Day 1-2: Arriving in La Paz
Travel by plane to La Paz in Bolivia. From the spectacular El Alto airport, our first mountaineering objective above 6,000 metres, Huayna Potosí, already seems almost within reach. The view down into the basin of La Paz takes your breath away at first – and not only because of the altitude. After checking into the hotel, we head out on a short exploration of the city centre using La Paz’s ingenious cable car system. And of course we also focus on preventing altitude sickness: take it easy and drink mate de coca.

Day 3: Discovering La Paz
City tour in La Paz. We visit three very different places in the city: El Alto, Zona Sur and the bustle of an indigenous market in the city centre. In the evening we visit a Peña – a folkloric evening with typical paceño food.

Day 4: NGO and K’oa
Visit to an NGO in Ciudad El Alto. The project of Fundación Pueblo, where Tobias worked with his family, is located right in the middle of El Alto, the city on the Altiplano above La Paz. There we gain a vivid insight into the reality, shaped by violence and oppression, of many Bolivian women. The women will tell us about their hard lives and the confidence they have gained from the project. In the evening, together with a shaman, we carry out a ceremony – K’oa. In it, we ask for permission to approach the summits, which for Bolivians are brothers and sisters, and for well-being and good health in our undertakings.

Day 5-6: Lake Titicaca and Isla del Sol
Acclimatisation trip via Copacabana to Lake Titicaca, where once again we stay directly on the shore in a lovely hotel. Visit to Isla del Sol by boat, walk on the island and then return to La Paz. These days help us arrive calmly at altitude while already taking in a great deal of the country.

Day 7: Bike descent into the green
Optional outing by minibus and mountain bike: we are taken with the bikes to a pass over 5,000 metres high, where depending on conditions we may even still find snow. From there, with good brakes ;-) we descend via the old road into the tropical zone, around 3,000 vertical metres lower. We ride through constantly changing vegetation until, surrounded by colourful birds and cheeky little monkeys, we treat ourselves to a tropical meal.

Day 8-10: Condoriri and settling in
Now we head into the mountains! First we drive to the Condoriri Group in the Cordillera Real. Drive to Don Roque and his wife, who are waiting for us with a fine meal. Strengthened by this, we hike in about three hours to base camp, where – depending on preference – we spend the night either in the hut or in a tent. From there we see the summits of the Condoriri Group: the right and left wing as well as Cabeza de Cóndor, the condor’s head. Possible objectives are Pico Austria, Pico Tarija, Pequeño Alpamayo or indeed Cabeza de Cóndor. These summits are ideal preparation for the 6,000ers. Depending on the participants’ technical ability, we put together the two tours. Here Gonzalo, our local mountain guide, as well as our two cooks Luz and Delia, also join us. And of course Roque too – with his donkeys or the enduro – helping us bring the food up to the refuge.

Day 11: Descanso
Rest day. Individual programme. Simply catch your breath, dry laundry, drink coffee or just look at the mountains – all allowed.

Day 12-13: Huayna Potosí
Today we set off towards Huayna Potosí, our first summit above 6,000 metres. After laying out and checking the gear, we drive by minibus to our starting point at Zongo Pass. First of all, we enjoy a fine lunch there. From there we hike to our hut, which belongs to a local guide friend of ours and which we have exclusively to ourselves. Early dinner ... because the alarm goes off shortly after midnight.
On the normal route, the next day we climb to the summit of Huayna: with views from Lake Titicaca across to Illimani and out into the lowlands. Early in the morning we first go over rock and scree, then across the glacier to the summit. The main difficulty is a short steep section, “la pala”, at the bergschrund where the glacier meets the ridge. Afterwards we return to our hotel in La Paz and recover.

Day 14: Rest day in La Paz
Descanso – rest day. Opportunity to do a tandem paragliding flight. On the last trip, almost everyone did it and was absolutely delighted.

Day 15: Oruro and Uyuni
Drive via Oruro with a lunch stop and a visit to the mining museum to Uyuni on the Salar de Uyuni, the famous salt flat. Night in Uyuni.

Day 16: Salar de Uyuni
Visit to Isla de Pescado and another overnight stay in Uyuni. The Salar, with its surreal landscape, and Isla de Pescado are surely among the most impressive landscapes anywhere around.

Day 17: Into Sajama National Park
Drive to Sajama National Park. Ascent to camp for everyone climbing Sajama. The others settle into the hotel.

Day 18: Acotango or high camp
Acotango as the easier option. Thanks to the mine, we can drive the vehicles high up, then continue mainly over ice and snow to the summit, which Bolivia shares with Chile. This summit too is strenuous, but scenically it is anything but a substitute tour. Team Sajama: ascent to high camp. Depending on conditions, rope protection may already be needed there.

Day 19: Sajama summit day
Resting for one team, visit to Ecolodge Tomarape for the others. Team Sajama: summit and descent. Sajama is the highest mountain in Bolivia, a volcano and the dominant summit of the Western Cordillera on the border with Chile. From high camp it starts steeply straight away, and the fixed ropes installed the previous day make the start noticeably easier. It gets truly nasty if the summit is covered with penitentes – then everything immediately takes much longer and you have to do penance, as the name suggests ...

Day 20: Hot springs
Night in a tent by the hot springs at the foot of the national park. We sleep in this special place, relax in the thermal waters and enjoy, for once, not having an alarm clock in the middle of the night.

Day 21: Warm water once more
Early in the morning, before returning, we slip into the warm water once again. Afterwards we drive back and wind down these intense days between mountains, vastness and the Altiplano.

Day 22: Reserve and souvenirs
Rest day / reserve day. Individual programme ... time for souvenirs, a final coffee or simply to reflect on all that has come together over these weeks.

Day 23: Return journey
Return journey to Europe. The trip is led by Tobias Martin, Denys Thommen, Andreas Brunner and Gonzalo Jaimes; in addition, our cultural guide Raul Calazaya joins us. For all three summits there are straightforward normal routes and more difficult routes – open-ended upwards. We divide the summit groups according to level and wishes, allowing us to cover several difficulty grades.

Info: The trip takes place with 8 to 12 participants. Included in the price are the mountaineering leadership of four IFMGA mountain guides, all accommodation with half board, and transport. It may happen that on some occasions we go out individually for dinner and you pay for this directly yourselves. In return, we organise and pay for various lunches, so overall it balances out again.