Salar de Uyuni and the Bolivian Altiplano

We signed up for a three-day tour of the Bolivian altiplano and Salar de Uyuni, the world's largest salt flat.  Heading out of town with nineteen other people and our driver/guides in four Toyota Land Cruisers, we skirted the massive Licancabur volcano, seen by locals as the protector of San Pedro de Atacama.

The tour agency brought breakfast up to the Bolivian border, where it took about three hours to get through the immigration and customs checkpoints. On the Bolivian side, they demanded a bank statement and a yellow fever inoculation card, both of which we'd been told we wouldn't need. After much haggling and translation help from a Spanish woman in our group, they finally relented and stamped our passports.

While parts of Chile are as developed as the U.S., Bolivia is quite another story.

Once into Bolivia, our first stops were at Laguna Blanca and Laguna Verde, nestled between two volcanos at 14,000 feet. On this tour, I got an appreciation of the U.S. regulations for pilots on oxygen use. We slept at 12,000-14,000' and crossed one pass at 16,100. Walking up a slight incline got me winded with my heart pounding; the second day I was more acclimated.

The Dali Desert has surreal rock formations, and the "seven-colored mountains" across the valley reflect Bolivia's mineral wealth.

It's chilly at altitude, and the Termal de Polques hot springs warmed our bones.

The Solar de Manana geothermal field at 15,748 feet, with its steaming multicolored pools, gurgled and splashed. Our guide warned us to be very careful walking around them, because a wrong step had led others to an untimely end. With a strong wind, and being lightheaded from the altitude, I didn't get too close.

In the afternoon and again the next morning, we visited Laguna Colorado and its 30,000 flamingos. Chile has three species of flamingo, the Chilean, Andean, and the James. The James was thought to be extinct in 1924, but in this area they thrive, nearly all of the flamingos in Laguna Colorado being this species.

It's one of the most beautiful places on Earth I've seen.

We traveled with some great people. In addition to Daniel, our guide and driver, there was a German/Austrian couple and two woman friends from Spain. Most people on the tour were in their 30s, so I felt a bit like an elder. But Judy and I perched in the back seat most of the time, since it had more room for us and our day packs.

Back on the road, we came to the Arbol de Piedras (tree of rock) and other strange wind-and-sand sculpted formations.
















In a narrow gulch we found these yareta plants, which turn bright green with the rain and brown when dry. Up close, you can see they're covered with tiny flower buds. Summer rains had brought them to life.

Laguna Honda and Laguna Hedionda, two in a chain of four, offered expansive views.

A glimpse of Ollague, Bolivia's only active volcano.

Some more interesting rock formations in Valle las Rocas. It's a badlands that stretches for many miles, and it reminded me of the area near Joshua Tree in California where our son Forest has property.

We passed many fields of red and yellow quinoa. I don't know how he found it, but Daniel and the other guides dug roots of a wild radish-like plant to show and sample. It was sweet with a bitter aftertaste. 

The second night was spent in a little place where there were hot showers and Judy and I had our own room. It seemed luxurious compared to the first night, which was six to a room and no showers at all. Meals were provided during the tour, and the chicken dinner here was particularly good.

First stop on the second day of the tour was the "train cemetery" near the city of Uyuni. Up until about 30 years ago, coal-and-steam powered trains transported minerals, especially potash, to a coastal port. When better technology came along, these were left on the tracks outside town. Now they're a major tourist attraction.

Finally, the main event of the tour: Salar de Uyuni, a 400-square-mile salt flat. It's so flat that it's used for calibrating Earth observation satellites. The brine provides 50-70% of the wold's lithium. When rain covers the surface, as it had recently, it's an 80-mile-wide mirror.

A few inches of water interspersed with salt makes it look Arctic.

 

Where the salt was dry, Daniel did a photo shoot for some fun with perspectives. What a wonderful day!

Daniel in the act

At the local market, I was tempted to try llama stew, but we were going to lunch soon.

At Cordillera Travel's office in Uyuni, we parted ways with Daniel and some of the others we'd gotten to know. The restroom in the hotel next door was comic relief.

Dinner in our "basic" accommodation that night was the usual family-style, a bit sparse this time but welcome.

A dusky sunset and a memorable hot springs sunrise the next day on the long drive back to San Pedro de Atacama in Chile. Fortunately, this border crossing was uneventful. Next up, a few days exploring Santiago and Valparaiso.