A 3 day Salar de Uyuni tour in Bolivia has more to offer than merely salt flats. The area around it is has landscapes filled with wildlife and so much colour you will feel as if you’ve accidentally walked into a painting. Its an unmissable experience on any visit to Bolivia.
Part 1 of a 3 day tour exploring the area around Uyuni, Bolivia is all about salt: the classic perspective altering salt flat photos, an island of enormous cacti in a salt lake and sleeping in a hotel made of salt! In part 1 of my Salar de Uyuni experience, I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but by day 2 my eyes were watering from so many incredible views. The jeep doesn’t stop – there’s a lot more to see.
If you’re trying to decide whether to include Salar de Uyuni on your itinerary, here’s a glimpse into what to expect…*
*This is the 2nd part of my 3 day journey and it comes with the same warning as the first… If you’re literally just about to embark on a 3-day trip, this post contains a few spoilers… so although I want you to read it, maybe it’s best to read something else for now, like this post on cycling Bolivia’s death road perhaps… Part of the joy of a trip to the Salar de Uyuni is it’s surprises. However, if you’re just planning an itinerary or doing some general wanderlusting today – read on! I hope you enjoy!
Icicles for breakfast
It’s not easy getting out of a salt bed, when the you’re in a place that has an average minimum temperature of -12°C (in August). especially when you’ve been up the night before star gazing until the early hours. This is a lesson I learnt quickly in the morning of the 2nd day at Salar de Uyuni as I quickly haul on my thermal leggings and llama hat. But it very quickly gets easier when I get outside and begin to look around.
Lagunas of Colour
Day 2’s journey takes in landscapes like nowhere else I’ve visited in the world. The many colours in the lakes here are due to minerals and/ or algae (depending on the colour) that thrive in the salt water.
This may be the ‘scientific’ reason for this, but I’m convinced someone, somewhere – probably a giant – has taken a large brush and splashed their most vibrant watercolour paints across the land, using the earth and sky as a canvas. Accidentally they splash a bit of red here and there, where it should maybe be blue but this is art so they just leave it that way. And without realising, they create a masterpiece.
Who could live here?
Despite it’s seemingly uninhabitable landscape there are lots of creatures who love to live in this area. Flamingoes thrive here due to all the tasty algae in the water that help them get their vibrant pink colour. There are six species of flamingo that visit the lakes, including the endangered ‘James’ flamingos.
Other flamingos that can be seen include the Chilean flamingo and the Andean flamingo. As an amateur, it’s hard to tell the difference. It’s all to do with the shape of the beak and the black part of the beak. The national park has information around to help you spot what you’re seeing.
Other Wildlife of the Salar Wilderness
Flamingos aren’t the only creatures that live out here in the wilderness. Andean foxes, vicunas, reptiles and even some people actually live this far out… with people of course you will also see llamas. Everyone loves a llama.
My luckiest photo
Possibly the luckiest wildlife spotting of all my travels is that of the Bolivian Vizcacha – a kind of rabbit of the Salar. It survives fox predators purely through incredible camouflage against the rocks plus speed at getting away. I caught a glimpse of one through my obsession of taking pictures of rock formations while here – I didn’t even know he was there:
Don’t forget your hat
It’s not long since I mentioned it can get a little bit nippy in this part of the world. On the tour I’m fairly sure I’m experiencing one of the occasions it’s reaching a record low. The second hotel isn’t made of salt, or ice – disappointingly, as this may be warmer. With several jeep groups staying in the same place over night, travellers bond over trying to avoid frost-bite in their finger tips. No one necessarily speaks the same language but we communicate through the commonly known sign language of cold, hunger and a desire to win at cards.
Our hosts, the drivers, are busy fighting over the small space to create the best meal for their group. Our keen, new driver, emerges triumphantly first out of the kitchen door with a delicious, warming feast and we buy a beer to celebrate his victory. It’s basic accommodation. Cold, lacking in light and a dorm room with shared bathroom. You’re unlikely to want to shower at that temperature though. Better to spend the time you can stand being out of your warm(er) bed star gazing as you’re in for another awe-inspiring night sky.
Whatever you do, don’t forget your hat. (And gloves, scarves, thermals etc.)
Sunrise at the Sol de Manana
Our driver was applaudably competitive again for the next morning’s adventure. I wasn’t celebrating as we tried to get dressed under the covers in our dorm room, while we could still hear our neighbours snoring. But we were first on the road and this was an excellent idea for seeing the next place.
Sol de Manana is a geothermal field. Just after sunrise, it gets busy with tourist groups taking group photos by the smouldering, volcanic puddles. We are there on time for sunrise due to our heroic winner of a driver meaning we have the whole landscape to ourselves for at least 30 minutes.
Chile, hot pools, rocks and home
Sadly, the next part involves driving through the deserted landscape to drop 2 of our party off at the Chilean border. You have the choice on this tour of going on to Chile, or heading back to Uyuni.
It would be a fantastic way to start your journey into Chile. But I’m still hooked on Bolivia at this point so opt to stay. Thank goodness I did. Going back into Bolivia at this point means going to a stinking, sulphuric hot spring and by this point I’ve been ice-cold for more than 12 hours. This is a perfect way to avoid losing my feet in an emergency operation in La Paz and get my bones warmed up again.
The end
I’ve seen so much in 3 days and don’t want it to stop, but at some point I’ve got to get back to Uyuni for the next leg of my journey. I am taken via enormous and stunning rock formations, as if to remind me what an unusual and magical place this is one last time.
It seems that artistic giant had a go at sculpture as well.
Have you been to Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia? Share your experiences in the comments below (I’m still yet to hear from anyone who had a bad one…!)
(This was part 2, read part 1 of my journey around Salar de Uyuni here)
Such an interesting place.
It really is Mani – I’ve never been anywhere even nearly like it.