tunupa volcano

I had a two-day hike with a guide from the village situated at the volcano base. We started from there in the morning and after a six-hour hike got to the camp at around 4300 meters.After about three hours, the slope gets somewhat steep, but there is a fair (albeit uneven) path all the way. Do not forget to bring some coca leaves with you. You can buy and consume them in their natural form in Bolivia absolutely legally, and they are NOT a narcotic drug. For any human being, including the locals, functioning at these altitudes is very difficult. Leaves give a tremendous boost of natural energy. It is like the slope had suddenly flattened and you were walking on even ground. Breathing and heart rate get back to normal. The head clears. Muscles become uncramped. We arrived at camp at around 4 p.m. My guide´s relatives came up ahead of us with two llamas loaded with tents and supplies and set the camp up. I had a double tent to myself, and there was a separate tent for meals with enough clearance to sit normally at the table. To rest, we had a cup of tea with some biscuits. While his wife cooked dinner, my guide showed me around the small plateau pointing to different exciting kinds of Andean vegetation. A subsequent nap was followed by a two-course dinner, which was really rather superfluous as I didn´t feel hungry, followed by tea. Darkness came and my guide started a fire. For about an hour we chatted about history and nature and then went to sleep. The night was starry and pretty cold, around -7C, but I borrowed a heavy blanket from the guide´s supplies which was sufficient to keep me warm. As sleep is inevitably fitful at this altitude, plus the air in the tent gets stale, I got up around 2 a.m. to let fresh air in and take a walk. It was full moon, and the volcano was bathed in an eerie illumination. Got up around six in the morning, had breakfast and set off on our trek. From around 4600 meters the climb becomes arduous as the slope gets fairly steep and its surface turns to stones and loose pebbles. Both are hard to navigate. Here is were the poles made a world of difference since they gave me a kind of a 4x4 traction. After about four hours we got to some 5300 meters. There remained a fair bit of climbing to the summit, but my legs started getting wobbly, and besides, we still had to get all the way back to the village.The views from this altitude are truly spectacular. It took us another four hours to descend. All in all, an experience that I can highly recommend.PS This climb took place in April 2013.

It will take you some 13 hours to climb to the top and return, but I would do it in two days the next time to have more time to enjoy the nature and views over the Salt Lake. You can get local guides at the village of Coqueza to take you up to over 5300 meters! If it is a bit too much for you, you also can go to the mirador and the Mummy caves which are a lot easier trips.

I've visited the base of the volcano 3 or 4 different times. It is remote! But boy is it beautiful there. Plenty of great photo ops and it's cool to capture the flamingos against the white desert. If your tour will take you here, I would jump on the opportunity.

You can drive/hike a ways up the side of the volcano. I walked a bit near the base and imagine the long, rough hike far up the slope at this altitude would require a certain minimum level of fitness.Coming from the center of the salar, just outside the village you can see the flamingos in a small lake. The village is picturesque, as are the quinoa fields. A guide can take you to see the ancient burial places and mummies, with a small "entrance" fee.

Tunupa is visible from wide areas of the salar, but you need to get close-up to see the interesting colours of the crater. Like many other travelers, we stayed in Tahua, - not too far from the Coquesa mummies, so witnessed dusk and dawn on the volcano. Sunset was the most interesting because of the colour shifts to red. The crater itself has numerous colours, but the last rays of sunlight gives the appearance of a mountain on fire!

Beautiful vulcano, rising above the big Saltflat. Beautiful colours. Small laguna with some flamingo's at the food of the mountain.. Some quiet villages around, with lovely, old adobe churches. Interesting visit to the Coquesa mummies. Nice view at the Salar. Recommended.

We paid the entrance fee for the mummies, although only my wife went to see it. The views are great but you dont need to drive all the way up the parking lot for the mummies, few meters up would do the work. Parking in fields down there with the llamas are more rewarding.

We stopped here as part of a tour for lunch. The village is very clean and traditional. It's cost us B$60 to visit but worth it. The scenery is mesmorising at the view point 400m up the hill. The mummies are freaky to look at!Enjoy!

I love the colors of this volcano. The friendly llamas, guanacos and birds, The old church. The crater of the volcano is out of this world.

We got here in the early morning when the sun just rose and shined over the tip of the mountain. It was breathtaking, with the tip of the mountain reflect against the sun creating the illumination of fire on top of the mountain.

The village of coqueza is by its base, I spent the nigth in this village and the next morning went to climb the volcano...but I went all the path on foot cause the tour operator dropped me at the hotel in coqueza and was to take me back to Salar only after 12:00 AM, so I had no car but even so I got to a great point with a view of all the salar.Going by car till the end of the road and then going on on foot is much better, less tiring and save a lot of time. Plan this with the tour operator.Uyuni Tours has a package including volcano Tunupa in the 2 days tour.Afternoon is the best time to take pictures, the sun will be behind and its ligth directly towards the Salar.

The only real reason people go to SW Bolivia is to see the Salar de Uyuni.If you are there anyway, this is a beautiful sight at various times of the day.Desolate and very distant from your everyday life, this is a real away from it all feeling.

Around the mountain the surface of the water is like mirror when I went there.

What a fantastic stop on the Salar De Uyuni 3-day tour. The view is spectacular with plenty of rock formations to take an interesting picture perspective!

Climbing the volcano takes about 7-8 hours (5h to go up and 3h to go down) but it's definitely worth it: once you're at the top, you have an absolutely wonderful view on the salar. You can also visit a cave with some old mummies in it, that's pretty impressive too!