Only through art and architecture can we transform societies and build a better life.
—Gastón Ugalde, The Bolivian Express, March 28th, 2016
At long last, in 2026, those hoping to travel to the magnificent salt flats of Uyuni in southern Bolivia can celebrate the arrival of another truly high-end hotel experience. With the opening of Casa Gastón, inspired by the titanic legacy of Bolivia’s greatest modern artist – Gastón Ugalde (1944 – 2023), this dramatic region of terrestrial contrasts will become more accessible to the discerning traveller. Offering a thoughtful and authentic connection with the ancient traditions of the altiplano and the pioneering spirit of the Bolivian people, this luxury experience in the heart of the high plains captures all the daring vibrancy of the artist that conceptualised it.
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A lot can change in a decade.
In 2016, I was working as a journalist for Bolivia’s largest English-language magazine, a publication dedicated to helping the global backpacker community in the capital city of La Paz acquaint themselves with the richness of the local culture.
Lucky enough to have experienced this overlooked destination’s extraordinary diversity first hand, it became my mission to share the wonders of Peru’s criminally underrated Andean neighbour with everyone that I could. I hiked creaking Andean glaciers, kayaked on the heavenly blue waters of Lake Titicaca, explored the crumbling stones of ancient ruins, and once helped push a minibus out of the mud en-route to the Amazonian enclave of Rurrenabaque.
After my own life-changing trip to the Bolivian south, exploring the crystalline vastness of the Uyuni salt flats and being humbled by Mother Nature in the rugged emptiness of the Eduardo Avaroa National Reserve, I cooked up the idea for an article on Gastón Ugalde, a Bolivian artist whose monumental contemporary installations on the salt flats played on the same quirks of light and perspective that have delighted each and every visitor to this special place.
I made contact from the rustic comfort of my classic backpackers’ salt-hotel in Uyuni and organised an interview with the man himself for when I returned to La Paz.
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A decade later, in 2026, back in the travel industry and still telling everyone I meet that Bolivia gets less respect than it is due, I’ve been reflecting on my conversation with Gastón as Casa Gastón prepares to welcome its first guests.
Upon a first glance at Ugalde’s artistic work, its striking diversity is inescapable. Widely known as a pioneer in the field of Latin American videoart in the ’70s, Ugalde experimented with performance art, land installations, painting, photography and sculpture. His body of work explored various socio-political themes, principally focusing on social movements and local agrarian or cultural festivals. It is intriguing, bizarre and modern work, firmly rooted in Bolivian cultural tradition: inextricably bonded with the land of its creator.
This indomitable, playful, but conscious essence is what the hoteliers responsible for Casa Gastón hope to supply in Uyuni. Empowering local people and championing the preservation of Bolivia’s unique cultural heritage, this hotel project pays homage to Ugalde’s passion for his country’s diverse communities while providing a guest-centred experience that seamlessly integrates art, comfort, culture and sustainability.
Designed to blend into the earthy tones of the landscape at the foot of the Tunupa Volcano, Casa Gastón’s finely appointed rooms offer a rich and gentle warmth inspired by the rustic materials of the altiplano. The architecture of this living art museum respect’s Ugalde’s love for the light of Andes, with plenty of airy glass fronted spaces that will allow guests stunning views of southern Bolivia’s inexhaustible natural finery.
In our conversation ten years ago, Ugalde’s passion for these landscapes and the rituals and craftsmanship of his home country was evident. Of his ethereal Salar de Uyuni photographic series that showcased his concern with the interactions between light and colour in desolate spaces, he remarked that Bolivia’s terrain and the fractured light of the mountains were a “constant source of inspiration”. When I asked him to describe his work in just three words, he chose “land, colour, and stone”.
With the hotel planning to exhibit a rotating selection of Ugalde’s original pieces, guests will be able to enjoy downtime appreciating these rich creations wherein Andean fabrics, geometric shapes and human figures bursting with vivid colours slice through the cosmic emptiness of the natural backdrop. “Owing to the temperature of the light in open Andean territories, I can capture brilliant colours,”, Ugalde said to me in 2016.
As part of the hotel’s activity programme for guests, visitors will be able to immerse themselves in the communities and spaces that inspired these words. Offering opportunities to explore the salt flats at sunrise, meet with local llama herders and quinoa farmers, stargaze under Uyuni’s crystal clear skies, and explore local highlights like the cacti of Incahuasi island and the burial chambers of pre-Columbian mummies, guests at Casa Gastón will be able to experience all the abundance of the region with dedicated specialist guides and a personalised service touch.
Casa Gastón’s culinary experience is curated by Chef Marsia Taha, recognised as the Best Female Chef in Latin America by Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants in 2024. In the spirit of Ugalde’s love for Bolivia’s biodiversity and the inspiration he drew from experiences with Andean and Amazonian practitioners of ritual medicine; the hotel’s menu design will pay tribute to Bolivia’s many biomes and the ancestral gastronomic practices that have nourished generations of the altiplano’s intrepid inhabitants. As the co-founder of Sabores Silvestres, a research and education that promotes Bolivian gastronomic heritage, Chef Marsia’s seasonal creations celebrate local flavours finessed with all the innovation of a modern luxury restaurant kitchen.
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Once experienced, the pure majesty of Uyuni is never forgotten. Perhaps nowhere else on earth can you experience the quiet peace of such colossal, and desolate landscapes; a deafening silence broken only by the occasional rustling sounds of indigenous llama herders continuing their Andean traditional way of life in an unbroken chain that reaches back centuries.
In 2026, finally, with Casa Gastón’s long-awaited opening, the extraordinary artistic legacy of Gaston Ugalde and his honouring of the vibrant traditions of his ancestors, will allow many more lucky travellers to immerse themselves in its eerie magic and emerge (just like me) as unofficial ambassadors for Bolivia’s staggering natural beauty.
Words by Clara Chamberlain.
Images © Casa Gaston
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