation but the surprise of the trip was Bolivia – from the lowlands of the amazonian jungle to the the breathless madness of La Paz, the stunning Salar de Uyuni salt flats to the breathtaking high-altitude lakes and altiplano desert in the south-west, it was such a delightfully mesmerising country.
Patagonia warrants another trip. Torres del Paine was a known entity but the highlight for us was Fitroy. Heading to El Chalten, which is a welcome world away from the busy El Calafate, you are treated to the an unmistakable skyline of the Fitzoy massif.
See Flickr photo album here
Here’s a quick synopsis of our route:
- Fly London – Madrid – Lima (Peru)
- Flight Lima – Cuzco
- Cuzco – Macchu Picchu – Cuzco
- Overland Cuzco – Puno, (Lake Titicaca) Bolivia
- Puno – La Paz
- Flight from to Rurrenabaque in Amazon jungle
- Boat up to jungle lodge
- Flight back to La Paz
- Overnight bus to Uyuni
- 4-day ‘safari’ tour of Salar de Uyuni salt flats and Eduardo Avaroa national park bordering Chile – stunning!
- Local bus Uyuni to the mining town of Potosi
- Potosi to Sucre.
- Sucre to Santa Cruz
- Flight Santa Crux to El Calafate (Patagonia)
- Minibus to El Chalten for hiking around Fitzroy – breathtaking!
- Bus back to El Calafate
- Boat to Upsala Glacier for kayaking amongst the icebergs
- Coach El Calafate into Chile and Torres de Paine
- Hike/camp up to the famous towers
- Back to El Calafate and flight to Buenos Aires
- Flight Buenos Aires to London