Salar de Uyuni and the southwestern region of Bolivia
A remote region in the southwest corner of Bolivia known for the world’s largest salt flats, flamingos, extinct volcanoes, deserts, and turquoise lakes.
In the remote southwest corner of Bolivia, South America, lies the world’s largest salt flats, surrounded by a rugged area known for its extinct volcanoes, snow capped mountain peaks, deserts, rock formations, turquoise lakes, thermal active areas, and wildlife including flamingos, llamas, guanacos and vicuña. Rent a four-wheel drive with driver and head off for a few days to explore this beautiful region.
Introduction
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It’s big. No it is huge! In fact, Salar de Uyuni in southwestern Bolivia is the world’s largest salt flats measuring more than 10,500 square km. Located at an altitude of 3,656 m above sea level in the Daniel Campos Province, this region is remote, unique, and inhospitable.
The best way to travel this area is to find a few buddies and rent a 4×4 vehicle with its driver. The tricky part of the journey is finding the right vehicle and the right driver. It is not unheard of to end up with a grumpy driver who has no interest in his passengers, and even of a driver who abandons his passengers and escapes over the horizon, with the vehicle of course! Choose wisely. Ask many questions and bargain to get a fair deal.
A good route is to start in the town of Uyuni where you should find the vehicles and drivers, and then head straight for the salar where you will stop at the salt hotel, Isla del Pescado (fish island), Isla Incahuasi, and drive over miles and miles of flat salt roads without any clear tracks. Once you exit the salt flats to the south, you will come across many lakes, such Lago Cañapa, Lago Honda, Lago Colorada, and many more beautiful turquoise lakes, each with their flock of flamingos – James’s flamingo, Chilean flamingo, and the Andean flamingo. Early November is breeding time for the flamingos and they come in large numbers to feed on the pinkish coloured algae.
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Globerovers Magazine July 2016
This article appears in the July 2016 issue of Globerovers Magazine.
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