Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia is the world’s largest salt flat. Yet, it’s just one part of a massive national park packed with natural wonders.
These salty plains add seasoning to a recipe that includes wildlife, geysers, abandoned villages, colourful lakes, and volcanoes.
Our sturdy SUV started off from San Pedro de Atacama. Three French, a Chilean, a Mexican, a Canadian, and a Bolivian had just met, shared breakfast, then crammed inside.
We became a family over the next three days as we drove into the barren Bolivian Altiplano.
It was dawn. The sandy desert glowed pink. The trip had hardly begun but every window framed views of volcanoes.
The Bolivian border crossing was a tiny hut in a mountainous nowhere. We got stamped through.
I looked at the park entry ticket: Reserva Nacional de Fauna Andina Eduardo Avaroa. Eduardo Avaroa National Reserve of Andean Fauna.
Suddenly, it was clear. There was much more out there than salt.
Near Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia these 9 wonders await nature lovers:
1. Flocks of… flamingos?
Godzilla isn’t the only creature sharing the salt flats with llamas. You’ll find these hot pink, stilt-legged, possibly-radioactive birds on Laguna Colorada (Red Lake).
Flamingos seem to call everywhere home, from African savannas to the southernmost parts of Patagonia to this high altitude toxic lake.
What makes them pink? Dining on the lake’s red algae (and being awesome). The water is rimmed with flamingo feathers and bodies from some who didn’t survive the harsh conditions.
“I have dead flamingos stuck to my boots,” I said and realised how few times in life I’d have this problem.
2. Talking geysers
Appear and disappear as you walk through steam heated by the planet’s core. Geysers burst out of the ground near Uyuni and pock-mark the flat surface.
Bubbles rise out of exposed underground caves. Listening to the pools gurgle, it was like the Earth could talk. Glub-wub-blub: very profound.
While there weren’t gushing fountains of water, the pocketed caves boiled like a stove-top of open pots. Seeing the steam rise gave a sense of the volcanic power working underfoot.
3. Hot springs
Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia is surrounded by volcanoes, geysers, and seismic activity. While dangerous, at least this geothermic activity gives people a way to relax: thermas, hot springs.
The baths come with views of llamas, lakes, and said volcanoes. You can look up and see where your bathwater is heated.
These mineral waters are good for the soul. They ease tight muscles which may be tense from the high altitude and the chilly climate.
4. Painted lakes
Laguna Colorada and Laguna Verde (Red Lake and Green Lake) add colour to their mirror surfaces.
They reflect snow capped volcanoes outlined in red and green algae.
Though not as massive as Salar de Uyuni, these mirror waters have more than the sky to reflect back and are certainly more colourful.
A massive flock of flamingos looked like a pink haze on Laguna Colorada.
5. Cactus Island, Incahuasi
“Home of the Inca” island was a rest place for the Inca while they crossed the salt flats hundreds of years ago.
This hill was once a volcano in the centre of the ancient super-lake that dried up, creating the flats.
Now, it’s covered in cacti that are hundreds of years old. Times change.
Strange, squiggly rock formations on the island look like coral. But, they are actually layers of fossils and algae.
Sunrise at Incahuasi gives a rosy view over the salt flats extending to each horizon.
The island and its elder cacti provide perspective on the age and size of the space.
You can imagine what it was like standing here when this was an island on the world’s largest lake.
6. Train graveyard
Abandoned places and old steam-punk machinery hold a magnetic intrigue.
A British rail company once set up mining towns along the salt flats but, facing various political and cultural conflicts, abandoned the operations.
Left behind is a playground of antique trains and uninhabited villages. You can explore the locomotives inside-out and see their lonely tracks lead off into nowhere.
At one half-inhabited town, you can grab craft beers made of quinoa: Bolivia’s staple starch. It’s actually really refreshing and a local speciality.
Heads-up: alcohol has a much stronger effect at high altitude.
7. Salt hotels
Where there’s ice, people build ice hotels. Where there’s 11,000 square kilometres of salt, they build salty ones.
The walls, floors, and even beds of hotels are built right out of the salt flats.
You can lick them to see for yourself (though a lot of people do so choose a spot wisely). You’ll likely stay at one during a tour.
The Playa Blanca Salt Hotel was the first on the flats, and reportedly horrible to stay at. So horrible that it’s closed. It now functions as a stopping place for photos, lunch, and souvenirs.
Nearby, visitors have pitched flags from their countries in a monument that unites the world in this remote place.
However, you likely won’t see a Chilean flag. Although a close neighbour, wars and border disputes between the countries have left some bad blood behind.
Marking Bolivian soil with a Chilean flag is apparently in poor taste – our Bolivian and Chilean tour brothers agreed.
8. Sandstone surrealism
Salvador Dali was famous for his surrealist art, and he himself was inspired by nature’s imaginative rock formations here.
Some sights, like lone boulders sitting minimalistically in sand, will remind fans of his paintings.
One rock formation resembles a camel. Another looks like a stone tree Arbol de Piedra — or “The World Cup,” if you’re Nelson, our guide.
It’s like naming cloud shapes in the sky.
What’s most intriguing is that these rocks seem to have popped up in a single cluster on the plains.
Also, on the rock walls you’ll find ancient petroglyphs: wall paintings of people, animals, and nature.
9. Gorge-ous valley
After seeing the rocky, volcanic land and sandy grasses in the region, you’ll arrive at a mossy valley where farmers graze llamas.
From the ridge of the gorge, you can get a view over this little oasis.
Condors flew overhead while we took in the plant life below. The greenery seemed so lush after three days in the desolate Altiplano.
Seeing it now, it looks a little bit sparse.
Before coming to Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia, I had only heard of the salt flats.
But, nature didn’t stop creating marvels there.
The Bolivian Altiplano has a full menu of sights, including geysers, gorges, hot springs, ancient cactus, and even highly adapted wildlife.
In three days, you can take in the full flavour of the region — with a dash of salt.
Tips from experience:
Bring good sunglasses! There’s nothing to protect your eyes from sunlight in the thin high altitude air. The sand, water, and white salt flats can act as painful and blinding reflectors.
Losing your sunglasses in the high desert sucks (from experience).
Protect your skin with long sleeves, pants, and sunscreen. The UV index is usually maxed out. This is not a place to tan.
Bring coca leaves, coffee, or other medications to help with altitude sickness and headaches. Drink lots of water and breathe deeply from your belly.
Don’t forget dinosaurs and props for your perspective bending photo-shoots on the flats. You can buy some in San Pedro de Atacama or in Uyuni, depending where you start.
Google “Uyuni Perspective Photos” if you don’t know what I mean.
If you’re going to Uyuni, take a tour.
I normally prefer to travel independently but unless you have your own 4×4 car (and GPS) it’s the only way to reach all of the sights.
The region is around 11,000 square kilometres of rugged, washed out, and rocky roads. It’s not all flats.
Taking day trips from Uyuni, you won’t see much more than the salt flats. Unfortunately, you’ll miss most of the above sights without a tour.
Besides, you’ve come all the way to the Altiplano and an all inclusive three day tour only costs around $150.
You’ll make fantastic friends, get local insights, and have say over the playlist while you cruise through wonderland.
Some companies simply shuttle you to each location and give you ten minutes for photos. Others have more involved guides.
I went with White and Green International, a highly recommended company run by a Bolivian family. The food, guide, and vehicle were solid.
I heard a few horror stories of SUVs breaking down on route (in no-mans-land at high altitude). You can’t call a tow truck.
Ask around before you book. Many agencies work with the same tour providers yet have different rates.
I wasn’t in any way paid or compensated for this trip. All opinions are my own. It was really this amazing.
