Eclipse City recommends you nothing we have not tried out ourselves. After our overwhelming TSE 2010 experience in the Argentine Patagonia, part of the Eclipse City team with 20 friends of Eclipse City dared their way north to the Andean highlands to experience stunning heights, impressive cultures, breathtaking landscapes and above all the overwhelming skies of the Atacama Desert.
Eclipse City wants to share with you this indescribable feeling of having nothing around you but the dark of the night and a clear sight to the millions of stars out there!

If you are coming with us to Peru and Bolivia (Inca Experiences 1 and 2) take your chance and visit with us in just  one more week the incredible landscapes around the saltlake of Uyuni, the vastness and clear skies of the Atacama Desert and ESO's Very Large Telescope.

Shortcuts:

• Itinerary
• Dates
• Terms & Conditions and price

We offer the following dates for the extension Astronomy Today

• 2nd - 9th July 2011:
  From La Paz to Santiago de Chile including the visit of the Uyuni Saltlake, San Pedro de Atacama and Cerro Paranal with the Very Large Telescope

• 28th September - 5th October 2011:
  From La Paz to Santiago de Chile including the visit of the Uyuni Saltlake, San Pedro de Atacama and Cerro Paranal with the Very Large Telescope

Itinerary of Astronomy Today

Day 14: La Paz/Oruro/Uyuni
In the morning we go by bus to Oruro to have lunch there in a typical restaurant. In the afternoon we continue by train to Uyuni where we will sleep in a Salt hotel. These are constructed out of salt blocks but dispose of all amenities needed.

Overnight Salt Hotel Uyuni
Meals included: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner

Day 15: Uyuni
After breakfast we will start exploring the vastness of the biggest salt lake in the world with its hidden and most interesting secrets.
In the traditional town of Colchani you will learn how the local people process salt with iodine with the old methods.
Isla Incawasi is the largest island at Uyuni salt lake. This island has the shape of a fish. Nature has bestowed a singular flora there: Among other plants the island is covered by “Cardones” the big type of cactus that grows in the Andes. Every year they grow 2-4 cm but can reach height up to 12m during their lifetime.
After sunset we will go out on the salt lake again to observe the clear Southern sky.

Overnight Salt Hotel Uyuni
Meals included: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner

Day 16: Uyuni/San Pedro
With jeeps we will head towards San Pedro de Atacama passing the Eduardo Avaroa National Andean Fauna Reserve.
This is a fabulous place that makes you wonder every second you drive through. We will pass lagoons of different colours that are inhabited by three different types of flamingos – between 3500 and 4500 m above see level! You might think that there is nothing but up there you can observe a vivid flora and fauna.
In Sol de Manana we will pass through an area of geysers; again of very distinguished forms and colours. Those who dare have the chance to take a bath in the thermal waters.
At the foot of the big volcano “Lincancabur”, in the middle of nowhere we will cross the Bolivian border. In San Pedro we enter Chile and continue to our hotel for dinner and relaxing.

Overnight San Pedro de Atacama
Meals included: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner

Day 17: San Pedro de Atacama
San Pedro de Atacama is a picturesque little town that grew over centuries around an oasis. The climate is very dry and mild – the perfect conditions for stargazing.Y
ou will have the morning to walk around the town, get some shopping done or just sit outside in the sun drinking coffee and observing the local happening.
In the afternoon we leave for the Atacama salt lake, the largest salt lake in Chile and second largest in the world. The salt lake lies on 2300m and is surrounded by the big volcanoes, including the Licancabur, Acamarachi, Aguas Calientes and the Láscar.
The flamingos, as soon as it gets too cold for them in Bolivia migrate to the “Salar de Atacama” outside San Pedro.
We will watch the incredibly beautiful sunset at the salt lake before we go back to San Pedro to have dinner in a local restaurant.
At night we will leave San Pedro again to take advantage of the perfect conditions and do stargazing with our French guide that perfectly knows the Southern Sky and will help us find the constellations we all have wanted to see.


Overnight San Pedro de Atacama
Meals included: Breakfast/Dinner

Day 18:  San Pedro de Atacama/Calama/Antofagasta
After having had breakfast in our hotel we will hit the road towards Calama, where we will visit just nearby the largest copper mine in the world. The Chuquimata Mine is one of the largest open-pit copper mines in the world: 4.3 km long, 3 km wide and over 850 m deep. It belongs to one of the most important Chilean mineral industry companies, CODELCO.
On the way to Antofagasta, our next stop and capital of the region, we will pass by Pampa Unión and Badequano, two ghost towns along the way.

Overnight Antofagasta
Meals included: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner

Day 19:  San Pedro de Atacama/Calama/Antofagasta
Today is the day to visit ESO’s very large telescope at Cerro Paranal and Mano de Desierto, its base camp. The base is situated on 2456m where as the telescopes are on 2600m.
During our tour we will be taken to the mountain top to see the 4 telescopes with each an 8,2m aperture. An experience we certainly do not want to miss!

Overnight Antofagasta
Meals included: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner

Day 20: Antofagasta/Santiago de Chile
In the morning we will fly from Antofagasta to Santiago where we will check in our hotel.
Right after lunch we will learn about the modern and historic highlights of Chile’s capital: La Moneda (The Presidential Palace), the main square (Plaza de Armas) and the Cathedral. From San Cristobal Hill we will get a good view over the biggest city of Chile and one of the most modern metropolitan areas of South America.
Santiago is the regional headquarters to many multinationals, and a financial centre. Although being capital, legislative bodies meet in the close by Valparaiso at the coast.

Overnight Santiago de Chile
Meals included: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner

Day 21: Santiago de Chile
At an appropriate time we will bring you to the airport to catch your flight back home.

Meals included: Breakfast

Included in Tours:
Eclipse City representative (English, German, French and Spanish speaking depending on the tour), English and/or Spanish speaking archaoastronomical experts, Meals as indicated in the program, local hotel service fees and taxes, 4*-5* hotels including breakfast, domestic flight with a 23 kg luggage allowance, excursions mentioned in the program including English/Spanish speaking local tour guides and entrance fees.

Not Included in the Tours
Visa fees, health and travel insurance, personal (e.g. medical, travel, etc) and cancellation insurances, personal items, personal expenses, intercontinental flights, tour guide in any other language (can be arranged), tips of any kind, all items not mentioned in the program.