Airstream Deluxe Campers, Uyuni

Route

As an alternative to, or alongside, staying in a salt hotel, a trip in a luxury camper is the perfect way to experience Bolivia's Uyuni Salt Flats. You’ll have the freedom to explore at your own pace, getting away from the tour groups to treat yourself to private views of its endless white pentagons of crystalline salt. You’ll stop off at the surface fossils of Isla Pescado, marvel at the giant cacti of Inkawasi and visit the Alcaya Ruins, an ancient city whose necropolis has been immaculately preserved by the region’s salinity and low temperatures. Along the way, you’ll watch as this otherworldly landscape comes to life with flamingos, llamas and alpacas. But this is also an opportunity to go off the beaten track. Head further into the altiplano to Eduardo Avaroa National Park where volcanoes and snow-capped peaks frame open planes, lazy rivers and a collection of unique geographical features. There’s Laguna Colorada, whose naturally red waters are a mirror of its three species of flamingos and the Sol de Mañana Geysers, a geothermal field that features everything from steaming fumaroles to giant volcanic craters. Here, you’ll watch as spouts erupt in columns of up to 100 metres high and crater bottoms cradle bubbling lava. Lastly, you’ll explore Laguna Verde; watched over by the 5,865 metres high volcano, it’s an emerald green lake, coloured by high levels of magnesium. It truly is an alien landscape.

Accommodation

These Airstream campers have been specifically designed to bring a sense of luxury to this inhospitable environment. Four-wheel drive jeeps pull cutting-edge campervans, each featuring a double or two twin beds, a convertible sofa, iPod port and a spacious living area. For the cold nights, warm up with a hot shower or make use of the electric blanket and inbuilt heating. In the day, you’ll be accompanied by a private guide who’ll be able to keep you on track and informed on the region’s geology while a satellite phone guarantees contact with the on-hand operations site. As an optional extra, enjoy a chef-prepared gourmet meal on the salt lake or a sunset cocktail and hors d’oeuvre selection before a star gazing expedition in the company of your host.