Custom Photo Tour: La Paz, Tiwanaku, Lake Titicaca, Andes & Amazon basin

SAMPLE PHOTOGRAPHIC TOUR: (8 days)     Tour Code: PHOT-AND-AMZ-8     RATING: easy

Photographic tours are generally custom trips that we design based on your needs. They may share similar locations as many of our varied trips, but they are specifically designed to be at the right place and the right time when the light is the best - usually early AM and late afternoon until sunset, or even later as the location and situation demands. This sample encompasses varios regions that offer fabulous photographic possibilities like La Paz, the canyons of Rio Abajo, Tiwanaku, lake Titicaca's islands and peninsula of Copacabana, the Cordillera Real of the Andes and ending in the Amazon basin. The possibilities are endless so if you are interested in something special I am sure we can accommodate your needs, just let us know. Be sure to bring lenses from very wide angle to extreme telephoto and twice as mch film as you think you may shoot!

Day 1:     La Paz - City Tour - La Paz
Arrival in Santa Cruz at 6:30 AM. One hour layover and continue to La Paz. Arrival in La Paz at 8:15 AM. Transfer in from the airport to Oberland Hotel in Mallasa. Rest of the morning is free to rest and relax. Lunch on your own (we suggest the restaurant at the hotel). At 2:00 PM we depart on a complete city tour of La Paz and the nearby outskirts for scenic views of this city. Dinner on your own. Hotel Oberland in La Paz.

Day 2:     La Paz - Rio Abajo - La Paz
After breakfast we depart in the morning and head south along the canyons that lead out of La Paz into the Rio Abajo region. This is an agricultural area that produces flowers, potatoes, corn, fruits and a host of other vegetables. Great photographic opportunities of people working the fields with stunning backgrounds. Mt. Illimani will be in the background as we travel through this region. Lunch en route. We return to the Hotel in the afternoon. Dinner on your own. Overnight at Hotel Oberland. (B,L)

Day 3:     La Paz - Tiwanaku - La Paz
After breakfast we depart at 8:00 AM to the ancient port city of Tiwanaku with a professional bi-lingual guide that will share insights as to the reason why this civilization vanished and its importance in the middle Andean region. Lunch en route. Afterwards we will return to La Paz and head to some of the Indian markets and the old quarter where you can get great photos of people doing their daily activities. The rest of the afternoon is free to visit La Paz at your own pace. Dinner on your own. Hotel Oberland in La Paz. (B,L)

Day 4:     La Paz - Puerto Perez, Lago Titicaca - Isla Cohani-La Paz
An early departure out of La Paz will ensure we have plenty of time to get to this island. The drive is about two hours from La Paz. This island has wonderful views of the Cordillera Real and the sapphire-blue waters of Lake Titicaca. Lunch en route. We will visit the local Aymara fishermen and see how they harvest the fish and the totora reeds as fodder for their animals. Return to La Paz in the late afternoon. Dinner on your own. Overnight at Hotel Gloria. (B,L)

Day 5:     La Paz - Copacabana - Yampupata - Isla del Sol - Copacabana
In the morning we will depart north towards the Peninsula de Copacabana. Our first stop will be the strait of Tiquina and then we'll continue to Copacababa - a quaint village on the shores of the big lake. Lunch in Copacabana. Afterwards we head north once again to the small fishing village of Yampupata. We will cross the straits in a rowboat to the Island of the Sun and visit some Inca ruins as well as the local fishermen of this famous island. In the late afternoon we return to Copacabana to our hotel. Dinner on your own. Hotel Rosario in Copacabana. (B,L)

Day 6:     Copacabana - Cordillera Real - La Paz
From Copacabana we head east towards the mountains we have been looking at these days. We will go to a village named Tuni Condoriri - a typical Andean village at the foot of the mountains. Lunch en route. Afterwards we head south through the back way of the Cordillera Real to the base of Mt. Huayna Potosi - one of Bolivia's highest and most beautiful peaks that rises close to 20,000 ft asl. We return to La Paz in the late afternoon. Dinner on your own. Hotel Gloria for the night. (B,L,D)

Day 7:      La Paz - Trinidad - Hacienda Villa El Carmen
We depart to the airport for the flight to Trinidad. Upon arrival in Trinidad we'll head into town for lunch. After a leisurely lunch we will head to Puerto Barador on the Mamore River. Here we board our motorized canoes and head into the Amazon basin via the Mamore River - one of Bolivias' most important river highways. Our trip to a typical working cattle ranch called Hacienda Villa El Carmen will take approximately three hours. Once we arrive at the hacienda we have the option of going for a short horseback ride into the savannas typical of this Beni region to see birds and animals. After dinner we will go for a crocodile hunt at night and hopefully catch one so you can see it up close. If we catch one we will return it to its home after some photos. Overnight at Hacienda Villa El Carmen. (B,L,D)

Day 8:     Hacienda Villa El Carmen - Trinidad - La Paz (or Santa Cruz.)
After a tropical breakfast we return to Trinidad and board our flight to La Paz (or of you prefer to Santa Cruz to continue your flight to the US in the early evening if you're on LAB or AA early the next morning. Either way we will provide shuttle service to the airport in time for you to catch your flight back home.