In Bolivia’s last nook, in the Los Lipez area, in front of the famous Laguna Verde (Green Lagoon) and at the foot of the Licancabur volcano, the members of the Quetena Grande community have built a mountain shelter that is the only accommodation option in this part of the Sud Lipez lagoon and desert circuit.

The Laguna Verde Mountain Shelter

Administered by the Communal Association of Tourist Service Providers Quetena Grande (APRESTURCO-QG) it has double and tripe rooms and can give shelter to up to 18 persons per night. The shelter is ideal for those who want to climb the Licancabur; the Quetena community members offer their services as specialized guides and porters.

The shelter is also an option for those who do the Lagoon circuit and want to return to Uyuni. The advantage of this later option is that one can divide the time that this circuit of approximately 850 km takes, in a more convenient manner. That is, a first day from the Salar to San Agustin or San Juan, an overnight stay there, and then the second day going to the Hedionda, Chiarkhota, and Colorada lagoons to Laguna Verde, where one can stay overnight.

The following day, the return can be done from Laguna Verde, passing through Polques, Quetena Grande, Quetena Chico, Villa Alota, Culpina K, San Cristóbal finally coming to Uyuni.

Polques Thermal Baths

Another installation handled by APRESTURCO-QG is the Polques thermal springs baths, where visitors can enjoy the waters. It has a cafeteria that provides meal services, prior consultation with the administration; there is also a small snack shop. For the moment the cafeteria rents tables with or without tablecloths to tour operators that take their own cooks; the place has a public ecological bathroom facility.

Quetena Chico Community Shelter

The Quetena Chico community has built a shelter that has been provided with the necessary furnishings. This community shelter can handle up to 20 people. It has showers, bathrooms and electric energy by means of a generator that work until 10 p.m.

When staying at this shelter one can visit the “Ch’aska Interpretation Center” located in front of the community shelter; the visitor will be able to find information organized into several rooms dedicated to different issues: research work by NASA, ecology, biology, medicinal plants, Andean agriculture, geology and regional mineralogy.

Another service that can be obtained, with prior reservation in the Interpretation Center, is a cafeteria service (breakfast, lunch and dinner), prepared by the women of the community who have been trained in gastronomy. The different dishes can vary from 10 to 25 Bolivianos. This cafeteria can hold up to 25 people.

Quetena Chico Family-run Community Shelters

There are three family-run shelters owned by the community; the total capacity of the three shelters is 40 persons per night; costs vary from 20 to 25 bolivianos per person; there are some triple rooms and others that can hold up to six people.

One of the shelters offers shower services that cost Bs. 5 per 15 minutes. In the same community there are other services such as neighborhood stores, public telephone, etc.


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