Chile & Bolivia – The Circle
Chile & Bolivia
Across the
High Desert
From the Atacama into Bolivia: volcanoes, flamingo lagoons, empty roads and the immense white horizon of Uyuni.
Why the High Desert
Bolivia has been floating around in my imagination for years.
Some of that probably started with watching Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid more times than I can count. Bolivia got into my imagination long before I knew much about actually traveling there.
Later it became one of those places sitting firmly on my travel list. And for years, I’ve had a recurring dream in which I’m simply standing at the edge of a lagoon in Bolivia, looking out at a landscape that feels impossibly still and very far away.
Somewhere along the way, Bolivia slipped off the active list. Then I started thinking seriously about the Atacama, and it came right back. The more I looked at the high desert, the more I realized the journey I really want may be the crossing itself: beginning in northern Chile and continuing overland into Bolivia.
I’m drawn to landscapes that make me feel very small, and this part of the world seems almost unreasonable in its scale: volcanoes, salt, red earth, flamingos, high-altitude lagoons and enormous skies. I would want to walk and hike when it makes sense, but just as much I want the experience of moving through that landscape slowly enough to feel the distance.
Maybe the dream is just a dream. Or maybe I’ve been trying to get there for years.
The Crossing I’m Thinking About
Across the high desert, then back into the world.
I would begin gently in Chile, allowing time to acclimatize around San Pedro de Atacama, then continue overland into Bolivia. The point would not be to collect sights, but to experience the gradual crossing itself: higher, emptier and stranger until the landscape opens onto the Salar de Uyuni. After several remote days, I like the idea of finishing in La Paz, where the journey shifts back toward people, history and culture.
Chapter One
San Pedro de Atacama
Begin in northern Chile with enough time to acclimatize properly. I’d want the first days to be active but sensible: desert walks, strange rock formations, salt flats and sunsets, with a lodge that lets us shape the days around energy and altitude.
- Desert walks and lower-altitude explorations first
- Salt, volcanic landscapes and extraordinary evening light
- Time to settle into the altitude before pushing higher
Chapter Two
Into the Altiplano
Cross into Bolivia and let the road become the experience. The scenery here is the reason to go: high plains, volcanoes, flamingo-filled lagoons, mineral colors and long stretches where almost nothing interrupts the horizon.
- High-altitude lagoons and flamingos
- Volcanic viewpoints and empty desert roads
- Remote stops that feel genuinely removed from ordinary travel
Chapter Three
The Bolivian High Desert
I would want this portion to stay deliberately sparse. Fewer programmed experiences, more time moving through the landscape, stopping when something catches our attention and accepting that the remoteness is part of the appeal.
- Long drives through otherworldly terrain
- Short walks when altitude and conditions allow
- Simple moments that feel extraordinary because of where we are
Chapter Four
Salar de Uyuni
Finish with the landscape I keep coming back to: the enormous salt flat of Uyuni. I’d want enough time here for the place to change with the light, rather than arriving, taking the photograph and leaving.
- Crossing the salt flat itself
- Sunrise or sunset when conditions are right
- A final night that feels like the end of a genuine journey
Chapter Five
La Paz
After days of emptiness, I’d want the journey to end somewhere full of life. La Paz gives us that contrast: markets, neighborhoods, Andean culture and a very different sense of altitude.
- A return to people, food and city life after the remote crossing
- Time to explore the city without rushing
- Possibly Tiwanaku if it fits the rhythm of the final days
What I’d Want From This Crossing
Distance, altitude and a little bit of grit.
I would want this trip to feel adventurous without becoming an endurance contest. The physical challenge comes partly from altitude and remoteness, but also from accepting slower roads, simpler stretches and the fact that the landscape—not a packed schedule—is the main event.
Cross, don’t commute
The road between Chile and Bolivia should be part of the journey, not something to rush through between hotels.
Respect the altitude
Build up slowly, stay flexible and let our bodies determine how ambitious each day should be.
Keep it small
A small group makes remote travel more fluid, more personal and much easier to adapt as conditions change.
Let emptiness be enough
Not every day needs a headline experience. Sometimes the road, the light and the horizon are the experience.
I keep dreaming about standing at the edge of a lagoon in Bolivia.The image that keeps bringing me back.
A Few Things I’d Hope For
The moments I keep picturing.
The exact days should remain flexible, but there are a few experiences I already know I would want to chase.
A border in the middle of nowhere
The wonderfully odd moment when Chile ends, Bolivia begins and the landscape barely seems to notice.
Flamingos at altitude
Bright birds standing in mineral-colored lagoons with volcanoes behind them.
A walk in very thin air
Not necessarily far. Just enough to feel the altitude, the silence and the scale.
A road with nobody on it
Hours where the journey is simply desert, music, conversation and whatever appears over the next rise.
The first sight of Uyuni
That moment when the ground turns white and the horizon suddenly seems to disappear.
Sunset on the salt
Stay long enough for the light to change and for the place to become something more than its famous photograph.
Who Might Love This
Travelers who like a little remoteness with their beauty.
This would suit curious, reasonably active travelers who are comfortable with altitude, long road days and the occasional rough edge in exchange for extraordinary landscapes. You should enjoy being outside, be flexible when conditions change, and think that crossing a remote border by road sounds intriguing rather than inconvenient.
Where Things Stand
The route exists. My version of it is still taking shape.
I am not announcing dates, lodges or a final operating plan yet. I want the right season, the right local partners on both sides of the border and enough time to make the crossing feel adventurous without making it punishing. I also want to decide whether La Paz is simply the final landing place or whether we build in a little more time for its markets, neighborhoods and nearby history.
If Bolivia used to be on your list too — or if this just put it there — tell me. Interest is just that: interest. No deposit, no commitment and no obligation to travel.
Why I Keep Coming Back To It
I think Bolivia was there before the itinerary was.
First there was a movie I watched over and over. Then Bolivia became a place on my travel list. Then came the recurring dream: standing at the edge of a lagoon, looking out at a landscape I had never actually seen.
I don’t want to go simply to check off Uyuni, photograph a lagoon and move on. I want to travel through the high desert slowly enough that the crossing itself becomes part of the memory.
And somewhere along the way, I want to stand at the edge of one of those lagoons and see whether the real landscape feels anything like the one I’ve been carrying around in my head.
Curious Too?
Put the High Desert on your someday list.
If Bolivia has been sitting somewhere in the back of your mind too, or if the idea of crossing there from Atacama just put it on your list, add your name. I’ll keep you in the loop as this idea becomes more concrete.
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Expressing interest does not create a reservation, obligation or commitment to travel. The route, dates, accommodations, experiences and pricing shown or described here are exploratory and may change as the journey develops.