Bolivia: Exploring the South Lipez by Self-Drive (page 8 of 21)

Hi Carmen. Absolutely stunning and fascinating. I’m really impressed by the quality of the tires on your 4x4. Great point for the rental company. Bernard.

Hi Bernard,

Fascinating and magnificent. I’m really impressed by the quality of the tires on your 4x4. A big plus for the rental company. Bernard.

Yes, they put good tires on the cars. When we arrived, a new car was parked in front of the agency. Alejandra explained that they changed the tires before putting it up for rent. They remove the original tires and replace them with more rugged ones. The cars seem very well maintained, but as always, you can never rule out a breakdown or a flat tire.

Carmen

Hi Christine,

I just wanted to mention that not far from San Pedro de Atacama, you can "fairly easily" climb the Cerro Toco volcano (5,604 m).

From the summit, you get a view of Licancabur and the Bolivian lagoons, among other things. 🙂

Indeed, Cerro Toco is one of the mountains you can climb fairly easily—there’s not much elevation gain or distance to cover. It’s like Uturuncu; the real challenge is the altitude, not everyone handles it well. Tunupa is lower, but there’s more elevation gain (+1,000 m).

We hesitated to climb Licancabur, but we would’ve needed to find a good guide and had an extra day. In short, you have to make choices.

Carmen

12.10. « Rocks » – Laguna Hedionda, Hotel Los Flamencos

We wake up with the sun. The night was much colder than on the Salar. With condensation on the windows, the water droplets were slightly frozen. We take advantage of the sunrise to go for a walk among the rocks. The sun quickly warms up the atmosphere.

























During our walk, Benoît tells me: « Luckily, there aren’t any monkeys like in Africa. » Indeed, we left our cardboard box with the food outside the car, and breakfast is more or less ready on a "table" made of stone. When we return from our little stroll, surprise—one of the bananas is half-eaten. We quickly spot the culprit: a viscacha watching us from a rock.

We decide to give it the rest of the banana. It doesn’t seem to bother our little friend at all.











The rest is here: https://voyageforum.com/v.f?post=9912820;a=9912820

For all you poor souls who complain about not being able to photograph viscachas properly, you know what you’ve got to do!! And without realizing it, of course 😛...

We hit the road at 8:30 AM and head to Anaconda Canyon. The place isn’t worth a detour, but since we’re passing by, why not stop?

Anaconda Canyon

Landscapes along the way

Small, shallow ford

Next stop, Valle de las Rocas. We take several tracks winding between the rocks. The place is pretty, but the rocks aren’t as impressive as at the site where we slept. Shortly after, we stop at Laguna Turquiri. This lagoon seems to be less visited by tour operators. Since yesterday, we’ve had the sites all to ourselves—it’s perfect.

Valle de las Rocas

Laguna Turquiri



The rest is here: https://voyageforum.com/v.f?post=9912827;a=9912827

For all you unlucky folks who can’t seem to photograph viscachas properly, you know what you’ve got to do!! And without your full consent, of course 😛...

The verdict is clear: The viscacha (male or female?) is a thief....

Instead of taking the trail everyone uses to get to Laguna Hedionda, we decide to head into the mountains toward Laguna Chulluncani. On the other side, Cerro Caquella is stunning with its orange hue. A little snack by the lagoon, which sits at 4,400 meters above sea level. This lagoon, with its beautiful color and pink flamingos, is a fantastic discovery.















On the way back, we go around the lagoon to the left, thinking we’ll meet up with the trail on the other side. But after a few kilometers, we realize we’re not on the right track at all. Maps.me suggests a trail that cuts through and seems like a good shortcut. However, after a few kilometers, the trail becomes very rough with big rocks. We move forward very slowly—we don’t want to get a flat tire.

The view of Laguna Chulluncani from the other side.

The rest is here: https://voyageforum.com/v.f?post=9912838;a=9912838

These landscapes are truly stunning, and being there alone must be even more magical! 😎 But to have the chance to admire them... two nights in a row in the car... I’ve got to prepare myself 😏

Along the way, we see a mine, a truck is stopped, and two men are right next to it. They’re in the middle of nowhere—it’s pretty incredible. The track gently descends toward Laguna Hedionda, and the landscape is stunning. The whole journey is just one "oh," "ah," "wow" after another. We’re so glad we took this route.

Distant view of Laguna Hedionda



Laguna Hedionda is really pretty with its hundreds of pink flamingos. We head straight to Hotel Los Flamencos to ask about a room. The woman tells us there’s only one left—the family suite for $240. That’s expensive, *very* expensive. We try to negotiate, saying we’re only two people, won’t use both single beds, and will only be two for breakfast. No luck—the manager won’t budge.

After two nights in the car and knowing we have little chance of finding a place with a shower for the next night (or even the one after), we decide to take the room at that price. The woman tells us to come back at 5:00 PM—the room isn’t cleaned yet, and we can’t have it before then. We push a bit and finally get it for 4:00 PM. We’d like to use the restroom, so we have to use the ones for passing tourists, located in a small building outside the hotel. No problem—until the young man asks us to pay. I see red. Even with our room reservation, we still have to pay. The amount is small, sure, but when you’re already paying $240 for a room, this feels dishonest.

We go for a walk by the lagoon and take lots of photos. Here, the flamingos are much pinker than the ones we saw in Namibia. Just before 4:00 PM, we return to the hotel and check out our room. Yes—before paying, I asked to see it. The request seems to surprise the manager, but we want to be sure we’re getting a nice room for that price.























The room isn’t bad, and the view of Laguna Hedionda is gorgeous. Plus, it’s nice and warm—the radiator is scorching. That said, don’t look too closely at the details. Some finishes are lacking, and a few things should be fixed, like the electrical outlets and the faucets. In short, the value for money just isn’t there.

Dinner is delicious, and the service is attentive. Before heading back to the room, we have tea in the lounge. It’s lovely, with bright colors and a fireplace.









The rest of the story is here: https://voyageforum.com/v.f?post=9915609;a=9915609

These landscapes are truly stunning, and being there alone must be even more magical! 😎 But to have the chance to admire these landscapes... two consecutive nights in the car... I need to prepare myself 😏

I totally agree, this little corner of the earth is truly extraordinary...

For my information and to reassure Isabelle (who’s being shy because we’ve all seen she’s now an aficionado of “sleeping in the car”), is it possible to book at the “guesthouses” where the different tour operators put us up, or do they monopolize all the available accommodations?

For all you poor souls who complain about not being able to photograph viscachas properly, you know what you’ve got to do!! And without realizing it, of course 😛...

The verdict is clear: The (male or female?) viscacha is a thief....

According to Wikipedia, it’s the viscacha.😉

For all you poor souls who complain about not being able to photograph viscachas properly, you know what you’ve got to do!! And without realizing it, of course 😛...

Yep, you’ve gotta know how to go about it...😛

These landscapes are truly stunning, and being there alone must be even more magical! 😎 But to have the chance to admire these landscapes... two consecutive nights in the car... I need to prepare 😏

You’ve got time to prepare, and I see you’ve already started during your last vacation.😎

who’s playing shy because we’ve all seen she’s now an aficionado of « sleep in car ») , is it possible to book at the « guesthouses » where the different tour operators put us up or do they monopolize all the available accommodations?

Besides, I’m not playing shy, I’m just getting mentally prepared...😛 $240 for a shower—isn’t that a bit steep?

Just to confirm for my info and reassure Isabelle (who’s playing shy because we’ve all seen she’s now an aficionado of “sleeping in the car”), is it possible to book at the “guesthouses” where the different tour operators put us up, or do they snap up all the available lodging?

Apart from Los Flamingos and our next stop, we’ve never had trouble finding a place to stay. That said, it’s tough to book rooms in advance—small guesthouses don’t have websites.

Depending on the area, you simply won’t find anywhere to stay because there’s nothing there. In short, either you adjust your itinerary based on lodging, or you end up sleeping in the car for a few nights. But I already know what you’re gonna do...[;]

who’s being shy because we’ve all seen she’s now an aficionado of the “sleep in car” thing), is it possible to book at the "guesthouses" where the different tour operators put us up, or do they monopolize all the available lodging?

Besides, I’m not being shy—I’m just getting mentally prepared...😛 $240 for a shower—isn’t that a bit steep?

The room has an amazing view of the pink flamingos!!! When you see how many there are in the photo, there must be 240 of them, right? At 1 € per flamingo, the pill might go down a little easier 🤪! Anyway, Los Flamencos is a recurring hotel in almost all travel journals and always sparks debate! It’s the luxury of having a monopoly on the road to Laguna Colorada... 😕

Besides, I’m not being shy—just psyching myself up...😛 $240 for a shower? That’s pretty steep, isn’t it?

Yeah, but 4 nights in a row without a shower... Anyway, after a little hesitation, we decided to pay that outrageous price. But if we had to do it again, I’m not sure I’d make the same call. Turns out, you don’t sweat much in this high-altitude desert, and the cold takes care of the rest.😛

The room has an amazing view of the pink flamingos!!! When you see how many there are in the photo, there must be around 240, right? At 1 € per flamingo, it might make the pill a little easier to swallow 🤪!

Looks like it...😄

Anyway, Los Flamencos is a recurring hotel in almost all travel journals, and it sparks debate! It’s the luxury of having a monopoly on the road to Laguna Colorada... 😕

Yeah, there’s no other option in the area. But if we had to do it again, I think we’d sleep in the car.

Just to set Isabelle’s mind at ease (she’s playing shy because we’ve all seen she’s now an aficionado of the “sleep in car” method), is it possible to book at the guesthouses where the different tour operators put us up, or do they snap up all the available lodging?

Apart from Los Flamingos and our next stop, we’ve never had trouble finding a place to stay. That said, it’s tough to book rooms in advance—small guesthouses don’t have websites.

Depending on the area, you simply won’t find anywhere to stay because there’s nothing available. So, either you adjust your route based on lodging, or you end up sleeping in the car for a few nights. But I already know what you’re gonna do...[;)

At 1 € for a flamande beer, it’s worth discussing... 😲 The last time I paid 240 € for a night was... well, I’ve never paid that in my life as a traveler... No judgment, everyone does their own thing...

Adjusting the route creates constraints. And the whole point of a self-drive trip is to avoid those... So, if there’s hot coffee and Isabelle survived it (and trust me, in Grenoble, they’re a bit *particular* 😄), the question might just come up...