Travesia, Bolivia

Travesia isn’t a hotel. It isn’t even a series of hotels, though we know it looks this way on the surface. That’s because Travesia is really a series of points on a map – each of which represents a different lodge, run by our friends at Explora – that will carry you, night by night, through some of Bolivia and Chile’s most head-spinning landscapes.

This strangest of natural corridors runs from the rust-red mountains of the Atacama to the blinding salt flats of Salar de Uyuni. It is a series of transitions, each feeling like its own untouched planet. Sleeping at each lodge for one or two nights, you’ll spend your days crossing these wild and ever-changing ecosystems in a 4×4, by foot, and by horseback – paired with a guide who knows every geyser, lagoon, and rock carving like the back of their hand. This is the freeway before there were freeways – an ancient trade route that has fallen out of time and memory.

But now Travesia has brought it back to life.

THE LOCATION

Travesia kicks off in San Pedro de Atacama – the portal of the desert. There are lagoons stretching out before you, and volcanoes that puncture the skyline. In Ramaditas, Bolivia, you enter a world of ancient, shimmering lagoons framed by the silhouettes of the Andes. In Chituca, you’ll draw up to a pastoral lookout on the edge of the Alitplano – a world of rocky ruins, plunging grottos, electric blue skies, and towering clouds. Your final pitstop will lead you to the foot of Tunupa volcano, on the bright, blinding edge of the Uyuni salt flats. J.R.R. Tolkien himself would have been hard pressed to invent a world as unreal as this.

THE LODGES

The four lodges don’t just sit in their landscape – they speak to it. Designed with comfort and contentment in mind, they each have their own tone and atmosphere. Explora Lodge in the Atacama features an observatory, stables, pool, and hot tubs. Live music is a feature here. It echoes the rhythms of the desert. Mountain Lodge in Ramaditas – hanging high in the Altiplano – takes warmth and softness seriously. It’s your cocoon in the heart of Bolivia. Mountain Lodge in Chituca is a space-age oddity that has the appearance of a Martian outpost on the edge of an unknown planet. But you’ll feel very at home. Explora Uyuni lodge – your final rest stop – takes a leaf out of the book of Scandinavian modernism, favoring clean, modular interiors, warm lighting, and furnishings that you’ll sink into. After so many days on the road, this is your chance to take stock of everything you’ve seen.

WHO IT SUITS

Ok, Travesia isn’t a “normal” vacation. Rather, we like to think of it as a mental reset – and the closest thing you can get to a psychedelic brain-jolt this side of anywhere. It’ll suit adventurous travelers who can handle altitude, temperature swings, and days spent on foot and horseback. But it’s not all go-go-go. You will have time, and space, to drink it all in. Groups – some of the lodges can sleep between 8 and 12 people – will find a particularly happy home along this route.

WHY WE LIKE IT

Explora’s guides and staff don’t just show you the outdoors – they share it with endless enthusiasm and knowledge. The lodges themselves were built with permission from local indigenous communities, and it’s those same communities who run them. Locals trained by Explora work as hosts, housekeepers, and chefs at each lodge, bringing knowledge of the land that can’t be taught from a manual.

SUSTAINABILITY

Explora is committed to protecting the environment, fighting climate change, and supporting the communities in every territory they occupy. They’ve set ambitious goals around energy efficiency, carbon emissions, water consumption, and waste generation. Locally, they work with organizations to promote youth education, environmental care, and the strengthening of culture and heritage. Long-standing projects include support for the Internado Andino (Andean Boarding School) in Atacama and the Terevaka Archaeological Outreach in Rapa Nui.