Salar de Uyuni

Why Should I Visit Salar de Uyuni?

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You might be wondering, why should you visit Salar de Uyuni?

Well, let me tell you, this natural wonder in Bolivia is an adventure-seeker’s paradise!

Imagine a mesmerizing salt flat, stretching over 10,000 square kilometers – that’s larger than some countries!

You’ll feel like you’re walking on a never-ending mirror reflecting the breathtaking sky above.

If you’re into photography, Salar de Uyuni is a dream come true.

During the rainy season, a thin layer of water covers the salt flat, turning it into the world’s largest natural mirror.

You can capture mind-blowing shots of yourself, your friends, or the surrounding landscape with the most surreal reflections.

The stargazing here is out of this world!

With very little light pollution, you’ll witness an awe-inspiring display of stars, constellations, and even the Milky Way.

It’s like a private astronomy show just for you!

Why Should You Visit Salar de Uyuni?

Checkout why I like visiting the Salar so much:

  1. Incredible Salt Flats:

    Imagine stepping onto the world’s largest salt flat—a vast expanse of pure, white salt as far as the eye can see.

    It’s like walking on a shimmering, otherworldly mirror that reflects the sky, creating mesmerizing optical illusions and picture-perfect moments.

  2. Stunning Landscapes:

    The scenery is out of this world!

    As you venture further into Salar de Uyuni, you’ll encounter colorful lagoons, stunning volcanoes, and unique rock formations that will make you feel like you’ve landed on another planet.

    It’s a photographer’s dream come true!

  3. Magical Sunrises and Sunsets:

    Get ready for some of the most unforgettable sunrises and sunsets you’ll ever witness.

    With the vastness of the salt flats and the striking colors of the sky, each dawn and dusk will leave you feeling inspired and grateful.

  4. Mirror Effect:

    If you visit during the rainy season, you’ll witness the famous mirror effect.

    The water on the salt flats creates a perfect reflection of the sky, making it seem like you’re walking on water.

    It’s a surreal experience you won’t forget.

  5. Stargazing Heaven:

    When the night falls, prepare to be amazed by the celestial display above you.

    The lack of light pollution in this remote area allows for a clear, brilliant view of the stars.

    You’ll feel like you’re surrounded by the cosmos!

  6. Unique Wildlife:

    Salar de Uyuni isn’t just salt and landscapes; it’s also home to some fantastic wildlife.

    Keep an eye out for flamingos wading in colorful lagoons, llamas roaming freely, and various bird species flying overhead.

  7. Cultural Encounters:

    You’ll have the chance to interact with the warm and welcoming locals who call this region home.

    Their culture is rich and unique, and you’ll get to learn about their traditions and way of life.

  8. Adventure and Fun:

    Whether you’re taking a 4×4 tour or biking across the salt flats, there are plenty of adventurous activities to keep you entertained.

    You can even take those fun perspective-bending photos that make it look like you’re holding giant objects!

How many days do you need in Salar de Uyuni?

To make the most of your trip, plan for at least 3 to 4 days.

Trust us, you’ll have a blast!

Day 1: Salt Flat Fun – Spend your first day on the vast salt flat.

Walk on what seems like an endless mirror and take cool photos at Incahuasi Island and the Train Cemetery.

Day 2: Lagoon Lovin’ – On day two, explore the colorful lagoons nearby, like Laguna Colorada and Laguna Verde.

You won’t believe the vibrant hues!

Day 3 (Optional): Volcano Views – If you have an extra day, don’t miss the Tunupa Volcano viewpoint at sunrise.

The view is breathtaking, and you’ll get an even better look at the salt flat.

When should I go to Salar de Uyuni?

If you prioritize the mirror effect and unique photography, aim for the rainy season.

But if you prefer a more stable and predictable experience, opt for the dry season.

The best time to visit Salar de Uyuni largely depends on the experience you want to have:

  1. Dry Season (April to November): This is the high tourist season, and it’s considered the best time to visit.

    The weather is dry and sunny, making it ideal for exploring the salt flat and other attractions without much rain.

    During this time, the salt flat surface is dry, creating the classic hexagonal pattern that looks like a giant chessboard in photos.

    The temperatures are milder during the day but can get cold at night, so bring warm clothing.

  2. Rainy Season (December to March): If you want to witness the famous mirror effect, this is the time to go.

    The rainy season turns the salt flat into a massive reflective mirror due to a thin layer of water on the surface.

    The effect is simply mesmerizing and offers fantastic photo opportunities.

    However, be prepared for muddy and sometimes challenging travel conditions.

    Some areas might be inaccessible due to flooding, and the weather can be unpredictable.

How big is the Salar de Uyuni?

The Salar de Uyuni is 4,100 square miles, this is why it is the biggest salt flats.

It is located in the Potosi and Oruro departments in southwest

Bolivia

, near the crest of the Andes, 12,000 feet high.

How many miles long is Salar de Uyuni?

If you’re curious about Salar de Uyuni’s size, it stretches around 64 miles (103 kilometers) long.

It’s like a gigantic playground of salt!

This fantastic place in southwest Bolivia is the largest salt flat globally, covering over 10,000 square kilometers.

It’s pretty mind-blowing, right?

Salar de Uyuni

 

It is blank as an empty page, a plane of possibility stretching white to the horizon, then blurring seamlessly into sky, a spattering of distant purple hills and islands are visible, floating on colliding light.

Even having read the descriptions, the guidebooks and tour company fliers, even having seen the photographs, the vastness of this body not of water, nor snow or ice, but of salt’is startling.

If you have never been to the Salar, you can imagine it as a sea of salt, a salt desert, it was once an inland sea, or giant salt water lake, but the water vanished into the thin dry air of Andean altitude.

All that remains is the salt, tens of meters thick, lying stark beneath bright sky: a sun-bleached skeleton of a dead sea.

By bus and train, you make your way to the dusty town of Uyuni.


I recommend the standard three-to-four day tours that explore the Salar and the windswept, Martian landscape beyond.

It is also possible to design a private tour: camping, longer excursions, translators,

even transfers into northern Chile can be arranged

.

The tour is generally conducted in 4×4 vehicles (usually Toyota Landcruisers) with 6 or 7 people, with the driver often times cooking.

Most 3- and 4- day tours have the same itinerary for the first 2 1/2 days, a day on the salt planes, then heading south to the southwest corner of Bolivia, and then splitting off from there.

The specific sites that are seen can be dependent on the tour, but group input can define which sites are visited and how much time will be spent at each.

Accommodation is usually provided in basic refuges and the weather can be very cold, but it is well worth it for the amazing scenery.

Avoid tours that offer a night in one of the salt hotels – they are illegal as, not being part of the water grid, they pollute the environment.

Crossing the Salt Flats Bolivia

On the first day, the tours head directly to the Salar and it takes most of the day to cross the salt, including stops to shoot wild, perspective-skewed photographs (your friend positioned in the background to look as though he or she is dancing in the palm of your hand, for instance) and to visit the ironically mis-named Fish Island that juts, cactus covered, above motionless whiteness that appear to be lapping the rocky beaches.

Even on this pure white plane, the landscape changes.

Across some stretches of the Salar, after the rains, there is a thin layer of water above the salt; it is an Alice In Wonderland moment driving in miniature across a gigantic mirror with sky above and sky below.

Sore-eyed and sleepy after so much light and whiteness, our Land Cruiser delivered us into a little mud-brick village called San Jose just as the afternoon sunlight was at its prettiest on the purple hills in the distance.

Waiting for dinner, a few of us mingled with the grazing llamas outside the village, all of them looking down their noses at us, snootily, except for the curious babies who ventured close for a visit before scooting off.

Back in the Cruiser

The second day, under strict orders from our guide, Leandro, we rose from our very basic sleeping arrangements at gray dawn and shivered as we nursed plastic mugs of coca tea or Nescafe.

Then we repacked ourselves into our Land Cruiser, salt and dust free after Leandro meticulous cleaning of the body and engine the night prior.

Still grumpy from waking, I wondered what possibly could merit such an early morning now that the highlight of the trip, the unbeatable Salar, was over.

My cynicism was checked, however, as we crossed a rocky hill and descended towards brilliant blue water cradled beneath snow-tipped red mountains.

Around the lake was a fringe of white, like ice, which made what was in the lake more shocking: for there in the midst of Bolivian moonscape, stood hundreds of pink flamingos.

We were instantly transformed into small children pouring giddily from our truck in thrilled wonder, our cameras clicking.

After madly photographing the phenomenon of the lake and gaping at the flamingos, we made our way back to our guide for the facts.

It was not snow, Leandro confirmed what we had discovered for ourselves, this paradox of a place old hat to him but potassium and other minerals that created the environment for the microbes upon which the flamingos were feasting.

Awed, we scurried off again to take some more pictures, high on cold thin air and the myriad colors around us.

The Salt Flats Unearthly Views

Day two and three followed suit with wonders.

The landscape was ever-changing and never expected: the water and the rocks first were red, and then turquoise and green with minerals and microbes.

The creatures we came across were unearthly, let alone unlikely in their barren, windswept habitats.

Over the course of our trip we wandered over lava-flow formations, the source still puffing benign wisps of smoke into the stunningly blue sky.

We romped between wind-carved boulders, looming like dinosaurs or petrified giants in a sweep of nothing.

We visited the surreal lakes Laguna Colorada, Laguna Blanca, and Laguna Verde; we discovered viscachas, little bunny-squirrel critters, mysteriously living on rocky crags surrounded by nothing but wind and rock for miles on all sides.

We glimpsed wild guanacos and vicuñas, and socialized with their domestic counterparts the alpacas and llamas; we visited geysers at puffing into pastel light at sunrise and breakfasted with our feet dangling into thermal springs, watching more flamingos grazing gracefully in the mists where the warm water flowed into the cool of the lake lying serenely in the desert.

And, on our final night we met an orphaned vicuña found by our hostel owners out with their llama herd; touching the baby was like touching air it was so unbearably soft and light, its great alien eyes seeking its proud mother, the proprietress whose bustled skirts were the infant’s obsession.

Ornate Village Gates

Beyond the sensual thrill of the trip, we got to experience a bit of social intrigue as well.

Our final night we stayed in a remote village that was distinctly different from every other village I have ever visited in Latin America.

The neat, newly cobbled streets were lined with pretty thatched homes brightly painted pink, yellow, blue, or green, the plazas were embellished with metal sculptures, and ornate village gates stood at either end of the cobbled main street, as though welcoming greatness in from the desert.

Interrogated, Leandro explained that this fairy-tale village was a new town, built as compensation by a group of international companies extracting copper from a hill near the original town.

In fact, the town was planning to celebrate the arrival of internet (another gift from the copper miners) that very night.

I was thrilled when shyly asked to assist with opening their first email account for the town, even though all I had to do was show them that Hotmail spoke Spanish.

.

Returning four days later as if from an off-Earth voyage, we stopped for our last picnic lunch in a train graveyard outside of Uyuni.

The geometric skeletons of steam engines baking to rust in the sunny air, like the dusty, desert village of Uyuni itself, a beautiful wasteland-turned-tourist-magnet boasting the phenomena of rust and rock and salt.

Yes you can lick the salt flats, but just a little bit as it is way more salty than the salt you used to in the supermarket.

You can also take a little home with you.

  1. Four day tours cost around $100 including food and lodging.

    This does not include the park entrance fee or your guide’s tip.

  2. It is cheapest to book a tour in Uyuni the train station is bustling with tour hawkers, although in high tourist season (June-August) business get busy.

  3. Hotels (and simple restaurants) abound in Uyuni, most boast tourist lures like hot showers, but are otherwise basic.

  4. There are dozens of tour agencies in Uyuni.

    Your guidebook will list some options.

    Colque Tours () appeared to be the biggest and most polished of the lot; personally, we were turned off by their long (albeit shiny and new) caravan.

    We booked weeks ahead with Tonito Tours but we were passed off by Tonito to Tunupa Tours and, although inconvenienced, we were not disappointed.

    (Search for the latest dirt on agencies!

    )

  5. Bring cash (Bs.

    or $US)in low denominations and good condition (dirty money will be rejected).

    There are banks in Uyuni but lines are long and frustrating.

    There are exchange offices, but they run out of money.

  6. WARNING: do not attempt to buy your train tickets to Uyuni in Oruro, the town where you catch the train.

    In travel agencies in La Paz

    , you can buy tickets ahead, but in Oruro you must buy the day of your trip; the line starts to form around midnight the night before.

    In a pinch, a pre-dawn arrival will cost you half a day waiting, but will get you a seat.

  7. Acclimate to the altitude in Bolivia before setting off into remote areas like Uyuni and beyond.

  8. What to bring: PLENTY of water, serious sun protection (including hat, sunscreen, and, most crucially: sunglasses), warm clothing, and lots of film (bring low speeds for bright light!

    ).

ABOUT ME

Born & raised amidst the gators and orange groves of Florida, I’ve waded through the Everglades and braved the dizzying heights of Orlando’s roller coasters.

About Us Jeff from TravelMagma

But FL is just the beginning of my adventures.

I’ve journeyed far and wide. Yet, it was the serene beauty of Japan that truly captured my heart.

I even wrote my own little
Caribbean Guide.

But…

My 2nd book “Things I Wish I Knew Before Going to Japan” became a bestseller, a guide filled with wisdom:

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