Salt Flat Tour Part 1

We arrived in Uyuni early on Tuesday morning and were greeted by chilly 3°C. After a quick coffee break and changing into our warm clothes we went to book a 3 day tour through the Bolivian Andes national park which started at 10am on the same day.

Within the 3 days we explored the vast Salar de Uyuni, originally known as Tunupa, spanning an incredible 10500 m². We also visited the Cactus Island, train cemetery, colorful lagoons (Lagunas Coloradas), relaxing hot springs and volcanic geysers. Along the way we were able to see plenty of wildlife: flamingos, lamas, vicuñas, rabbits (vizcachas) and two foxes.
We slept two nights in salt-hotels and being at an altitude of 4200m you can imagine the view of the stars.

The landscape was very impressive and partly martian-like. In fact NASA apparently even conducts tests here to better understand Mars-like conditions.

At the volcanic craters, we reached an altitude of 4950 meters. Fortunately, Anita and I only experienced mild headaches, nothing a little coca leaf (or Dolormin Extra) couldn't handle. While I'm not entirely sure if the coca leaves truly helped, they did feel like a shot of espresso.

I am still in awe and so very grateful that I was able to experience this wonderful part of the world and will surely never forget these stunning views!

Next Stop: La PazRead more