Bolivia Complete Travel Guide
Salar de Uyuni is the largest salt flat in the world. It’s like stepping into another world where the white salt surface stretch onto the horizon. When visiting Bolivia, the Uyuni salt flats are on top of every itinerary, and for a good reason!
3 day tour on the Uyuni Salt flats
DAY 1
Meeting at the agency at 10.30. First stops are a train cemetery and a salt processing museum. Okay, let’s continue onto the amazing scenery. From here we got onto the massive 12.000 sq meter salt flats.
Everywhere on the horizon is white salt, with gorgeous mountains as a backdrop. In the afternoon we stopped for perspective photos.
Group shot
High kick to the dinosaur
Salar de Uyuni used to be a lake, therefore it also has a few islands. One is the Incahuasi island, a giant cactus place. These cactuses are thousands of years old and huge.
Island with huge cactuses
Little me with the giant cactus
The last stop of the day was a magnificent sunset across the salt flats. I’m usually not impressed by any ol’ daily sunset, but this surely was one of my favorites. The beautiful purple colors, the relief of the landscape. On the West the sun is setting and on the East the full moon is rising.
Sunset on the salt flats
Me being the photographer, perspective style
DAY 2
After breakfast we left at 8:00 sharp to visit more of the surreal landscapes. Every stop is a totally different environment. From volcanoes, altiplanic lagoons, deserts, rock formations, and geysers.
Train track for mining
Lagoon with flamingos
Colorada lagoon
Flamingos
Sol de Mañana Geysers at an altitude of 4850m
The second night we had an accommodation next to the hot springs, where we could watch the clear Southern stars and milky way. Truly spectacular!
Hot springs under the moon and starlight
DAY 3
From the group I was the only one finishing the tour in San Pedro de Atacama, as we already were extremely close to the Chilean border, it was a short day for me. The agency helped with a smooth transition of the border crossing and dropped me off in the center of town, already arriving at 11.00.
Those going back to Uyuni will have a full day of driving back North and will arrive there at 17:00.
Need to know
Starting point: Uyuni
The town of Uyuni is where every tour to the salt flats starts. It’s a small town with a main street where all the agencies sell tours to Salar de Uyuni. Visitors come and immediately go to explore the surrounding beauty instead.
How to get to Uyuni?
From La Paz: a night bus or flight in La Paz. Both arrive in the early morning to start the tour immediately.
From Sucre: 1. a direct night bus, or 2. the bus from Sucre with a transfer in Potosi. For the 7 hour journey I preferred to travel by day. I took a 3 hour bus from Sucre to Potosi, in Potosi a taxi to the Uyuni bus terminal where I immediately hopped onto another 4 hour bus to Uyuni.
Which agency to use?
There are numerous agencies offering tours to the salt flats. With having to withstand both the 4000 meter elevation and the cold, I preferred booking with an agency which offers nicer accommodation and heater. My hotel in Uyuni advised me on a few, including Cordillera Traveller. Here I paid 1400 bolivianos for the 3 day tour ending in San Pedro de Atacama (Chile) with an English speaking guide, which is really worth paying the extra amount for! I also got a private room for an extra 200 bolivianos.
The accommodation was really nice for the salt flats! No heater in the room though, but one in the common area. Even starlink satellite wi-fi which I did not expect! Warm blankets, and of course the staff was more than willing to fill up my hot water bottle with boiling water, to keep me extra warm through the night.
Is it cold?
I was both excited and hesitant to visit the Uyuni salt flats. As it’s winter in July it can get extremely cold. Saying I’m not a fan of the cold is an understatement, and I imagined it would be a trip of suffering. Luckily this was not the case at all! Yes, it is cold outside, but between stops you’re in a warm SUV, the meals are inside at places with huge windows letting the sun through, and my accommodation was heated in the common room. Which made it a pleasant and not too cold of an experience as a whole.
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Wat zijn die zoutvlakte mooi en de foto’s erbij prachtig.