Salar de Uyuni Tour – Day 4

Jean Maldonado — Tue, 25 Sep 2018 20:14:00 +0000

On this final day, it’s a very early morning 5 AM start to leave in time to catch the sunrise. Our sunrise spot is at Isla Incahuasi and it takes about 30 minutes to get there. The entrance fee costs 30 BOB¹ and we got there at around 6.10 AM. The sun was already rising by this time so we quickly headed up to a viewpoint to catch the rest of the sunrise. We spent about 40 minutes watching the sunrise and exploring the island. The island is mainly made of rocks and has many cactus plants scattered around. Once we were done walking around the island, we went back down where our guide was waiting for us with breakfast. There are several tables and chairs outside the island entrance where we had breakfast. During breakfast the guide gave us some more info on the salt flats, telling us that it used to be a lake that dried out approximately 10,000 years ago. He also said that the white salt we see on top is just one layer resulting from the last lake that dried out. There are a total of 11 layers which means 11 lakes have gone extinct here. After breakfast, the guide said we could walk around the island whilst he put everything away.

We then left at around 8.40 AM to go deeper into the salt flats for a photo session. We stopped at around 9.30 AM in the middle of the salt flats. Other than the odd mountain in the distant horizon, all you could see was the white salt terrain. The view was truly incredible and great for pictures. The guide took out a toy dinosaur for some pictures, playing around with perspective. We spent about 30 minutes taking pictures before continuing to the first salt hotel. The salt hotel is no longer operational since it was closed down due to being built illegally in a protected site. So now you can just wander around inside to see what it was like. At this site, there is also the Plaza de las Banderas where you’ll find flags from all over the world. There’s also a Dakar Monument nearby a short walk away. Once we were done walking around and taking pictures, we continue across the salt flats to our lunch stop in Colchani.

On the way, we first pass by the Ojos del Salar which is where water from underground rivers below the salt flats surface. The guide stops quickly for us to take pictures but we don’t get out. Continuing a little further down, we come across the Montones de Sal. These are piles of salt which are extracted and taken to the nearby town of Colchani to be processed. Again it’s just a quick pause for pictures and then continuing to Colchani. We arrive in Colchani at around 11.30 AM. It’s a small town and the guide says we can walk around the arts and crafts market while we wait for lunch. He mentioned that the souvenirs here were cheaper than in Uyuni so we bought a couple here. We were done with lunch by around 12.30 PM and continued to the last site – the Train Cemetery. It was a quick 30-minute drive there and we pass Uyuni to get there. We spend about 20 minutes here walking around, taking pictures of the abandoned train skeletons. Some have pretty cool graffiti designs on them. Once we’re done with this, the guide takes us to the Uyuni city center to drop us off near the bus terminal. He shows us where we can get bus tickets to our next destination – Calama, Chile. We just missed the last bus as we saw it pull away, so we had to look for accommodation and booked the first bus out the next day.

Salar de Uyuni Tour – Day 3

Jean Maldonado — Mon, 24 Sep 2018 21:21:00 +0000

It’s another early 6.30 AM start for breakfast at our lodge in Laguna Colorada. We then load our bags onto the Jeep and leave around 7.30 AM. It’s a short drive to our first stop – Árbol de Piedra (Rock Tree) – arriving at around 8.15 AM. Located in the Siloli Desert, the iconic rock in the form of a tree sits among a field of large rocks. Our guide said these were volcanic rocks that had been shaped by winds reaching 200 Km/h over hundreds of years. We were given around 25 minutes to walk around and managed to get some great pictures. We then get back on the Jeep and drive through the Siloli Desert towards a stretch of lakes.

We arrive at the first stop at Lake Honda at around 9.15 AM. We first stopped at a viewpoint for a panoramic view of the lake and then headed down to the lake. From the bottom, you can see the lake has a mirror effect reflecting the mountain landscape. Next, we continue for another 30 minutes to Lake Hedionda. We saw a couple of birds at this lake and walked about for about 10 minutes before getting back on the Jeep to head to the next lake. While driving we passed Lake Charcota and then reached Lake Cañapa. There were some more birds at this lake so we spent around 10 minutes walking around.

Then it was back to the Jeep and off to the viewpoint of the active Volcano Ollagüe. We reached the viewpoint at around 11.45 AM. There was a rock that you can climb up to take some pictures. We spent about 15 minutes here before continuing to another lake. I believe this lake was Laguna Negra (Black Lake) due to its dark color. Opposite the lake, there some more rocks dispersed in the desert. This was a quick 10 minute stop before heading to the last destination before lunch – Valle de Rocas (Rock Valley). It was only a 10-15 minute drive to get to this valley. Many rocks are laying all over the place in this valley, but the most iconic one was named the headless condor. This rock formation looked like a condor taking flight with only its head missing. We’re only here for 5 minutes to step out and take a picture since everyone was getting hungry by 1.30 PM. So it was onwards to the small village of Villa Alota where we had lunch in what seemed to normally be a restaurant. There are restroom facilities here which cost 2 BOB¹ per person.

Once we finished lunch, we continued towards the Uyuni Salt Flats. On our way, we passed through a scenic valley where we stopped to take pictures at the bottom of the valley and then when we reached the top. Shortly after, we also came across some plains where we saw llamas grazing in the field so we stopped there for some pictures. What was particularly interesting was how it looked like the wall of the mountains had been cut to make way for the road. Next, we arrived at the small town of Julaca which has railway tracks running through the middle of the town. There is a bar/restaurant in the town we visited where you can buy drinks and snacks. There was also an abandoned decaying train by the railway tracks which we climbed to take a picture. From here, we were now in the final leg of our journey to the Uyuni Salt Flats.

We were a little ahead of schedule so the guide suggested visiting some caverns before the sunset at the salt flats. The group agreed so it was a quick visit to Hell’s Cavern. The entrance tickets were 15 BOB each. As you step in, the cavern is dark until the site’s guide turns on the lights. He then hands out helmets before going deeper into the cavern. Some crouching and squeezing through gaps are involved but it’s a small cavern and takes about 15 minutes to complete. We then drove into the salt flats for about 30 minutes arriving at our sunset spot at around 5.45 PM. We stayed here to watch the sun fall behind some mountains. Following the sunset, it’s back on the Jeep to head to the hotel around 6.25 PM. Our hotel was made of salt and here we were allocated rooms between 2 people. There were shower facilities here as well which cost 10 BOB each. The dining area is on the first floor and dinner is served around 8 PM. There are sockets in the dining area if you need to charge any electronic devices. The rooms are basic but comfortable for a good night’s sleep.

Railway – Maldo Travels

Salar de Uyuni Tour – Day 4

Salar de Uyuni Tour – Day 3