Let me start with the best picture of the Uyuni trip. This was taken seconds before sunset on Day 1 on the Salt Flats. The sun goes so low and the hexagonal salt rings reflect the sun's yellow light so beautifully. One of the only few places on earth where you can see the horizon so clearly on land.
If you go to Bolivia do not miss a visit to Uyuni Salt Flats. We were really glad to have made the 3 days 2 nights classic route through the Uyuni Salt Flats (Salar de Uyuni) and the Antiplano. So here is our trip a little more in detail.
Day 1:
After leaving small town of Uyuni our first visit was to the Train Cemetery. You don't see abandoned trains in the middle of the desert everyday. This gives you a great opportunity to take some awesome pictures. Then we made our way to the Salt Flats. We travelled through this marvellous never ending white salts flats during most of the afternoon, stopping and taking pictures at various places. We landed at the Isla on Flats in the evening and stayed in a hotel made purely of salt overnight. This was the same day we met Aline (from Sao Paulo, Brazil) and we spent many days together.
Day 2:
After staying overnight in the salt hotel we spent the whole day travelling a few hundred kilometres in the antiplano, visiting several lagoons, watching different kinds of flamingos. In particular we were really blown away by the spectacular Laguna Colorado which we reached around sunset. We spent Night 2 high in the antiplano at 4600 meters. It was a really cold night and temperatures dipped to -10 degrees I think. However, I did manage to go out (in the night and before sunrise) to take pictures of the sky despite the bright moon.
One of the best things to happen on the trip was witnessing snow at high altitude desert. There is hardly any life around as rainfall in almost non existent.
Day 3:
We had an early start and made our way to the hot springs where spent a short time in the hot springs. The Sun was already out and it was warm. We were late in leaving compared to other tour groups but did manage to squeeze everything in time.
Our driver suggested we skip the Laguna Verde because we were short of time but we managed to convince him that if we miss our bus we would manage.
Once we left Lake Verde we were at the Bolivia exit checkpoint in 10 minutes. Here we witnessed our best border crossing at 4750 meters. It was just a small hut with a few vehicles parked outside. We paid 15 bolivianos and got our passports stamped out.
Enjoy the pictures.
Finally Top Tips:
1. Be prepared for the cold.
On night 2 we slept in the antiplano desert at 4700 meters above sea level and yes it gets really cold at that altitude so pack warm and get or hire a sleeping bag.
2. You don't necessarily need an English speaking driver/guide
As long as you have someone in the group who can do the translating you can avoid paying £40 ($60) additional for English speaking guide. Most of the time you are so blown away by what you are seeing, you really don't need a translator.
3. Carry wet wipes, sunglasses, sun cream, a hat and plenty of toilet paper
You may not want to pay extra and shower in the cold. When exploring I am happy to go without shower for a few days. While on the flats there are no toilets around and there is no bush to hide, so get use to going in the wild 🙂
4. Coca leaves
Good for altitude sickness as you will be between 4000 and 4900 meters above sea level most of the time and sweets of this nature or altitude pills can really play a part in your overall experience.
5. Its a bit of a rush
If you can form a group of five or six people you can negotiate for a 4 days 3 nights itinerary with the tour company where you can arrange to spend more time in places that catches your breath.
The Route
