Visiting the spectacular salt flats of Bolivia has been one of the best adventures I’ve had here in South America. Bolivia is an incredibly beautiful country with amazing scenery, charismatic people and and ever-changing landscape.
I decided to do the 3 day, 2 night tour across Salar de Uyuni. The tour began in Uyuni, Bolvia and ended in San Pedro de Atacama, Chile. On the recommendation of a friend I chose to do the tour with Andes Salt Expeditions. A standard problem if anyone wanting to cross the salt flats is the mixed reviews of many companies. Reports of drunk drivers, erratic and dangerous driving and vehicle breakdowns are everywhere on Trip Advisor reviews and it is difficult to decide who to go with. All tour operators go to the same locations, stay in the same accommodation and have similar prices. I found Andes Salt Expeditions to be pretty good. The price of the 3 day, 2 night tour was 700 Bolivianos, the food and accommodation were basic but suitable and the driver….well you’ll have to read on.
Uyuni is a small town on the western side of Bolivia that acts as a gateway to the salt flats. Travelers usually spend a day or two here before or after their tours and the town is a reflection of this. There is one main street with plenty of small stores selling alpaca souvenirs, snacks and water, whilst the rest of the street is lined with restaurants aimed specifically at tourists.
Before beginning the tour we were told to buy 4 litres of water, toilet paper and snacks for the trip. The water is then stored in the 4WD until needed.
At 11am on day 1 our group of 7 plus driver loaded up a well worn 4WD with our large luggage on the roof and day packs in the car with us.
Our first stop just outside of Uyuni was the train graveyard. Rusty trains and carriages litter the sandy landscape and gave us our first idea of how many other tourists were making the journey across the Bolivian with us.
We then hit the road and after a few hours arrived at the famous salt flats. The landscape is literally salt everywhere.
Now also home to the annual Dakar Rally, the Salar de Uyuni permanently homes the Dakar monument and world flags which is a great spot for a photo.
The further we drove into the salt flats the more vast the environment became. Hexagonal shapes began to form beneath us as we drove, becoming more defined as we adventured further into the barren landscape.
Of course this is where the ever popular perspective pictures happened. We were chased by dinosaurs, almost squashed by tubes of Pringles and morphed ourselves into great photo positions – so much fun!
After photos we ate lunch from the back of our 4WD. Prepared in Uyuni lunch was surprisingly good, consisting of quinoa, salad, fruit and meat. I requested a vegetarian option when I paid for the tour at the office in Uyuni and was pleasantly surprised to find it was available at all meals. A specially prepared vegetable patty was provided for me for lunch and was delicious. I found traveling at altitude makes me incredibly hungry and having a healthy fresh lunch was well received by everyone.
After lunch we made our way further across the salt flats and into an area where rain had turn the flats into perfect reflecting pools. As I chose to do the tour in January (rainy season) I was concerned that there would be a lot of water covering the area. That wasn’t the case. This year it had hardly rained at all and we were lucky that the salt flats were mostly dry with only a small section under 2cm of water. It was spectacular to see the water like this, creating beautiful photos with perfect reflections.
The weather on the flats was also really warm. It’s summer in Bolivia and the with the white if the landscape the sun was very warm, sunscreen is a must.
After lunch we drove to Fish Island (Isla Incahuasi). Situated in the middle of the salt flats Isla Incahuasi is a rocky outcropping covered in cacti. The island costs 30 Bolivianos to enter and includes use of the toilets (a very welcome inclusion.)
The hike across the island takes approximately 45 minutes and whilst not overly difficult, for me who really does not enjoy hiking it was hot but enjoyable, with the view at the top completely worth it.
As the sun began to set on our first day we arrived at the Salt Hotel, our accommodation for the night. Appointed double or triple rooms with fellow group members, the Salt Hotel is basic but comfortable. Power points are not available in the rooms so everyone makes use of the electricity board to recharge equipment for the following day.
The Salt Hotel is located in the mountains surrounded by alpaca farms – perfect for an always needed alpaca selfie.
As the sun went down on our first day adventuring through the Bolivian Salt Flats I was exhausted and overwhelmed with the incredible things I’d seen and done. But I was also surrounded by new friends, sleeping in a salt hotel with sand floors, drinking wine from the local and only shop, and thinking, “This is only day one.”
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