The Bolivian Salt Flats
If this has not made it onto your bucket list then PLEASE reconsider as it’s a destination that certainly makes for a once in a lifetime experience. With a surface area of 10,281 square kilometres, the Salt Flats of Tunupa (commonly known as the Salt Flats of Uyuni) is a dazzling world wonder that sits in a league of its own. It’s the biggest salt flat in the world and was formed as a result of a salt lake that dried up thousands of years ago, leaving behind a desert like landscape of bright white hexagonal salt craters.
I had seen pictures of the salt flats before my arrival, but nothing really prepared me for this. Guys, every over-the-top comment you have heard about this place, or unbelievable picture you have seen or beautiful thing you have read IS TRUE! This place really is breath-taking.
I explored the Salt Flats as part of a three-day Intrepid tour that also covered, the Lagoons, the Siloli Desert, the Cemetery of the Trains (and everything in between!) and our amazing tour guide Vivel, gave us all the facts and tips we needed whilst on tour. As there were strikes happening at the time of our visit, we were unable to take the typical starting point through Uyuni so instead took a three hour detour to a town called San Juan where we were fortunate enough to stay the night on the shore of the salt flats and make friends with the locals!
By 7am the next morning our 4×4 was on the road and headed into the flats. We drove for what felt like hours, surrounded by nothing but a sheet of salt. It was indescribable and unfortunately for me I left my sunglasses in my main bag back in the city, but luckily was borrowed a pair by my fellow traveller who packed two! If it wasn’t for that I would have probably developed crow’s feet from all the squinting as the reflection of the sun off the salts is BRIGHT – remember to pack your sunnies!
We made our way to what felt like the middle of nowhere and stepped out onto the flats. Of course, being the curious-minded, ballsy (and now looking back – slightly crazy!) young lady I am, I wanted to know exactly how the salt felt and smelt and tasted, so naturally I bent down, got my face right in there and had a lick.
I can confirm that the Bolivian salt flats taste just like salt.
It was an interesting feeling to have salt crunching beneath your feet with your every move and we wasted no time in getting right to the fun. That’s right, it was picture time! Vivel had a number of creative ideas and even brought along some toys to recreate some cool effects. We did the typical jump shots, created tiny versions of ourselves, fought dinosaurs and even made our very own music video!
After this came lunch and Vivel and our driver laid out a traditional spread of meats and rice and watermelon. We picnicked on the flats, under the Bolivian rays, whilst blazing old school hits from the 80s and 90s from the car speakers. It was so surreal yet in that moment, I felt I was exactly where I was supposed to be in life 😊
We then made our way to Incahusi Island, better known as Cactus island, which is a coral island (shaped as a fish!) slap bang in the middle of the flats. The island is covered with thousands of cacti that’s been growing for hundreds of years – some of which were up to 15 meters tall! We hiked to the top of the island and were stunned by the panorama.
We spent our first night at a salt hotel, where everything from the beds to the chairs to the tables to the ceiling were made of salt.
Another early start, and we were off to visit the three most famous lagoons in the high desert plains of the Andes; Laguna Blanca, Laguna Verde and Laguna Colorada – white, green and red. Each lagoon had something unique to offer but my favourite had to be the Laguna Colorada, the Red Lagoon. Not only because it was so stunningly vibrant in colour, but because it was the lagoon where we got closest to the flamingos – and man, were they beautiful! I can’t emphasise enough just how surreal the colours were. I mean, have a look at the filter-less pictures below taken straight from my android, and let me know what you think. The place was pure perfection! And with the Andes mountain range as the perfect backdrop… well, I’ll let the pictures do the talking.
Three of the world’s six species of flamingo can be found in the Andes; the Andean, the Chilean and the extremely rare James flamingo which can only be found in the high Andean plateaus. These majestic creatures live on plankton which the lakes supply in abundance and (fun fact) it’s actually the plankton that give flamingos their pink feathers over time, who knew that flamingos are actually born with light grey feathers! As we made our way through the Siloli Desert we were lucky enough to see other native wildlife like the Andean fox, vizcachas (Andean rabbits), Andean ostriches, vicuñas (relatives of the llama) and of course hundreds and hundreds of llamas! We drove through the Valley of the Rocks which is a visually striking trail of volcanic rocks that have been weathered into cool shapes over thousands of years through erosion, and stopped for pictures at the iconic five-meter-tall ‘Arbol de Piedra’, ‘Stone Tree’.
Our final stop on the third day of our tour was the “Cemetery of the Trains” also known as the Train Graveyard which resides on the outskirts of the town of Uyuni. We arrived at this abandoned site in the late afternoon which meant there were literally no other tourists floating about so we had free reign to climb the trains, walk inside the empty carts and jump along the tracks as we pleased. As there are no gates or fences or even guards there are absolutely no restrictions on climbing the trains. So, we stayed-and-played until sunset. Such a random and eery display, these trains were imported from Britain in the early 20th century as Uyuni was originally set to become a major train destination that would connect multiple cities in, and around, South America. Sadly, due to the collapse of the mining industry and tensions with neighbouring countries, this plan did not come to fruition and the disheartened people of Uyuni – instead of decommissioning and selling them on – left the trains in the desert to rot. There are over 100 abandoned train carts here, all of which have corroded over the decades due to the salt winds.
Quick tips on what NOT to forget–
- Layers. It gets very windy on the flats, especially when the sun goes down so make sure you wrap up in your layers and wind proofs.
- Sunglasses. I made the mistake of forgetting mine back at the hotel but luckily I was able to borrow a pair. If you have sensitive eyes like mine, you will certainly need them.
- Top up your sun cream often. The Bolivian Salt Flats sit high above sea level so you’re pretty close to the sun, don’t make the mistake of forgetting to bring your sun cream as you will burn!
- Bring some change. Toilet stops are few and far between but where they are available, they come at a cost. Each toilet break will cost you between 2 and 5 Bolivianos so bring some change, unless of course you are happy to find a bush and go Inca style!
- Portable charger – make sure your phone stays juiced up. It’s a super busy, fun packed three days and you don’t want to miss the opportunity to get all those incredible once in a lifetime shots because your phone ran out of battery!