All year round
All year round
Situated at an altitude of over 17 000 ft, the Tunupa volcano overlooks mythical Salar de Uyuni . Those who are fond of sports will enjoy going up it, but mind, it is a steep climb!
After spending the night in a small hotel near Salar de Uyuni , we get up at dawn for our trek on the Tunupa volcano. Our guide, Carlos, has warned us: the climb is not easy and we will be subject to sarroche, mountain sickness. Thoughtful, I have brought some coca leaves with me.
We start the ascension by 4x4 in order to spare ourselves a few extra hours of walking. When we arrive at an altitude of 12 400 ft, we leave the vehicle to start our hike, nearly 7 h walk, there and back.
As the climb progresses, Salar de Uyuni reveals itself and the little bushes typical of the region become more scarce. We see a few vicuna who do not seem to suffer in the least from mountain sickness. For us, it is a different case altogether: our head starts to spin and we get more and more out of breath.
After three good hours of walking, victory! We reach the Tunupa volcano panoramic viewpoint situated at an altitude of over 15 000 ft. We set up a small open-air makeshift camp and regain our composure. Now, "all we have to do" is go back down!