Welcome to Salar de Uyuni/ the Uyuni Salt Flats – the world’s largest salt flat, stretching 10,000 square kilometres across the altiplano of Bolivia. The remnant of long evaporated prehistoric lakes, the entirely flat and eerily white landscape attracts thousands of visitors a year, flocking to check out the otherworldly scenery.
If it’s wet season, the rain will flood the dry lakes scattered across the altiplano. The overflow of water transforms the Uyuni Salt Flats into a gigantic mirror. The reflection of the sky makes the entire area look like a never-ending expanse of blue and clouds.
Most people explore the Uyuni Salt Flats via a three day trip from Chile to Bolivia or vice versa. Before hitting South America, I was set on the 3 day tour from Chile to Bolivia. But, we ended up spending more time in Brazil than originally planned (something I 100% do not regret). After a TON of research into Patagonia’s weather at the end of March, we decided to save Chile for a separate trip, so we needed to re-evaluate our South America route.
We were on the fence about the 3 day Uyuni Salt Flats tour. The geysers, flamingos, and high altitude lakes experienced on the 3 day tour were all things we didn’t want to miss, and it’s possible to do a circuit that begins and ends in Uyuni. But, talking to people who had taken the 3 day tour, we heard some less than stellar reviews. Stories of food poisoning, drunk drivers, car crashes, and freezing conditions were told but always finished with, ‘but it was gorgeous!’.
After weighing our options for what felt like ever, we decided to go for the one day Uyuni Salt Flats tour. We figured one full day for the main event, and we would save the other epic desert experiences for our future Chile trip. Tom was pretty gutted about missing out on the flamingos, which made sense after his excitement spotting wild emus on the drive to Uyuni.
We headed to the agency where we booked our tour at 7:30 AM, meeting the other 4 people we would be getting cozy with in the 4×4. We ended up running a few errands around town with our guide before actually starting the tour, so it was after 9 before we headed out.
From there we drove to Colchani, a tiny village 20 km from Uyuni, on the edge of the Uyuni Salt Flats. There is a small cooperative in town that processes salt from the flats, and locals have set up stalls on the street selling souvenirs, pictures petting llamas, etc. Our guide told us we’d be here for an hour, but after a half hour everyone in our group was ready to leave. Since the vehicle was locked our group set out to find our guide, and finally located him having a little nip in a neighbour’s house…
Our first stop of the day was the train graveyard, about 3 km outside of Uyuni town. The trains are what remains of a plan to expand the railway back at the beginning of the 20th century. The British shipped the trains to Bolivia in the hopes of expanding to the coastline, but the Andes caused some uphill issues. So, as you would in the early 1900’s, they abandoned the trains where they were, and headed home. The trains are now entirely eroded from years of standing up to salt blowing off the plains, leaving the whole thing looking very dystopian.
Once lunch was over we headed out to find a spot on the salt flats to get some photos. The great reflection shots are really only an option if it’s rained and there’s standing water. The forced perspective photos work if it’s dry. Unfortunately for us, there had been rain a few days prior so we were smack in the middle of the two, working with a bunch of puddles. I have the worst luck when it comes to anything season related, so this didn’t even surprise me.
Before heading to the Uyuni Salt Flats, I read raving reviews that talk of guides driving around looking for a great spot to get photos of the Salt Flats in all their glowing-white brilliance, but unfortunately our guide didn’t seem to be one of them, or just wasn’t feeling it that day. He parked us in one spot, and took a few group shots. After that was over he hopped back in the jeep, locked the doors, and went to sleep.
Thankfully, our group was pretty solid, so we all took turns getting photos for each other. After about an hour hanging out our group wanted to move on and hopefully find a spot that was a bit wetter/drier. One of the girls knocked on the window for a white trying to wake up our guide. When he woke up he said for us to take more photos because we weren’t leaving for an hour, and went back to sleep.
Sunset was part of our tour, so we headed back towards town to catch it. Unfortunately, it was extremely cloudy and windy. Our guide kept insisting that it wasn’t going to be a good sunset because of the wind stirring up the salt, and that we should go back to town. By this point we were all ready to go, so we agreed to leave and started the bumpy trek back to Uyuni.
I hate sounding so negative, but since I’m writing this to hopefully be beneficial for people following in my unsure footsteps, I figure it’s better to be honest. I wish everything I did was 100% as great as expected, butttt it doesn’t work out like that. While the Uyuni Salt Flats are amazing and I’m still glad I got the chance to visit, the one day Uyuni Salt Flats tour just wasn’t for me.
In hindsight, either the sunset tour or the 3 day Salar de Uyuni tour would have been a better choice. The one day tour drags on a lot longer than required, especially if you’re locked out of your jeep for an hour while your tour guide naps. I figured it took longer to get places, which would explain why it was 9 hours. In reality, I think it’s just dragged out so you feel like you’re getting more bang for your buck.
Uyuni itself was MUCH more built up than I was expecting. We ended up spending two nights in the town, getting in early the first night and booking our trip, and we left on the first bus out the morning after the Salar de Uyuni tour.
The only place we really ate, but the food was good. The burger menu is extensive, and it was actually a really good burger. For 30 bolivianos, it’s probably one of your better choices in Uyuni.
We stayed at Piedra Blanca, newly renovated and spotlessly clean. A fantastic breakfast spread (cereal, yogurt, eggs, basically unheard of in Bolivia). The only downside is that it’s a bit further from the main strip of Uyuni. Not that big of a deal if you’re only in town for a night or two for the Salt Flats. It’s only a short cab ride away from the bus station, but a bit of a walk with your backpack. (A cab should only cost you around 15 bolivianos, and even then we might of gotten ripped off)!
The buses all leave from the intersection of Avenida Arce and Cabrera. The agencies here all sell tickets for the same buses at different prices, so pop in and price it out. We left bright and early on the 7:30 AM Turismo 11 de Julio bus from Uyuni to Sucre. It was supposed to be direct but we had to get off and switch buses in Potosi. From my understanding now, that’s the case for any ‘direct’ bus doing this route so don’t be surprised. Still ends up basically being direct since when I ran to the bathroom inbetween, the bus almost left without me.
There’s also a 9 PM bus that you can make after finishing up a Salt Flats tour. It arrives in Sucre around 4 AM, so it’s best to have accommodations booked for the night. The Sucre bus station is small and nowhere near the historical city center. Also, Bolivian bus stations tend to lock up for the night, so on an early morning arrival you get off the bus on the street outside.
You can read all about Sucre in my post, here!
Todo Turismo and Titicaca are two good companies to travel with from Uyuni to La Paz, and you want to try to sleep. The buses have fully reclining or semi-reclining seats, and leave around 9 PM. The buses leaves from the intersection of Avenida Arce and Cabrera as well.
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