The Salar de Uyuni: Part 1
We are lucky enough to have seen many wonderful places around the world on our travels, yet this journey through Peru and Bolivia had already become one of our best ever trips even before we headed towards Uyuni. From Uyuni we set out on a 3-day journey which took us to some of the most incredible places and unbelievable natural sights we have ever seen, so much so that Michaela commented that it felt like we were moving from one National Geographic cover to another. A truly amazing journey with so many pinch-yourself moments….
When we first heard about the remote town of Uyuni and its incredible salt flats, we knew it had to be on the agenda for this trip despite its harsh cold climate. We also thought we might arrive here on the time honoured train which still makes its slow passage through the Altiplano landscapes, but it turns out that unfortunately there’s only one train per week, and it travels overnight on the wrong day for us, so it’s not a goer.
Instead we bowl into town on a short early morning domestic flight from La Paz and get our first glimpses of the amazing and gigantic salt flats from the window of the aeroplane. This is such remote country that there isn’t even a tarmac road to the airport, just a dusty dirt road leading from the airport gates to the town itself.
Uyuni has all the feel of a desert town, except here along its wide streets the sand and dust glitter in the morning sunshine, crystals of salt mixing with the sand and catching the sun like miniature diamonds scattered in the street. Every junction is a right-angled crossroads, such is the precision of the US style grid of streets – Sahara meets smalltown America. But this is no ordinary desert, this is desert 3,700 metres above sea level, where the air is not only thin and dry but stubbornly cold. It’s sub zero as we drift along the dusty streets, yet there’s warmth too in the morning sun.
Lethargic street dogs mooch around town, cafe owners sweep sand from doorways, one or two are ready to serve. We’re far too early to check in, so it’s cappuccinos in the sun, despite the cold. This simultaneously-hot-and-cold thing is still a novelty to us, probably will remain so, but here in Uyuni it’s magnified yet more – have we experienced a sand strewn desert town in temperatures as low as this before? No, we haven’t.
The Salar de Uyuni is the world’s largest salt flat, covering an astonishing 4,086 square miles, at an altitude of 3,656 metres. Those facts alone make this place utterly unique in the entire world. Acclimatising not just to the altitude but to the cold as well, we spend a couple of days in the offbeat town, befriending street dogs and indulging in siestas, endeavouring to bring our pounding hearts somewhere close to normal.
Two of our friends
Uyuni still celebrates its railway heritage with memorabilia dotted around town and a station which is still pristine despite its very limited usage. Acquainted now with this unusual dustbowl town, we prepare ourselves for our next departure from reality, a 3-day 2-night experience in the harsh cold of the Altiplano, across the amazing salt flats and a little bit into the unknown. Chilly nights are ahead….
Sunday evening, coldest yet, the tiny salt diamonds now glinting in car headlights rather than sunshine. Time to pack our small bags and leave the main backpacks behind in town as we venture out into the wilderness of the salt flats, travelling light out of necessity. Last time we did this it was in the sweltering humidity of the Amazon rainforest, now it’s the harsh cold of the Altiplano.
Monday morning, Day 1, and for once not a pre-dawn start. Our guide Carlos introduces us to Edwin our driver, and then to our fellow adventurers, Johannes and Valdemar, two highly articulate 19-year-olds from Odense in Denmark and Max, a practicing psychiatrist from near Munich. It’s the seven of us for the next three days. Carlos soon shows himself to be an animated, demonstrative individual – he can’t, for instance, say the word “flamingo” without standing on one leg.
“I hope you have brought everything on the list”, he says during his briefing, “because you gonna be COLD and the accommodation gonna be RUSTIC”. He speaks those words in capital letters. Three times.
The adventure begins with a first stop not far out of Uyuni, the rather unusual train cemetery where rusting locomotives and wagons sit slowly dying on lengths of British built track. These trains were part of the thriving mining industry from the late 19th century through until the 1940s when the industry collapsed. Then surplus to requirements, the trains were left to rot on site, nowadays forming a quirky but popular tourist attraction.
On we go, passing through villages where the houses are built exclusively from salt bricks, until eventually the desert tracks bring us to the edge of the Salar, the most expansive salt flat in the entire world. Numbers and statistics are one thing: seeing it for real is something else entirely. It’s just so vast, stretching pure white flatness into the far distance – indeed, all the way to the horizon, the bright sunlight magnified by the blinding reflections off the dazzling white surface of the salt.
Pinch yourself a minute, Michaela. We’re about 3,700 metres above sea level yet standing on salt which is the remnant of an ocean floor. In parts of this incredible Salar, the salt crust has been found to be an amazing 180 metres deep. Islands still exist here, protruding above the blanket of startling white in isolated mounds, sacred places where Pachamama grants permission for plant life to survive.
We stop at one such island, Incahuasi, where that plant life is dominated by cacti. No ordinary cacti, either – these are giant, erect beasts which soar skywards in this remote, unusual setting.
Deep winter is just around the corner, the surface water is disappearing from the Salar, soon the famous reflections will be gone until the seasons once again change. But for now, at our next call, there remains a covering a couple of inches deep; we step into our wellington boots supplied by Carlos and stand in this unbelievable place waiting for the sunset. The young Danes chuckle at the fact that everyone appears to be walking on water.
Sunset creeps closer. As the orange ball drops to the horizon, Carlos tells us to turn around, and we are greeted by, truly, one of the most magical sights we have ever set eyes on – a sunset in the Eastern sky. As the sun drops in the West, the opposite sky reflects the colours of the sunset, which is then reflected itself in the salty water. We gasp. A double sunset reflection. Never have we seen such vivid colours in the “wrong” sky. Magical.
And so the first day is almost done. As the colours of the sunset dim and darkness falls, there is a sadness that such a wonderful day is over, joy and excitement at what may follow on the next two. A camaraderie is developing amongst the Gang Of Seven. The Danish boys are on their first ever independent travels: we are at opposite ends of the travel spectrum and nearly 50 years older, yet the travellers’ connection is already palpable.
Fifty minutes later we pull in to the ramshackle village of Candelaria, where all the buildings including our hotel are built entirely from salt bricks. Our “hotel” – it’s just a few rooms on the back of a private dwelling – is as RUSTIC as Carlos had warned it would be. It’s also without a shadow of a doubt the coldest room we have ever slept in – it’s minus 6 outside, there’s broken windows with cardboard repairs, bare salt brick walls, spartan furniture and, of course, no heating.
It. Is. Bitter. In. Here.
We pull up the heavy blankets and slide into our “nod pods” (if you haven’t got a nod pod, then buy one!), wondering if sleep will be possible. I’m 68 and this is the first time I’ve ever slept with a woolly hat on my head.
The icy wind howls outside. We’re not sure we can do this.
Next thing we know the alarm is going off. It’s 6:30am and we’ve slept like logs.
To be continued…..
39 Comments
gsilvosatrekpix
Best ever adventure! Well narrated too! I enjoyed reading.
Phil & Michaela
Thank you….there’s more to come!
gsilvosatrekpix
You’re welcome! Keep it coming!
Latitude Adjustment: A Tale of Two Wanderersl
Great photos, especially the sunsets. Are you coming to Colombia on this adventure?
Phil & Michaela
Not this time but absolutely definitely on the list!
Eha Carr
Oh! And again, oh! I am just scrolling and scrolling and feeling cold in my room supposedly 23C ? Saw some of this on Insta yesterday but the full ‘force’ of the story has just sort’of ‘hit’! I have never seen anything like this in my life . . ., love the contrast twixt the endless salt flats and those fantastic cacti. Big hugs to you for posting and DO look after yourselves – your group seems super!
Phil & Michaela
Eha the trip was full of those moments, things we’ve never seen before. Part 2 to follow shortly hopefully…
Lookoom
Revisiting the stages of the visit to the Salar d’Uyuni all these years later, I can easily relive the sensations and I’m glad that so little has changed. These are landscapes and a travel experience that remain in memory.
Phil & Michaela
Absolutely, an incredible and unique place
Monkey's Tale
I loved revisiting Uyuni with you! And how amazing that you had a bit of water, the one thing we didn’t get. Those sunsets! Wow!
Phil & Michaela
We got lucky with everything really Maggie. Such an astonishing place.
Monkey's Tale
And I forgot to say, you haven’t lived yet until you’ve slept in a toque (wool hat) 😊
Phil & Michaela
😂
WanderingCanadians
Adventure indeed. The salt flats are incredible, it looks like snow. I got a good laugh from your group pictures with the dinosaur and wine bottle. How wild to see an island filled with cacti there. Your sunset captures are simply sunning. It makes up for the RUSTIC hotel.
Phil & Michaela
It really was a sensational three days. Even on a very special trip like this, the Salar will stand out as a memory.
Toonsarah
What an incredible day! Stunning landscapes, even more stunning sunset! Worth the cold to see this for sure, although I suspect we’d be searching for a slightly less rustic option if available 😀
Phil & Michaela
Well actually, I’m not sure you can. Everything out in the wilderness is pretty rustic. I think the only way you can avoid it is to limit your experience to a 1-day trip and return to Uyuni town. So essentially you have to choose: go rustic and see everything or go for comfort and miss a lot of the wonderful sights.
Toonsarah
Fair enough – we’d probably bite the bullet then!
Travels Through My Lens
Looks completely fascinating. I’m looking forward to reading more.
Phil & Michaela
Truly, a magnificent 3-day tour with so many amazing moments and sights!
Anonymous
Every post shows me the unknown….a fabulous trip.
Phil & Michaela
Thank you, Anonymous 😂. It certainly has been a fabulous and memorable journey through two amazing countries.
Heyjude
What amazing photos. Every one had me gasping. Or laughing – love the dinosaur and wine bottle. What fun! Not so fun is the accommodation though. Still you seemed to cope alright.
Phil & Michaela
It was absolutely worth any discomfort to see these incredible places, Jude. Really fabulous scenery.
wetanddustyroads
Wow – those photos at the salt pans are stunning! And as an afterthought: I also like the dogs in their jackets/sweaters. Ha, if someone tells you three times that the accommodation is going to be rustic, then you’d better be prepared. But it sounds like you had a good night’s sleep (thank goodness for woolly hats)!
Phil & Michaela
What a fantastic adventure it was, Corna
grandmisadventures
Wow- every picture really does look like you’ve stepped into national geographic. Those salt flats are amazing! 🙂
Phil & Michaela
Absolutely amazing place to visit, Meg
Annie Berger
Loved reading about your first day visiting the Salar de Uyuni, also one of our favorite places. I don’t recall those magical sunsets you experienced, nor, luckily, the bitterly cold weather. Your Gang of Seven looks like it was as much fun as our group of 20-somethings from elsewhere in South America. Remarkably, we all got on like a house on fire, even with the loud music for the most part. We also brought a tiny plastic dinosaur for the fun shots, but I haven’t seen the standing on a wine bottle image before! Had you prearranged your tour, or just booked it on arrival in Uyuni as we did?
Annie Berger
What’s a nod pod? what have we been missing out al these years when we’ve been traveling?!
Phil & Michaela
A nod pod is a lightweight sleeping bag made from silk. It has four great advantages…being silk, it keeps you warm when it’s cold and cool when it’s humid; it folds up into a tiny square which puts no weight or bulk in your backpacks, plus it has a top end which wraps around a pillow – meaning that if you’re in a slightly dodgy place you don’t need to make any contact at all with the bed linen.
Annie Berger
Sounds like a great addition to your travel gear!
Phil & Michaela
It was such a wonderful experience, Annie, three days we’ll never forget because of all the amazing sights. We booked the tour a few days before we got there. These days, like a lot of travellers, the “Get Your Guide” app has really changed everything in that regard – it’s all so efficient and the guides seem to have united behind it virtually everywhere we go.
normareadtalktalknet
Incredible.. what an amazing experience, the photos and colours are stunning, however did you even find this 😳
Phil & Michaela
It was indeed amazing Normski. Actually finding it was the easy bit, Uyuni appears on pretty much every “visit Bolivia” website…plus we’d read about it on other travel blog sites.
India Safaris
Your vivid storytelling really brings the Salar de Uyuni to life — I felt like I was right there on the salt flats watching that double sunset reflection. Truly magical!
Phil & Michaela
Thank you so much for your comment, much appreciated!
Trans India Holidays
Thanks for sharing this part of your trip. Salar de Uyuni sounds stunning and your photos and details make me want to see it for myself someday.
Phil & Michaela
Thank you, it’s an amazing place!