CANDELARIA AND UYUNI PACKAGE 7D/6N: CULTURE AND NATURE

DAY 1: JULIACA AIRPORT - PUNO.

Our team will be waiting for you at the airport or bus station to take you to your chosen hotel in Puno.

Free afternoon to enjoy the festivities.

DAY 2: UROS FLOATING ISLANDS - TAQUILE ISLAND.

Our team will pick you up from your hotel and transfer you to the port of Lake Titicaca, where you will board a speedboat to the Uros Floating Islands. The guide will explain the origin, construction, and the main activities of the locals.

Next, we’ll head to Taquile Island, where we’ll hike uphill to reach the town square. Along the way, you’ll see the locals who maintain their traditions and ancestral religious rituals. We’ll have lunch at a traditional island restaurant, where families will demonstrate their customs and traditions.

Finally, we’ll return to Puno. Once at the port, you’ll be transferred to your hotel. In the afternoon, you will have free time to enjoy the cultural activities of the Candelaria festival, including parades from different dance groups and band contests.

DAY 3: VIRGIN OF CANDLEMAS FESTIVAL.

This is a special day as you will take part in the biggest festivity in the Puno region, Peru’s folklore capital, celebrating its rich cultural diversity. The highlight of the festival is the celebration of the "Virgen de la Candelaria," the city’s patron saint, associated with the worship of the Earth and "Pachamama," symbolizing purity and fertility. Here, devotees and dancers unite in fervor and joy with incredible masks, exultant dances, and a huge crowd.

Our guide will pick you up from the hotel and take you to see the great parade and reverence for the Virgin of Candelaria, a UNESCO World Heritage.

DAY 4: PUNO - TIAHUANACO - LA PAZ - UYUNI.

At 6:15 a.m., our guide will pick you up from your hotel in Puno, and we will head to Chucuito, our first stop, to visit the "Inca Uyo" fertility temple and the main square of the small town.

We will then proceed to "Aramu Muru or Hayu Marca" to visit the interdimensional gate; we will also take a short walk to admire the stone forest and take photos.

At 10:15 a.m., we will reach Desaguadero (Peru-Bolivia border) for immigration checks at both countries’ immigration offices. After completing the paperwork, we will continue on to Tiahuanaco, arriving at 12:30 p.m. for lunch.

After lunch, we will take a guided tour of the most important sites at the Tiahuanaco Archaeological Complex, including: the Sun Gate, the Stone Museum, the Akapana Pyramids, the Semi-Underground Temple, Keri Cala, Putuni, Laka Kollu, and Wila Pukara (1h 45 min visit).

At 4:00 p.m. (Bolivian time), we will depart for La Paz, arriving around 6:00 p.m.

In the evening, you will travel from La Paz to Uyuni by sleeper bus.

DAY 5: UYUNI TOUR - BUS UYUNI - LA PAZ.

Upon arrival in Uyuni, our local operator will provide you with detailed information about the tour. You will then have time to have breakfast (on your own).

The Uyuni Salt Flat tour begins at 10:30 a.m., starting with a visit to the train cemetery, where you can explore an outdoor historical museum with locomotives that once brought life to the town of Uyuni.

We will continue the journey, enjoying landscapes that will amaze you all the way to Colchani, where the locals process salt. Here, you will see piles and salt blocks (small salt pyramids made by locals for drying and processing the salt).

After lunch (at the Salt Museum), we will have time to explore the island and take stunning 360-degree photos from the top.

We will end this beautiful tour with a lovely sunset before heading back to La Paz.

DAY 6: BUS LA PAZ - COPACABANA - PUNO.

After breakfast, you will board the bus to Puno. During the journey, you will cross the Tiquina Strait, with the bus on a ferry and passengers on a boat. We will arrive in Copacabana around 12:00 p.m., where you will change transportation and have time for lunch. Then, continue the route to the Kasani border (Peru-Bolivia immigration control), where you must present your ID or Passport for immigration checks in both countries.

After two and a half hours of travel from Kasani, we will arrive in Puno at 4:30 p.m.

DAY 7: PUNO - SILLUSTANI - JULIACA AIRPORT.

On this day, we’ll say our goodbyes, but not before taking a special tour to the Sillustani Chullpas. Our guide and transport will pick you up from your hotel, and we will head to the archaeological site. Once there, we will take a 30-minute uphill walk to the funerary towers.

At the top, our guide will explain the site’s history, and you will have the opportunity to see various pre-Inca and Inca ruins, along with stunning views of the Umayo Lagoon that surrounds the chullpas.

Finally, we’ll head to the Manco Cápac International Airport in Juliaca for your departure.