Salar de Uyuni

Be cautious due to drunk drivers. Every year there are some accidents on the Salt Desert, with drivers from the various companies drinking more than is healthy. Do not risk your life by traveling with a drunk driver.

Some advise to bring emergency supplies including up to several extra days of food and water in case the truck breaks down in a remote place, but unless you are on a custom tour there will likely be another truck along in a few minutes.

Altitude sickness is a real possibility here. If you are arriving directly from the coast, you may need up to a couple days to acclimatize. Dizziness, shortness of breath and headaches are common symptoms, but extended bouts of nausea and vomiting are not unheard of amongst those that have rushed their ascent. The locals swear by chewing coca leaves to help, and although they do relieve the symptoms, they taste terrible and may cause you to fail a drug test. Anyone not already fully acclimatized is advised to pick up some Acetazolamide from the pharmacy in Uyuni before departure.

You can also drink Coca Leaf Tea. Everyone from the Pope to Queen Sofia of Spain drinks it when visiting Bolivia. If you add a little sugar, it is even tasty!

In order to avoid Altitude sickness, a gradual adaptation to the altitude is advisable, visiting initially Bolivian flat located at 500 masl Santa Cruz de la Sierra, then moving to the valley Cochabamba, located at 2,500 masl, and only then making the trip to Salar de Uyuni.

third afternoon - northward toward uyuni

The road back to Uyuni is very bumpy. You will stop in various small communities on the way.

Valles de Rocas

many strange valleys of rocks popping up out of the altiplano. The guide will point out patterns in the rocks that resemble familiar objects.

Accommodation

Tours stay at various small towns en route to their final destination. Heating and showers are dependent upon where the driver decides to stop. The small town of Alota is relatively popular with tours.

first day - the world's largest salt flat

On the first day you will visit the salt flats. In the dry season this will be a hallucinogenic white landscape. In the rain it is mostly submerged and will show a perfect reflection of the sky.

Uyuni Plaza Arce

3669m, 20.463 S, 66.823 W - Most trips start here next to the train station at 10:30am, although hotel pickup is usually available.

Train Graveyard

3669m, 20.479 S, 66.834 W - Usually the first thing of the tour, but some operators prefer to finish the tour with it. A place with a lot of wrecked old steam locomotives.

Colchani, Bloques de Sal

3653m, 20.301 S, 66.938 W - a village 7 kilometers north of Uyuni that survives off of the processing of salt. Salt souvenirs are available, a salt museum that has carvings of animals created with salt they make you pay the fee upon exit, some examples of furniture and home-building techniques using salt. Bathrooms available for 1B.

Salt-Mining Area

3653m, 20.321 S, 66.994 W - an area where salt is dug from the plane into piles weighing a ton each, and left to dry in the sun before transport to a refinery then to your table.

Salt Hotels

3653m, 20.331 S, 67.047 W- Several hotels made completely out of salt. It is necessary to purchase a candy-bar to go inside.

Isla de los Pescados, or Isla Incawasi

3653m, 20.243 S, 67.625 W - The name originates from the fish-like appearance of the island's reflection in the wet season. In November 2011 there is a fee of 30B to visit this island of fossilized coral covered in 1000-year-old cacti in the middle of the Salar. These cacti grow at a rate of 1cm per year, so you can easily calculate their age. You may see a Viscacha or two here, also. Most tour groups eat lunch on the western "shore" of this island. Bathrooms available for 1B.

Accommodation

can be found at San Juan 3660m, 20.983 S, 67.767 W, though for a real treat try to get the agency to use to accommodation closer to the Salar: you will then be able to get up before dawn and reach the flats by 4x4 to see the most spectacular sunrise of your life. The more basic "salt hotels" may have showers for 10B. and a camera recharge station.

third afternoon - eastward toward tupiza

If you opt for the four day tour to Tupiza, then you will go off the beaten track, and visit some small communities. You will see the previous and some of the following:

Laguna Celeste

A clear-blue lake colored by magnesium and manganese.

Laguna Amarilla

A yellow sulfur lake, some old cave paintings nearby.

Ruinas de San Antonio

an abandoned 16th century mining town where prospectors used slave labour. Depending on who you talk to the town was abandoned because either, there was a slave rebellion or, men started to go blind / missing. Regardless an attempt in the 70s to repopulate the town failed and people now live in a town of the same name that is close by but not overlooked by the ominous Volcano Uturuncu 6020m.

third morning - geysers and hot springs down to laguna verde and back

It will begin at an ungodly hour 5am without breakfast to visit some of the following:

Solar de Manaña geyser basin

4850m - a collection of bubbling sulfur pools and a geyser, normally visited just as the sun is rising. There are no railings here, the ground can be slippery and cave in, and that water looks hot.

Termas de Polques hot springs

4400m, 22.536 S, 67.649 W - adjacent to Salar de Chalviri - bring something to swim in if you want to enjoy the hot springs. A popular spot for Breakfast. Primitive bathrooms available for 3B.

Laguna Verde

4400m, 22.795 S, 67.84 W - coloured green by Arsenic, Lead, Copper and other heavy metals with a perfect reflection of Vulcán Lincacabur 5960m.

Next will be a long drive back to Uyuni, or you can also branch off here to San Pedro de Atacama.

Laguna Blanca

A white lake filled with Borax.

Lunch

Laguna Colorada is a popular place to eat lunch. Restrooms may or may not be provided.