Uyuni Salt Flat Bolivia Tour

Salar de Uyuni Bolivia

The Bolivian Salt Flats, also known as Salar de Uyuni, are one of the world's largest salt flats and are a top tourist attraction in Bolivia. They were one of the most beautiful landscapes in the world that I saw in my 20 some years of travel and are worth visiting. The salt flats are 10,582 square kilometers and are larger than Puerto Rico. The best time to visit the salt flats is between December and April when the wet season creates a mirror effect. The dry season, between May and November, is best for seeing the crystallized salt patterns. 

How to get there: Took a flight from Santiago Chile to San Pedro de Atacama in Chile. 

You can book tours to the salt flats from Uyuni, La Paz, Tupiza, or San Pedro de Atacama in Chile. 

Did the 3 night 4 day tour to see other attractions in the area, such as mountains, volcanos, hot springs, and lagoons from San Pedro de Atacama in Chile.

The tour agency I booked the tour from was Cordillera, the tour started and ended in San Pedro de Atacama Chile. The cost of the tour was $220 USD, that did not include the cost of park fee in Bolivia, I had 300 bolivianos to cover the extra costs, that I had changed in Atacama.

Before taking the tour, spent 5 days in San Pedro de Atacama Chile to get used to the high Altitude. Also got some Altitude sickness pills at the local pharmacy

Day 1 

The tour starts at 7 AM, the Van from my hostel dropped us off to the border, from there we took 4x4 to the Salt flats.



The picture above is the border area of Chile and Bolivia, The shack in the picture is the breakfast area, coffee and bread with avocados were served, great way to start the day.



Chile immigration, you can use the bathroom, once your passport has the exit stamp, you proceed to the Bolivian Immigration. USA Passport holders can get a free visa for tourism proposes at the border. 




Once on the Bolivian side, at 14,000 feet above sea level, we shifted to a 4WD Jeep with 5 other people. Besides me there were 2 Italians, 2 Brazilians and one person from Argentina

I got a front seat in the Jeep, and the journey began visiting Bolivian high plain,  places like Laguna Verde and Laguna Blanca, located near Licancabur Volcano.

We continued through the Desert to thermal water pools, The journey ends up at Laguna Colorada, main nesting center for thousands flamingos.

During the evening we stayed at a remote guest house, we were in a group of 12 folks as the tour company had 2 Jeeps, we shared stories and laughs, good times.

Guest House where we stayed the first night

Day 2 Early morning start, we drove through one of kind stunning Siloli Desert, The Siloli Desert is a high mountain desert in the department of Potosi in southwestern Bolivia. It's located on the Bolivian altiplano at an elevation of about 4,500 meters above sea level. The desert is known as "The Place Where Earth Meets The Sky". The desert is also home to the Arbol de Piedra, a volcanic rock formation. The Siloli Desert is one of the most beautiful parts of the South Lípez region. 

Onwards to colored lagoons, Laguna Honda, Chiarcota and Cañapa; they colored lagoons in Bolivia. 

They are located in the Chiguana Salt Flats and are roughly halfway between the large lagoon Colorado and the giant salar Uyuni, then we continued to San Juan town.

Spent the night at the Salt Hotel, The Salt Hotel in San Juan, Bolivia is made entirely from salt, it's a tourist attraction in itself. 

3rd Day.- Early morning start, it was still dark outside, we drove towards the Salt flats, this was in January and it had rained. The rain gave the salt flats miles and miles of mirror effect. It was still dark, and I setup my gopro timelaps to catch the sun rise.

Salt flats Uyuni is one of my best travels

Most of the morning was spent admiring and photographing the mirror effects. The worlds largest mirror.

Uyuni Salt Flat Bolivia

Afternoon was spent at the Uyuni Train Junk yard. The Uyuni Train Junk Yard, also known as the Great Train Graveyard or Train Cemetery, is a unique desert attraction in Bolivia. The junkyard is located on the outskirts of Uyuni, a small trading region in the Andean plain. 

The junkyard contains dozens of abandoned steam trains and wrecked train cars from accidents and derailments. The junkyard was created in the 1940s when the mining industry declined. The trains were left to decay and await collection, recycling, or destruction.

Stayed the night at a guest house in Uyuni, at dinner there were some kids that played local music, check out the video below.

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