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Salar de Uyuni

Salt Desert Uyuni, Bolivia Salar de Uyuni Bolivia

Salar de Uyuni is the world's largest salt desert. To get there one must travel to a small town called Uyuni Bolivia, which is near the border of Chile. Uyuni is the starting point to see the world's largest salt flat covering 4,200 square miles (11,000 square km). About 25 times bigger than the Salt Flats in Utah.

About 40,000 years ago, the area was part of Lake Minchin, the lake dried up and left behind a huge salt desert. This salt desert is known as Salar de Uyuni.

Today it is a popular tourist attraction where you can find a hotel made of salt. While taking a trip across the the salt desert you encounter some of the most amazing natural wonders in the world.

You'll see sights that seem like from another planet. Sights of unusual rock formations, red mountains, geysers, hot springs, Salar de Uyuni Flamingos volcanoes, giant cacti, red and green lakes. You'll also find wildlife such as many flamingos, llamas, vicuņa(llama relative), and strange looking rabbits.

Around the main plaza in Uyuni there are many tour agencies that compete for the Salar de Uyuni tour. You'll probably have tour agencies ask you if you want to go on the tour as soon as you get there.

When choosing a tour company, you must first decide what you want to see and how long you want to stay. Also, decide if you need the guide to speak English. Tours runs anywhere from $60-$120 per person, depending on how long you want to stay and what you visit. The standard tour is 3 days. But, you can find tours that range from 1 day to 6 day tours. Get FREE Travel Brochures on Uyuni & the Salt Desert!

Most Interesting Sights

Salar de Uyuni Fish Island Isla del Pescado (Fish Island) is an oasis in the middle of Salar de Uyuni, with a unique and isolated ecosystem that is populated by cacti, some of which are up to 30 feet tall(about 10 meters) and more than a thousand years old. Called fish island because the island looks like a huge fish from far away.

Laguna Verde Laguna Verde (Green Lagoon) is a beautiful green colored salt lake on the Chilean border at the foot of volcano Licancabur. Its color is bright green due to arsenic content.


Laguna Colorado Uyuni Bolivia Laguna Colorada (Red Lagoon) is a red colored salt lake, caused by red sediments and pigmentation of algae. The lake is home to many flamingos.


Salt Flats Uyuni, Bolivia Arboles de Piedra (trees of stone) is an unusal rockformation that looks like a tree. Geologists are baffled by this formation, see if you can figure out how this strange formation took shape. It is fun to explore and photograph.

  • Laguna Polques contains many natural hot springs where visitors can come and take a dip and warm up.

  • Sol de Manana is the geothermic area where, you can see geysers and many boiling mud pools on the surface. Some holes constantly spout muddy water to a height of about 10 feet.

  • El Valle de Dali has a landscape that shows all the colors of the rainbow. An excellent place for pictures and to spot wildlife.

  • Train Graveyard just outside of Uyuni, see the remains of nineteenth century rustic, steam locomotives and is a good place to take photographs.

Getting There & Away

By Bus
From La Paz it takes about 12 hours to get to Uyuni. Buses usually pass through or stop in Oruro. There are daily departures to and from Oruro, which is about 4 hours from Uyuni. The ride can get cold in the winter, so bring warm clothes.

From Potosi it takes about about 7 hours. The road isn't too bad. Buses leave daily in both directions. Always try and buy your ticket in advance.

By Train
There are two trains that leave between Oruro and Uyuni in both directions. There are also connections to Tupiza.

By Air
Aerosur airlines has direct flights from Cochabamba to Uyuni a few times a week.

By Car

Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia South America You can also rent a car in La Paz and drive south to reach Uyuni. Make sure it is a 4x4 vehicle. Also, know where you are going because signs are limited or hire a travel guide.

If you plan on going to Chile after, you can get the tour agency to drop you off at Chile or the other way around(pick you up), which makes this trip a good option for moving on further along your route. Travel agency can arrange transportation from Laguna Verde to San Pedro de Atacama. Remember to get an exit stamp in Immigration Office in Uyuni (the date on the stamp is the expected exit day, so you may get Chilean entry stamp with earlier date).

Hotels & Accommodations

Below is a list of recommended hotels (hostels) to stay at in the town of Uyuni:

Hostelling International Salar de Uyuni is located on the corner of Avenida Potosi and Calle Sucre. It is a budget hotel that has a total of 13 rooms, eight with private bathrooms. There is also a tour agency next door to this hotel. Hotel booking is available online.

Hotel Avenida is budget hotel next to the train station. Rooms are pleasant and comfortable. Hot showers are available from 7 am to 7 pm.

Tonito Hotel is on Avenida Ferroviaria next to Minuteman Pizza and room rates are in the mid-range price. The hotel has 19 rooms with private bathrooms and queen sized beds. Hot water is available all day.

Hostal La Magia de Uyuni is on Calle Colon. Room rates are in the mid-range price. Hotel has a nice rooms and courtyard. Breakfast is included in room rate and internet access is available.

Places to Eat

In Uyuni you'll find that many of the restaurants in town serve pizza. Also, most of the bars and pubs are located along Avenida Arce. Here is a list of restaurants that you should try when visiting Uyuni:

Minuteman Pizza on Avenida Ferroviaria, attatched to the Tonito Hotel, they serve breakfast and dinner 7 days a week. Restaurant is a favorite among travelers.

Arco Iris Pub is located on Avenida Arce. It is a popular pizza joint that is geared towards tourists. They have great service and serve pizza, pasta, and cold beer.

Restaurant 16 de Julio is located on Avenida Arce. They serve breakfast, lunch and dinner. Menu offers a wide variety of food.

Things to Bring

Uyuni sits at an altitude of about 12,000 feet (3,650 meters.) The route to Uyuni is cold, some buses going there may not have very good heat. The salt flats have high solar radiation and the air is dry. It is good idea to bring extra water. Here is a list of recommended things that would be a good idea to bring:

  • Warm clothes and wool socks
  • Hat and gloves
  • Sleeping bag
  • Swimming suit and towel
  • Sun block and sun glasses
  • lotion and lip moisturizer

    Interesting Trivia

  • Salar de Uyuni is estimated to contain 10 billion tons of salt, which about 25,000 tons is extracted annually.

  • Salar de Uyuni is also the breeding grounds for three species of South American flamingos: the Chilean, James's and Andean flamingos.

  • Salar de Uyuni is one of the flattest places on Earth. In 2002, a ground survey team, aided by global positioning systems (GPS), showed only small variations in elevation of less than a meter across the Salar de Uyuni, an area almost half the size of Wales.

  • Due to its large size, flatness, and high surface reflectivity when covered with shallow water, Salar de Uyuni makes an ideal target for the testing and calibration of remote sensing instruments on orbiting satellites used to study the Earth. Also providing an excellent target surface the skies above Salar de Uyuni are so clear, and the air so dry, that the surface works up to five times better for satellite calibration than using the surface of the ocean.


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