Salar de Uyuni - The World's Largest Salt Flat

Accommodation

Our three accommodations along the way got progressively better. In "Lodge Andino Lamphaya," amusingly, the toilet paper was locked in a display case :D You should either bring it from home or, logically, pay for it. The food was good, and the cook was reasonably friendly. The room was clean, and so were the showers. However, there was only cold (or no?) water, and electricity was available only at certain times. The second accommodation, "Nuevo Amanecer," boasted a space heater. The food was also quite good, and we had a bit more space in our shared room. However, this meant it was harder to warm the room with our breath ;) The showers (cold or no water?) and toilets were also clean, and electricity here was also only available at certain times. We could observe the stars wonderfully from outside the door. The third accommodation, "Samarikuna," was my favorite on the tour and one of the coolest on the whole trip. It was a salt hotel at the edge of the salt flats, and ALMOST EVERYTHING was made of salt. We had incredibly delicious vegetable lasagna and could take hot showers for 10 Bolivianos each. We also received a bottle of wine with dinner. Each accommodation had its own charm and was really top-notch, considering their location. Literally in the middle of nowhere. Fortunately, the five of us had a shared room. The more people sleep in a room, the warmer it is. We were there during one of the coldest weeks on the salt flats, and temperatures dropped to around -15°C. Thankfully, Niko lent me his sleeping bag, so I could snuggle into two sleeping bags. Much more comfortable than the first night, when I only had the agency's sleeping bag! Mareike and I always asked if we could fill our metal bottles with hot water, and my goodness, that was great. Every bit of warmth makes a difference in such cold nights.

SIM Card

We wouldn't have had internet anyway, as our SIM cards were locked. Amusingly, ENTEL cards, unlike their competitors, work quite well in certain parts (just like on the Huayna Potosí) 😁.

Sights

Now I'll just copy you the descriptions from our agency. https://latorretours-tupiza.com/es/salar-de-uyuni/4-days-tupiza-uyuni/ DAY 1: TUPIZA - SILLAR - CITY OF CHARMS - LÍPEZ - QUETENA Today you will visit the "Quebrada de Palala," a spectacular, irregular rock formation, created over many years by the intense erosion of the mountainside. After that, it goes to "El Sillar," where you will have a few minutes to enjoy this spectacular landscape before continuing through "Nazarenito," a small gold mining community. Then it goes on to "Ciudad del Encanto," where you will see impressive rock formations. You will then reach "San Pablo de Lípez" (4250m). Then it goes to "San Antonio de Lípez" and finally to "Quetena," where we will spend the first night in a simple hotel. My remark: The first day was great but overall the least spectacular of all. We got to know each other a bit and already saw some llamas and vicuñas. The mine was also interesting and we had the youngest guide of our trip, just 17 years old :) The landscape changed rapidly and our accommodation was right at the entrance to the national reserve. DAY 2: QUETENA - GREEN LAGOON - COLORFUL LAGOON - VILLAMAR After breakfast, you visit the first lagoon, the "Laguna Kollpa." Large quantities of raw materials for soap making are extracted here. Those who want can take a few photos before going through the "Salar de Chaiviri" to arrive on time for swimming and lunch at the thermal waters. Your next stop after lunch is the Green Lagoon (4250 m.a.s.l.), which has an emerald green color due to the arsenic and magnesium content in its water. It is located at the foot of the volcano "Licancabur" (5868 m), which marks the border between Chile and Bolivia. The Dali Desert (110 km²) is our next stop, a place with surreal mountains, reminiscent of the photos of Salvador Dali, and petrified lava rock formations. Then we cross again the thermal waters to go to the geysers "Sun of Tomorrow" (5000 m a.s.l.). Then we spend about 1 hour at the Colorful Lagoon and finally drive to "Villamar" to sleep the 2nd night (basic hostel). My remark: The amazingly many lagoons were partially frozen, which meant the colors could not be seen as clearly. The Dalí desert was quite nice, and the thermal pool was so INCREDIBLY great. We bathed in the warm water while the vicuñas grazed beside us. In the background, the great scenery with the mountains. The geysers were also great, my first ones :) Occasionally something bubbled and sprayed up 🌋. The colorful lagoon was also just amazing. We could observe the flamingos and llamas from very close. A spectacular ending to this day. DAY 3: VILLAMAR - LOST ITALY - LAGUNA CATAL - CANDELARIA After breakfast, we first go to the "Valle de Rocas," where you will see many rock formations such as the "World Cup" and "El Camello." Then it goes to "Italia Perdida," where you will have time to explore the rocks. Next, drive to "Laguna Catal" or "Laguna Negra." Continue to "Canyon de la Anaconda," a canyon through which the Anaconda River flows. Some villages like "San Agustín" and "Julaca" will be traversed to get to "Villa Candelaria" to stay there. You spend the night in a simple accommodation. Note 1: During the rainy season (usually from January to April), if the salt flat has a lot of water, we cannot stay in the "Villa Candelaria." From Anaconda, we will go to Uyuni or "Colchani" to stay there. My remark: We started the day with the frozen lagoon, where we could observe flamingos once again. Then it went to a lagoon where we had lunch. Pascal was feeling a bit better, and we even walked around a little together. Then we made a stop in Julaca to buy salt desert beer, cactus beer, and physalis beer. We also had ice cream (Mareike unfortunately got beer ice cream). The town used to be much busier and even a train went through. And then we drove for quite a while to arrive at our salt hotel. After settling in, we drove onto the salt flats to watch the sunset. Alvaro prepared snacks and a "Blue Evolution Frizzé," a blue alcoholic drink. Then it was back to dinner. DAY 4: CANDELARIA - INKAHUASI ISLAND - TRAIN CEMETERY - UYUNI Today we cross the vast "Salar de Uyuni" (3650 m a.s.l.) early in the morning to see the sunrise in the Salar de Uyuni. With 12,000 km², the Salar de Uyuni is the largest salt flat in the world and extends in all directions as far as the eye can see. From here, you can see the impressive volcano "Tunupa." The salines consist of eleven separate layers with a thickness ranging from 2 to 10 m. The depth of the salar is 120 meters and thus is the largest occurrence of minerals such as lithium, magnesium, potassium, nitrogen, phosphorus, and borax in the world. It has 14 small islands, the largest of which is Incahuasi Island. Around the island, you can see water eyes, which are springs that act like pores in the salines. After leaving the saline, we visit "Colchani," the village where salt is processed. Here there are various salt souvenirs and clothing made from alpaca or llama wool. To conclude, we visit the train cemetery, where many old trains are to be seen. Then we drive to the central part of the city to end the tour around 12:00 pm. Note 1: If you wish to finish in Tupiza, it is possible that after completing the tour in Uyuni, we will drive about 3 hours more to reach Tupiza. Note 2: During the rainy season (usually from January to April), if the salt flat has a lot of water, we cannot visit Incahuasi Island. My remark: Today (on my birthday 🤩), we got up really early to take pictures of the stars. We watched the sunrise on the cactus island "Isla Incahuasi," which I had been really looking forward to. It’s also featured on the cover of the Lonely-Planet guidebook, and the picture was so spectacular that I googled until I found out where it was. Niko gave me a beer, and as we sipped from our bottles, we eagerly awaited the sunrise. We had to scramble up the island in the dark, with about 15 other people waiting with us. We took pictures, and to be honest, the sun took longer to appear than we wanted. Then it finally came:D We scrambled down with sunlight this time, where Alvaro was already waiting for us. We shivered and warmed up in the car while he prepared breakfast. He even baked me a birthday cake 😊. Some birds visited us, hoping to get something from our treats. Meanwhile, Pascal slept. Gradually it also got warmer. We drove on and took some funny photos. For one shot, Alvaro had to drive around us seven or eight times—with Pascal in the car. Poor guy… Then we went on to the flag square, the salt hotel, and the Dakar statue. Our penultimate destination was the train cemetery, which was too crowded for us. By chance, I met Alice and Jacob from Huayna Potosí again, who were on the first day of their tour and wanted to move on to San Pedro de Atacama. Then it was off to the restaurant, and the journey was over. I wouldn’t have minded if it lasted a bit longer, it was truly spectacular! Pascal, on the other hand, was glad he could finally rest properly :)

Transportation

Within the salt flats, we got around in Alvaro's Jeep. A few times he asked us if we wanted to walk, and he would drive ahead with the Jeep and wait for us or prepare lunch. We always arrived at some sight, and he waited for us in the Jeep. We would then look around, and Pascal slept in the Jeep. He was feeling quite ill 🦠🧫. The car was arranged as follows: the driver and the front passenger, naturally. Then three seats in the second row and two more in the back with little legroom. Normally, a cook accompanies the trip, but in our case, local women were hired to cook for us. I think there wasn't much of a cost difference and I guess nobody in Tupiza had time or something?!

Food and Drink

On the first day, there was turkey schnitzel with potatoes, rice, tomato, and cucumber. Cookies in the afternoon, followed by soup, then mashed potatoes with a sort of chili minced meat sauce for dinner. On the second day, vegetables were cooked for us, along with beef, potatoes, noodles, and tomatoes. We had soup and "Piqueo Macho" for dinner. On the third day, we had pancakes for breakfast, and Alvaro prepared pre-made meals for lunch: cabbage salad with tuna, rice, and lentil stew. We had soup and ultra-delicious vegetable lasagna with wine for dinner. On the last day, my birthday, we ate birthday cake for breakfast and for lunch, Charque de Llama, potatoes, oca, camote, carrot salad, amaranth, and cabbage salad.

Plants and Animals

On our journey, we saw:

• Qeñua (often used for firewood, although it's super rare)
• Pupuza (a high-altitude plant in "Italia Perdida")
• Yareta (grows one centimeter in ten years)
• Chachacoma (helps with stomach issues) Among the animals, we spotted:
• Llamas
• Vicuñas
• Flamingos
• Perdís (quail-like birds)
• Viscachas (cute hare-like creatures)

Number of Germans in the Car

Five.

Contact with Locals

One. With Alvaro :)

Expenses

About 235 euros per person for 3N/4D. Food, drink, accommodation, transport, and guide included. Then there were personal expenses (snacks, beer, salt) and the tip for Alvaro.

Standard Store Offer

Salt, salt statues, ponchos, hats, gloves, …

Laundry

Since there was sometimes not even electricity, we logically couldn't wash clothes either.

Unsolvable Mysteries

Why do people live voluntarily in such extreme regions? And this whole lithium mining… I’ll definitely have to inform myself better about that.

Arrival in Uyuni

First, we clarified where exactly we should drop Niko off. He wanted to visit the Tunupa, an inactive volcano at 5432 meters high. Eventually, he could still take the minibus to the appropriate town and spent the one-hour wait for departure at our own accommodation. Mareike and Christopher went back to Tupiza with Alvaro to pick up their luggage. Then they were off to the south to Argentina, ultimately flying back to Germany from Buenos Aires. And Pascal and I stayed in Uyuni so Pascal could rest.

Postscript

Many beautiful and impressive pictures can be seen at https://hoenisch.eu/photo/mo/sharing/OeyI0Cl83