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National park in Bolivia
Photo: JYB Devot, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
From the travel guide. Select a place for details, a map and what is nearby.
Laguna Sora Pata offers this rare and protected species of ducks with their surprisingly large nests on the lagoon. Quite picturesque with the snow covered large mountain in the back. If you follow the trek further northeast, shortly after the end of the lagoon you can regularly see large amounts of viscachas.
Huanakota
A great place to see birds like the Andean avocet, the Andean lapwing, the horned coot, the ruddy duck, the cattle egret, the Puna teal, or the yellow-billed pintail.
Nice and calm waters with lamas feeding in front of the picturesque mountain ranges. Great for some shots with the camera.
Surprisingly versatile with hot pools, geysers and mud pools. It also has some little and free and natural pools you can soak in—just select a place in the river that has reasonably much space and is hot enough. But also, check out you map app to find them. The very first pool is already great for a dip. (Control the heat of pool with rock near small waterfall, which blocks the water to the geyser. You can help making the pool bigger & deeper, namely where the water is calm and the hot geysers are. Maybe even bring a shovel, but do not tell the locals about this secret place, or it will be gone soon. Allow for enough cool water to flow by outside of the pool. And watch out, the soil can be very hot.)
Quite expensive, considering the hot spring along the Salar de Uyuni tour is just Bs. 6. There are other (private) hot springs nearby, try this hot spring or this one. From the latter a trail north leads to two more hot springs, which might be for free.
A little cheaper and free if the lady is not there. So, go early or late (coming from the Tres Lagunas Trail), or just be lucky (e.g. in off-season).
The plains and rolling hills of the Sajama National Park are great if you just wanted to hike and relax or meditate without an actual destination. Just pick a direction and hike for hours, exploring the amazing surroundings or any hill that looks like it would provide a proper view. This can also be a great way of getting into and out of Sajama from the highway.
This is the little hill right east of Sajama village. You can see the trail clearly, which goes straight up the hill. But only do it if you are not going to do Mt. Huisalla right next to it north, which has much better views.
Wisalla
This medium-difficult peak provides amazing views of Nevado Sajama, Sajama village and the surrounding plains. Due to the high altitude it can be a day trek, the higher you get, the harder it will become to progress. Take your time! There is a trail that goes almost straight up from the village, or you choose the longer one that circles the mountain to the east and then offers a less exhausting final trek at the end.
The trail takes 8-12 hr, but add 1-2 hr for the geysers, hot pools and local fauna. Highlights are the many animals along the way, especially near and around the three lagoons: Casiri Macho, Sora Pata and Chiar Kkota. Many people do it in 1 day, but 2 days is possible if you have a proper tent and warm sleeping bag. There are marked camp sites along the trail, but generally many opportunities exist. The trail can easily be done without guide, but it is better go in a group if you are not a regular hiker. The trail actually enters Chilean territory, but only for about 3-5 km, after which you will return to Bolivia. If you stay on the trail and do not enter further into Chile, this is not an issue. The trail is well visible most of the time, but you should bring GPS and a proper map to take the right turns and trails.
In case you are taking your time with the Tres Lagunas Trail and camp overnight, you might in addition consider this interesting and exciting side-tour with magnificent views of the Lagunas, into the Sajama valley as well as Nevado Sajama itself. Allow for an extra day and night to conquer this mountain, but camping near the Laguna Chiar Kkota is very picturesque and convenient at the same time. In winter, the trail can be impassible.
Campo Alto
If you want to hit the height but without a guide, try hiking up to the base camp of Nevado Sajama. In winter, the trail might be impassable with regular boots due to snow and ice, but in summer it is definitely possible. Again, take you time and start the descend early enough—it gets dark at 18:00.
Volcán Parinacota
A day hike with guide that starts at 01:30 at night, so you reach the top right before sunset. Transport via 4WD is necessary and provided with a tour. There is actually trails from both the Chilean and Bolivian side, so you might meet some people heading up from the Chilean side to the top of this peak separated by the border.
Volcán Pomerape
Even though lower, this one is more difficult than Parinacota.
A volcano whose peak is the highest point in Bolivia and guided 2-3 day mountain climb with overnighting at the Campo Alto at 5,680 m.
They have mud style houses which are quite comfortable on the inside. The doors do not protect much against the cold, but the blankets are thick. Operated by a nice Bolivian couple, Carmen and Francisco. It gets more and more popular (especially with French), so you might want to call ahead in high season. Also, the offer proper dinner for Bs. 20, and breakfast for Bs. 10-15. Francisco is also a mountain guide offering tours and equipment, but compare prices (!), some travellers were shocked when they learnt about the price.
From Tambo Quemado
Tambo Quemado is the Bolivian border town to Chile. Many vans from either Oruro or Patacamaya will call at the Tambo Quemado "Bus Station". Or you might arrive from Chile here.
From Oruro
Even though less emphasis is put onto coming in from Oruro here, it might actually be the more convenient place to head from towards Sajama, since it is a large and central city.
From Patacamaya
Like Oruro, also Patacamaya is on the main route between La Paz and all other southern and south-eastern cities.
From La Paz
From the south
Likewise, if you do not choose the Oruro option, any bus from the south(east) going towards La Paz can drop you at Patacamaya.
From Arica
Sajama is conveniently located at the gateway from Arica into Bolivia.
By taxi
Hiring a taxi (even though no official ones exist, just locals with car) is convenient if you are short on time or fitness, or the place is really far away, like Tambo Quemado.
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