Mercury Holidays 2021-2023 Brochure

Tour highlights ✔ Fascinating city tours of Santiago, La Paz, Cusco and Lima ✔ Tour the ancient Inca city of Machu Picchu ✔ Watch the sun set from Valle de la Luna in San Pedro de Atacama ✔ Witness Tatio Geysers in the breath-taking Atacama Desert ✔ Experience the hot springs and flamingo-filled lagoons at the awe-inspiring Bolivian Salt Flats - Salar de Uyuni ✔ Cruise along Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world ✔ Explore the ancient fortresses and temples of Cusco ✔ Enjoy an overnight stay in a hotel built entirely of salt Chile, Bolivia and Peru Atacama Desert This unique tour is truly an Andean adventure. Travelling from the Chilean city of Santiago, through breath- taking Bolivia, it concludes with the magnificent Machu Picchu — one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. Day 1: UK to Santiago Depart the UK on your scheduled, overnight flight to Santiago in Chile, via São Paulo, Brazil. Day 2: Santiago On arrival, you will be met and transferred to your hotel. Enjoy the rest of today at leisure. Day 3: Santiago B Following breakfast, embark on a half-day city tour, visiting the main attractions of this charming capital city. Beginning at the Government Palace, you will then continue to the main square ‘Plaza de Armas’, known as the heart and soul of Santiago and the centrepiece of the city’s grid pattern layout. Next stroll around Santa Lucia Hill, then finish with visits to the exclusive residential neighbourhoods of Vitacura and Las Condes. Day 4: Santiago to San Pedro de Atacama B This morning, board your flight to Calama, a city in northern Chile’s Atacama Desert. Considered to be the archaeological capital of Chile as well as the centre of Atacama culture, San Pedro’s people once roamed this vast expanse of desert which is thought to be the driest place on Earth. Day 5: San Pedro de Atacama B An early start takes you to the Tatio Geysers, situated on the highest geothermal field, some 4,300 metres above sea level in the Andean mountain range. Ringed by volcanoes, over 80 gurgling geysers shoot steam fumaroles reaching 50 metres in height of multiple vibrant colours; a dazzling spectacle to behold. Admire the varied fauna, such as the vicuña, the smallest of the six species of camelid. In the late afternoon, travel to Valle de la Luna to watch the sunset. Day 6: San Pedro de Atacama to Ojo de Perdiz B/L/D After breakfast and an early pickup, you will begin your journey to the Bolivian Salt Flats via 4x4 Jeeps to experience a full-day tour. The first stop will be at the emerald Green Lagoon in the Eduardo Avaroa Reserve. Then continue to the hot springs of Polques where you will have the chance to bathe before carrying on to the geysers of Sol de Mañana to marvel at the pools of boiling mud emitting pressurised steam. Day 7: Ojo de Perdiz to Uyuni Salt Flats B/L/D After breakfast, continue to a chain of beautiful lagoons home to three different kinds of flamingo whose pink feet and feathers are a result of the active red algae which reacts with the sun’s radiation. Lunch will be served on the shores of the lagoon before continuing your journey across the salt flats onto your unique accommodation for the night – a hotel built entirely of salt blocks! 15 days from £3,649 < Lima Cusco Machu Picchu La Paz Desaguadero Uyuni Salt Flats Ojo de Perdiz Calama San Pedro de Atacama Puno Raqchi Ruins • • • • Peru Bolivia Chile < Santiago Coach Air Boat Rail        Visit our website or call for full prices and departure dates 188 Latin America