Nomadlytics

The Salar de Uyuni is the world’s largest salt flat, captivating travelers with its vast expanse of blinding white salt crust, mirror-like reflections, and otherworldly vistas. The salt flats expand for over 10,000 square kilometres in the heart of the Andes Mountains in southwestern Bolivia and cannot be missed if you are anywhere close to this marvel of nature.

The nearest town where you can find accommodation is Uyuni. There is not much to see honestly, it is a grubby former transportation hub for the mining industry and is currently experiencing a double renaissance: the tourists pouring in to see the salt flats and the discovery of the largest Lithium reserves in the world just around the corner.

It’s highly reccomanded not to visit the flats on your own. There are multiple tour operators who organise the trips with experienced guides.
We opted for a three days tour with Quechua Connection. First we headed to a mountain that was an old coral formation and is now home to impressive millenarian cacti. These grow at a pace of 1cm per year and some of them are well over 5 meters in height. Then we headed to the train cemetery. Basically it’s the place where 100 year old locomotives are resting after years of service. Instead of disposing properly those tones of iron, the people from the town created this bizzare tourist attraction. Finally we arrived to the salts. During the rainy season approx. Dec-May the flats are covered in water and it becomes dangerous for the jeeps to enter too deep into the flats. Especially if they cannot see the surrounding mountains. Many jeeps got lost in the past. After a brief stop at a salt mining town on the outskirts of the flats we drove towards an illegally constructed old hostel built out of salt bricks that lay a couple of kms into the flats. We spent a while taking funny pictures; the salt flats create an optical illusion that makes far objects look close on pictures so that if one person stands behind an object at a certain distance it may seem that both are the same size.
Just short of 4000 meters above sea level the sun bakes the earth. We visited in February and during this time of the year the flats are flooded with rainwater and become a perfect mirror to the sky. Driving through the flats with the perfect reflection of jeeps, mountains and clouds is a breathtaking sight. Words do not do it justice at all and even the stunning pictures don’t fully capture the spectacle. In the dry months the salt forms perfect hexagonal white puzzle pieces that join to the uttermost precision to form the largest salt flat in the world, roughly the size of half of Switzerland.  We felt very small sitting in the jeep and had the impression that we were gazing into eternity. At the end of the day we drove further into the flats to watch the sunset. The hues of orange, red and violet melted the thin line that separates sky and earth and all became one in a spectacle that only Mother Earth could have coordinated with the stars. We never had thought that one of the most beautiful sunsets we had ever admired would be at the altitude of 4000 meters above the sea level.
The day after we drove through glorious desertscapes and passed some impressive rock formations that wouldn’t look out of place in a sci-fi movie. The rocks came in all shapes and sizes. The mineral rich earth is now white, then red, then yellow, then green, then pink, then orange and we often had to wonder if we still were on planet earth. We passed several colored lagoons. The minerals have caused the water to look white, red, green, yellow or orange, depending on the concentration of the different elements. Flamingoes soak up the sun and eat plankton, at least in the lagoons that don’t contain insanely high amounts of arsenic! We almost reached 5000 meters again but fortunately rapidly descended to spend the night in basic accommodation within the national park. Yes, the altitude sickness here can be real. Even if you ascent gradually, be prepared to slow down your pace while you are here, It’s normal to be short of breath and have a little bit of headache.
Our last day of this fantastic trip had one more stop: the geysers. Steam jets blew out of the mars like surroundings. We watched in awe although we were still sleepy (the alarm was set before dawn to make most of this experience) and suffering from the elevation. Just after the first ray of sun appeared we headed to the hot springs and took a very enjoyable bath in 30 degree water as the outside temperature was only just above freezing and the view just spectacular.

• Where to stay: Uyuni offers a full range of hotels, hostels and private apartment. All easy and available to book online but also if you arrive without accommodation, you will not have problems to find one.
  
  Recommended tour operators:
  
• Quechua Connection: known for very experienced guides, good organisation and small groups. This is one of the tour operators who offers a direct transport from the flats to Chile. Comfy accommodation, delicious food and friendly staff complete 5 star evaluation from most of the travellers, me included. https://quechuaconnection4wd.com/en/
  
• Ruta Verde Tours: known for its sustainable and eco-friendly approach to tourism. They offer small-group tours with experienced guides who focus on providing authentic cultural experiences and minimizing environmental impact. Ruta Verde Tours also offers customized itineraries tailored to individual preferences. https://www.rutaverdebolivia.com/
  
• Red Planet Expedition: known for its professional guides and well-organized tours. They offer a variety of tour options ranging from one to several days, including standard tours, private tours, and specialty tours such as photography tours. https://redplanet-expedition.com/
  
• Andes Salt Expeditions: known for its adventurous and off-the-beaten-path tours of the Salar de Uyuni and surrounding areas. They specialize in 4×4 expeditions, taking travelers to remote corners of the salt flat and lesser-known attractions. Their tours often include visits to geysers, hot springs, and high-altitude lagoons. https://www.andes-salt-uyuni.com.bo/

Remote work: Only offline and sending e-mails as the internet connection is not reliable.