- Overview
- Itinerary
- Trip Includes
- Trip Excludes
- Gallery
- Booking
- FAQ
This photographic journey is led by Sergio Ballivian offering a superb teaching and learning workshop.
It is specifically designed to concentrate in the regions that are part of the western Andes mountains of Bolivia, specifically in the Lake Titicaca basin and the Cordillera Real (Royal Mountain Range). The extreme variety of terrain, vistas and climates as well as a huge smorgasbord of different people make this photo safari an all-encompassing regional tour-de-force.
The trip begins in La Paz (av, height 12,000’/3,610 mts.), a unique city that hides inside a massive bowl at the foot of triple-crowned Mt. Illimani (21,163’/6,452′ Mts.) with a population of close to a million people, all clamoring to extract a place to live as the city crawls up the sides of the bowl and spilling onto the wind-swept Altiplano.
There is no other city like La Paz anywhere in the world
A series of rugged canyons extend from the center of La Paz in all directions while the Altiplano overlooks the spectacle and is where our journey continues as we head to the jewel of the Andes and the birthplace of the Incas – sacred Lake Titicaca. At almost every point along the route the massive Cordillera Real looms above everything else and is part of our route as we photograph it from below, at mid-height and from Lake Titicaca as well.
We’ll visit the canyons that make up the crumbling arms of the arid valleys near La Paz that are mostly made of ancient multi-colored mud that are extremely photogenic. Lake Titicaca, Copacabana and the Island of the Sun (Isla Del Sol) is our base for a few days to experience it’s different moods and faces as it changes from the cool morning blues to the sun-drenched afternoons where sunsets tend to be extremely colorful.
The people are always busy tending to their animals or crops so we will have many opportunities to photograph daily life in the Andes in a simple and mostly unchanged manner that has been around for centuries. Once acclimatized we will head into the heart of the Cordillera Real so you can get eye-to-eye with a 20,000’/6,000m peak only a couple of hours from downtown La Paz.
We will end our photographic journey in La Paz before you head back home with fond memories and great images to share.
We can run this trip at any time, so please let us know your date preferences and we will create a custom departure date for you and your group
Current tour departure dates:
- April 19-25, 2020
- May 24-30, 2020
- June 7-13, 2020
- July 5-11, 2020
- August 9-15, 2020
- September 1-7, 2020
Typically, flights to Bolivia depart late in the evening from Miami and arrive in La Paz the next morning. Depending on your airline, you would arrive at different times on day 1 in La Paz. Please let us know your flight info so we can coordinate pick-ups and other services. International airfare is NOT included in this itinerary.
For airline tickets, please contact our ticketing agent GEO Travel 1-800-938-7285.
Itineraries
Day 1 / Sunday
Arrival in La Paz, Bolivia – City Tour

Day 2 / Monday
La Paz – Andean Foothills and Valleys – La Paz

Day 3 / Tuesday
La Paz – Altiplano – Isla Cohani – Puerto Perez

Day 4 / Wednesday
Puerto Perez – Strait of Tiquina – Copacabana

Day 5 / Thursday
Copacabana – Island of the Sun

Day 6 / Friday
Island of the Sun – Copacabana – Sorata

Day 7 / Saturday
Sorata – Cordillera Real – La Paz

Day 8 / Sunday
La Paz – Home
We will provide a complimentary shuttle to the airport so please coordinate with us to schedule your transfer time.END OF OUR SERVICES
RETURN
As per the itinerary:
- hotel,
- meals as noted (B,L,D)
- private transport
- bi-lingual guides
- airport transfers
- decades of experience and local knowledge
*International airfare is NOT included in price
In order to make a reservation for a photo tour you can either fill in the form found in "BOOKING" and send it in directly from this website, you can e-mail us directly with any questions or call us.
The procedure from beginning to end is roughly the following:
1. Initial contact from you to us via several methods; online form (below), e-mail, postal mail or by phone
2. We respond to your query and send you whatever information you may have asked for
3. You fill out the Trip Application Form and send in a deposit (non-refundable) for a specific tour
4. We acknowledge receipt of Trip Application Form and your deposit and send you a Receipt/Invoice for the balance due
5. We send the general Pre-Departure information packet so you can begin to make preparations (gear, visas, clothing, vaccinations, etc.)
6. You send in final payment (60 days before departure date) and required paperwork (Medical Form, Liability Release, copy of passport, Travel Arrangement Form)
7. We send you the Receipt/Invoice for all payments and any balance due (if any) and final itinerary
8. We communicate with you about any last minute requests or questions you may have
9. We meet you at the starting point of the photo tour
10. We all have a great tour and you make awesome images to cherish forever
YES!
Anyone can book a single spot on any tour group at any time. These prices reflect the cost for one person, based on the total number of fully-paid people booked on a trip. If you have more people in your group and/or if the total number of people rises, the cost per person goes down. These prices are NOT based on a person or complete group bringing in a set amount of people on a tour
Final group size / price tier will be known 60 days before departure
Yes. You can check the current price tier for any group at any time. Every time we have a new booking we will update the price tier. The same goes if somebody cancels the trip.