{"id":14945,"date":"2018-01-23T08:30:00","date_gmt":"2018-01-22T21:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures?p=14945&preview_id=14945"},"modified":"2025-03-18T22:05:02","modified_gmt":"2025-03-18T11:05:02","slug":"our-guide-to-salar-de-uyuni","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/our-guide-to-salar-de-uyuni\/","title":{"rendered":"Everything you need to know about Bolivia\u2019s Salar de Uyuni"},"content":{"rendered":"

UPDATED: This blog was originally published on February 12, 2016.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Unless you\u2019re an astronaut (if you are \u2013 can we be friends?), most of us will never walk on the moon. But on the Bolivian Altiplano, you can get pretty close. Rocky desert forests, pockmarked roads leading to wind-whipped towns, salt pans spiked with cacti, geysers belching sulphur\u2026 the landscape here doesn\u2019t have your usual boring terrestrial vibe.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Empty, haunting and spectacular, the laws of earthly physics bend on the Salar, especially in the wet season when the salt is covered with a thin layer of water, reflecting the sky back at itself like a cosmic mirror. Lakes are pink, horizons are more an idea than a line, and scale is yours to play with. David Lynch would feel right at home here. So would Salvador Dali.<\/p>\n

\"Perfect

Photo by Rachael Christie<\/p><\/div>\n

Soooo, what is it??<\/h3>\n

Taking up an area of over 10,000 square kilometres, and heaving with around 11 billion tonnes of salt, Salar de Uyuni is the world\u2019s largest salt flat. It was formed when Lago Minchin \u00ad\u2013 a prehistoric lake once covering the majority of southwest\u00a0Bolivia<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 dried up. Beneath the thick salt crust are huge reserves of lithium-rich brine; in fact, around 70 per cent of the world\u2019s lithium is mined here. Surrounding the Salar are other natural wonders of the Altiplano \u2013 belching volcanoes, steaming hot springs and snow-capped mountains. The surreal, sparsely populated landscapes of the region have become one of Bolivia\u2019s biggest draw cards, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors every year.<\/p>\n

RELATED: 10 REASONS WHY BOLIVIA NEEDS TO BE ON YOUR BUCKET LIST<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

What\u2019s the best way to see it?<\/span><\/h3>\n

One of the best ways to truly experience the Salar is on a guided 4WD tour with six or seven other people. While it\u2019s possible to do day tours across the salt flats, most trips run for three or four days and head deeper into the Altiplano. The price should include a driver, guide and cook (often combined into one very talented human), food, transport and basic dormitory-style accommodation. Avoid tours that spend a night in a \u2018salt hotel\u2019 (yep, hotels made of salt), as these run off the water grid and pollute the local environment.<\/p>\n

\"Four

Photo by Lo\u00efc Mermilliod on Unsplash<\/p><\/div>\n

The starting point for most tours is the dusty Bolivian town of Uyuni, but you can also leave out of Tupiza (although expect an extra day of travel if you go for this option). Another way to experience it is to start in the backpacker hamlet of San Pedro de Atacama in Chile \u2013 great if you\u2019re travelling north, rather than south \u2013 but you\u2019ll pay more for pretty much the same itinerary.<\/p>\n

There are heaps<\/em> of tours to choose from, especially in Uyuni (where you\u2019ll be swamped on arrival by touts), but some are safer and run more efficiently than others. Make sure you know what is and isn\u2019t included, that your vehicle is equipped with seatbelts, emergency radio transmitters and a first aid kit, and that your guide and driver have the proper qualifications. And while it may seem obvious, double check that they\u2019ll be speaking a language you understand!<\/p>\n

RELATED: BEYOND SALAR DE UYUNI – 5 GREAT THINGS TO DO IN BOLIVIA<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

What’s covered?<\/h2>\n

For tours departing from Uyuni, your first stop is usually the \u2018train cemetery\u2019, where families of geriatric locomotives rust slowly in the sun. You\u2019ll spend most of the first day on the vast Salar, passing salt-mines and visiting Isla Wasi, a rocky, cactus-covered island erupting from the endless expanse of salt crust like a hallucination. Over the next few days you\u2019ll head into the Andean Desert to see coral-like rock formations, geysers, hot springs and milky mineral lakes. Keep an eye \u2013 and your camera \u2013 out for llamas, flamingos, vicunas and foxes.<\/p>\n

Intrepid offer a range of trips across the salt flats, both as short, dedicated tours and as part of our greater Bolivia<\/a> and South America<\/a> adventures. Unlike most tour companies, some of our trips visit the Coquesa Caves at the foot of the Tunupa Volcano, which are home to ancient ceramics and a mysterious family of millennia-old mummies.<\/p>\n

When to go?<\/h2>\n
\"A

Photo by Nikita Andreev on Unsplash<\/p><\/div>\n

The flats are accessible year-round. From May to November, the weather is mild and clear, but the salt pans are baked dry, so there\u2019s no mirror effect. From January to April, during the summer wet, the flats are sheeted in water; while mostly drivable, access to Isla Wasi can be impossible.<\/p>\n

RELATED: WHY YOU’LL LOVE SAN PEDRO DE ATACAMA<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

How to get there?<\/h2>\n

If you\u2019re on a budget, night buses run regularly from La Paz to Uyuni, but be prepared for a very bumpy (and dusty) ride. The bus arrives around 8am, and most tours don\u2019t leave Uyuni until mid-morning, so you should have enough time to grab a coffee and walk around. Buses also operate out of Potozi and Tupiza. Alternatively, you could organise private transport, or catch a train from Oruro or Villazon. Intrepid flies directly to Uyuni from La Paz, saving you time and eliminating the inevitable sleep loss an overnight bus delivers.<\/p>\n

\"Strange

Photo by Byelikova Oksana, Shutterstock<\/p><\/div>\n

When planning a trip to the salt flats, it\u2019s important to remember that as they sit at over 3,650 metres above sea level, some people can suffer from altitude sickness. If you can, plan to spend a few days in La Paz to acclimatize beforehand.<\/p>\n

What to bring<\/h2>\n