Located in Southern Bolivia, the remote town of Uyuni is the gateway to the Salar de Uyuni – the largest salt flats in the world. Left behind by evaporated prehistoric lakes, a salt crust formed to produce this otherwordly place where white salt hexagons reach the horizon. In the area, you’ll find rocky deserts, lagoons and coloured flamingos. Visit the small settlement of Colchani, a hotel made completely out of salt and the Tunupa Volcano for a bird’s eye view of the salt planes below. At certain points throughout the year, visitors are treated to a vast view of small salt pyramids, ready to be exported all over the world.
Top three things to do in Uyuni
1. Visit the desert train cemetery
Get up close to the first trains of Bolivia – an eerie site of corroded carriages, wagons and wheels that were left behind in an abandoned project to create a bigger train network. Reflect on the machines that will never reach their destination, or use them as a fantastic backdrop to photos.
2. Take a trip to Isla Incahuasi
Walk among the gigantic Trichocereus cactus on this hilly and rocky part of land in the middle of Salar de Uyuni. Learn about its connection to the Incas at the tourist centre and how it was used as a temporary refuge when crossing the salt flat. You’ll be mesmerised by 360° views of the salt tiles surrounding you.
3. Enjoy a tour of the Uyuni Salt Flats
There are many ways to experience the Salar. In the daytime, the salt shines a snowy white against blue skies. Sunset tours treat visitors to warm hues or you can stare up at the Bolivian starry sky at night. Experience when the Salar becomes a giant mirror of the sky for the most epic photos.
