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Flamingos and volcanoesBolivian salt flats tourRoute: La Paz - Uyuni - salt flats, lagoons and geysers - Uyuni v.v.On our Bolivian Salt Flats tour, you'll venture deep into the heart of Bolivia, taking in all the country’s highlights along the way. Travelling by 4x4, you'll travel deep into the heart of Bolivia by jeep. You’ll pass oddly coloured volcanic lagoons high in the Andes, you'll visit a cactus island in the middle of the world’s largest salt lake, you'll come face to face with all sorts of wildlife, including flamingos and llamas, you'll get to bathe in hot volcanic springs and witness some of the most spectacular landscapes on the planet. This is one of our more adventurous Bolivia trips with lots of travel, extreme climates and without the comforts of home. However, you'll be rewarded with some of the most amazing scenery in South America. Make sure you're well rested before you start this Bolivian salt flats tour; you’ll be doing lots of travelling, the climate is extreme, you’ll need to make do without any home comforts and the jeep tour is quite tiring. But overall, this will be a trip to remember and the scenery will live long in the memory. If it all sounds a bit too much for your liking, take a look at our shorter Uyuni tour or our other Bolivia tours. |
| Duration |
6 days / 5 nights from La Paz to Uyuni (or vice versa). Departure daily. |
Accommodation |
1x overnight bus, 2x hotel Uyuni, 2x dorm (see our photos here). |
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Price |
£255 per person - based on 2 people sharing £208 per person - based on 2 people travelling from Uyuni to La Paz (5 days / 4 nights) |
Includes |
Transport, hotels with breakfast, 3 day 4x4 tour with driver/guide and full board. |
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Transport |
Night bus to Uyuni and 3 day Jeep safari to and from Uyuni. |
Excludes |
Entrance fee Isla Pescadores (US$1 per person). Other excursions, transfers, meals and/or entrance fees. |
Day 1 and 2 La Paz - Uyuni (overnight stay)The first day of your Bolivian Salt Flats tour takes you into the heart of Bolivia. From La Paz it’s a pretty long drive to Uyuni at 3700m. Click here for more information on La Paz.The overnight bus from La Paz to Uyuni leaves daily at 9pm, arriving in Uyuni around 7.30am the next morning. Be warned that the road isn’t exactly in great condition, especially in rainy season (November – March) so prepare for a bumpy ride. It can also get very cold at night so bring a very warm sweater, a small pillow (if you have one) and some snacks for the journey. Early the next morning, just as the sun is rising, the bus pulls into the town of Uyuni. |
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You can also do this Bolivian salt flats tour in reverse order, from Uyuni to La Paz in which case you’ll take the night bus around 8pm from Uyuni, arriving in La Paz at 7.30am the next day. There’s also a train connection between La Paz and Uyuni (four times a week) so, if you plan it well, you can take the bus from La Paz to Oruro where you can board the train to Uyuni. Booking this train can be tricky. The train is often cancelled which then means the rest of your Bolivia itinerary needs to be adjusted to make up for the delay. The bus is more reliable and therefore more convenient for your schedule. Uyuni was once an important trading post on the transport route to the Pacific Ocean, hence the railway tracks. These days, however, it’s little more than a dusty, cold desert town with very little going on, except for the train cemetery filled with old steam engines that were once used for the mining industry. The endless row of engines rusting away along the disused railway in the middle of nowhere is a very surreal sight. Tonight you’ll be staying in this dusty town in a basic hotel with plenty of warm blankets on the beds. |
Day 3 Uyuni - San JuanOn day three of your Bolivian Salt Flats tour, you’ll climb into your 4x4 around 10:30am and, with your Spanish-speaking driver, you’ll set off for the Salar de Uyuni salt plains. On the way you’ll be stopping off at Colchani, a small village that was built purely for the local salt mining. From here, it’s another 15 minutes to the salt flats, which are sure to be a highlight of your Bolivia trip. The flats were formed when the lake dried up and covered an area of 10.582 km². The salts and minerals couldn’t flow away and dried up in the lake, leaving an immense white and completely flat expanse of land.The Salar is literally, dazzling, even with sunglasses and a sun cap the brightness of the sun reflecting on the white plain makes your eyes water. If you're wearing your shades, you can just make out the snowy peaks of the Andes volcanoes on the far horizon. |
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As you drive straight across the salt pan, you'll suddenly see what looks like an island right in the middle of the endless white expanse. This rocky outcrop is, in fact, an island called Isla Pescadores (fish island, referring to the shape if the island) or Incahuasi. The island is completely overgrown with giant cacti and has panoramic views across the Salar from all sides. It’s where all the jeeps drive to for the open air lunch stop. You’ll spend an hour walking among the colossal cacti on the island, a real highlight of your Bolivian salt flats tour. These are the only plants strong enough to survive in the bizarre environment of the Salar. Towards the end of the day, you’ll arrive at your hotel for the night. The famous salt hotel is in very poor condition which is why we have chosen not to book your accommodation here on your Bolivia trip. You’ll pass it on your jeep tour, but you’ll be spending the night in a nearby village. |
Day 4 San Juan - Laguna ColoradaThe following day of your Bolivian Salt Flats tour, you’ll drive on to Salar de Chiguana, another salt plain considerably smaller than Salar de Uyuni but with beautiful broad views across the snow-covered Ollague just across the Chilean border. After a short stop at the border checkpoint, you’ll pass a couple of lagoons which are home to various species of flamingo. How these fragile birds balancing on their thin twiggy legs can possibly survive in the icy winds and cold, no-one knows. After about 70km you’ll reach the Arbol de Piedra, or stone tree. It’s a nice place to stop for lunch and have a look around the peculiar eroded rock formations. After lunch, it’s another 4 hours’ drive across the rugged landscape of southern Bolivia to the Laguna Colorada. The view here is phenomenal; a huge pink swarm of thousands of flamingos wading through the crimson coloured lagoon looking for algae and plankton. As the sun sets, the sky is filled with millions of stars. This mineral-rich lagoon lies at 4300m, so temperatures drop below freezing at night. It can also be very windy here. Your accommodation on this part of your Boliva trip is basic (no running water) but the amazing views make up for everything. |
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Day 5 Laguna Verde - Laguna Blanca - UyuniOn day five of your Bolivian Salt Flats tour, you’ll be up before dawn (5am!) to get to the geysers of Sol de Mañana (4850m). It’s freezing cold at this time of day so be quick to jump into the warm jeep. As you make your way to the geysers, the sun slowly rises over the unearthly lunar landscape. The geysers of Sol de Mañana only erupt early in the morning until about 8am. The rest of the day they just bubble and let off the occasional cloud of steam which isn’t quite as spectacular.On this freezing morning, make sure you have some breakfast because you’ll feel a lot less cold with a full stomach. Luckily, you can warm up in the blissful hot springs. You’re still at 4200m altitude but it’s a lot less windy and chilly here. Slide into the soothing 30C water against a backdrop of endless salt plains and Andes mountains- sure to be a great memory of your Boliva travels. Emerging from the water, looking like a shrivelled prune, you’ll feel positively warm and reborn. |
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After your morning bath it’s time to jump back into the jeep and continue towards the southern tip of Bolivia. Around 11am you’ll reach an altitude of 5000m close to the Chilean border. Laguna Verde, at the foot of the Licancabur volcano, is literally, and figuratively, a high point on the Bolivian Salt Flats tour. The lagoon has an almost surreal green colour caused by the high concentration of lead, sulphur and calcium. Even at -20C the lake never freezes as the high mineral content and eternal winds keep it from freezing over. Just as beautiful, is the nearby white-coloured Laguna Blanca, reflecting the white mountain peaks on its mirrored surface. If you’re travelling on to Chile after this Bolivia tour the jeep will drop you off here. |
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Before lunch you’ll travel back to Laguna Colorada. You’ll stop for lunch on the banks of the other side of the lake overlooking the feeding flamingos. The final couple of hours of your jeep expedition will take you past the Rocks of Salvador Dali and the Valle de Rocas. You might spot the odd vizcacha, a type of Andean rabbit. Late in the afternoon you’ll see Uyuni appear on the horizon but, first, you’ll pay a visit to the train cemetery. The tour ends around 6pm back in Uyuni. Please understand that due to unpredictable weather circumstances the Bolivian Salt Flats tour itinerary can be changed without prior notice. A certain amount of flexibility in your travel plans may be needed. Tonight you can wash off all the salt under a hot shower back at your hotel in Uyuni and enjoy a good night’s sleep in a comfy bed, before travelling on to Potosi tomorrow. You could choose to travel on to Potosi by bus the same evening, which means you’ll arrive in Potosi around midnight. It will save you a night but it’s a pretty exhausting trip. If you’d like us to arrange it for you on your Boliva trip please let us know on your Quote Request Form. |
Day 6 Uyuni - PotosiYou'll begin day six of your Bolivian salt flats tour with a leisurely breakfast. You can then continue travelling onto Potosi for our Potosi silver mine tour, 'Searching in the silver mines' and then onto the beautiful city of Sucre, for our Bolivia trip, 'Springtime in the white city'.Potosi lies at 4100m altitude and was founded in 1545 when large quantities of silver were discovered in the Cerro Rico. The city has been at the centre of the silver mining industry for over four centuries. Everything in Potosi revolves around the mine and the locals seem completely unphased by tourists visiting the town. So in our view, Potosi is well worth a visit on your Bolivia trip. |
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What to bring on your Bolivian Salt Flats tour:
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Bolivian Salt Flats tour accommodation (Click to enlarge)
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