Salar de Uyuni a 3 Day Adventure

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We arrived to a dusty San Pedro de Atacama with the intention of not only spending some time exploring this amazing Martian like landscape over the coming days (see my Atacama post for details of what to see and do in the area) but also to pick up a three day tour to Salar De Uyuni in Bolivia.

Salar De Uyuni is the world’s largest salt flat, the 11,000 sq kilometer landscape of bright white salt, rock formations and cacti-studded islands is the most popular tourist attraction in Bolivia. The best way in my opinion to see the salt flat is to take a three day 4WDrive tour starting in San Pedro in Chile and finishing in the town of Uyuni in Bolivia, four day tours bring you back to San Pedro. This journey takes you through some spectacular Altiplano volcanic landscapes with rock formations, green and pink/orange lakes, flamingos, thermal hot springs and bubbling mud pools; the scenery is truly spectacular.

How to Choose a Tour Company

Before starting a tour you may want to read our post “13 things you should know before taking a tour to Salar De Uyuni”

With so many tour operators offering trips it was hard to know who was good and who wasn’t. With some research and a recommendation from a couple we met in the Galapagos we chose a reputable company Cordillera Traveller who employs their own drivers rather than have contract drivers. One of the most common complaints from travellers is drunk drivers which is not only dangerous but can lead to an unpleasant experience and end up ruining your trip. The majority of these issues are with companies who use contract drivers in Bolivia rather than employ their own, so something to be aware of.

Cheap is not always necessarily best, the old saying you get what you pay for.

Facts and Tips

Our trip was three days two nights and cost was US$180 pp (in 2014)

Included:

• Private minibus transport to the Bolivian border where you meet your Bolivian crew
• Breakfast, lunch, dinner and accommodation
• Transport in 4WDrive 6 persons maximum per car
• Please note they say you have a guide but really he is just your driver and ours didn’t speak English!

Not Included:

• Sleeping bag, you will need one of these for your accommodation. They do supply pillows and blankets but it can be very cold as you are at altitude so a good sleeping bag is recommended.
• Snacks and water. They recommend you take at least 6 litres of water which you can buy from the supermarket easily in San Pedro.
• Bolivianos. (Bolivian currency) You will need 200 Bolivianos for the park entrance fee and some extra for when you arrive at your destination.
• Toilet paper (of course!!)

Tips

• Do not take any notice of what the Cordillera agents office tell you that you can get your currency and water the morning you leave, this is crap! (I will explain why in Day 1) Get your currency and water in the days before you leave.
• Shop around for your Bolivian currency, there are plenty of money changers in town so it’s worth shopping around for a good rate.
• When on the tour, take your daypack with you at lunch stops where there are other people, do not leave stuff in the car as theft from locals does occur.
• Have something with you that you can have some fun with on the salt flats. A toy, bottle, hat etc can make for some good “perspective” photography!

Day 1

We were collected from our hostel about 7:30am, two others were already on the minibus also from Australia. Our driver took us into town to pick up more passengers and that is when we informed him we needed to get agua. (water) That is when the fight started!!  He rudely said we were not to leave the minibus so in my worst Spanish I insisted we needed to get off the bus to get water, he was so damned ignorant and rude I lost my temper and yelled at him; at that point he gave in and let us off the bus. Our Australian companions were in the same boat and needed water too, probably told the same bullshit we were by the agent that we could get it on the morning of departure.  Had our hostel not been such a walk from town then we would have purchased it the day before.  With four Australians, four Brazilians, three English and one grumpy driver we set off through the barren landscape for the Bolivian border.

Our first stop was the Chilean border post to get our exit stamp. There was trouble in paradise with one of the English girls, something to do with her Chilean work permit whatever it was she was having a good argument with the passport officer. Lucky she could speak fluent Spanish as she was living in Santiago.  It must have been sorted out as we were on our way again climbing higher onto the Altiplano heading for the Bolivian border.

At the Bolivian border post our two 4WDrive vehicles were waiting for us, the border was nothing more than a concrete hut. It was snowing when we climbed out the minibus and cold too.  We piled into the little heated hut for our stamp and on exiting were directed to our vehicle. Our large bags were put onto the roof and tied down underneath a tarp. Our car buddies were the two Aussies Alan and Sarah and Gilberto and his daughter Thayane from Brazil.  The three English (Matt, Olivia, Sophie) and two other Brazilians of Korean decent (can’t think of their names) were in the other car.  We were pleased we had a good bunch of people to share the trip with, we enjoyed some fun times over the coming days.

The cars were quite comfortable and the heater worked which was a bonus! Our driver didn’t speak English but luckily Thayane spoke Spanish so was able to translate.  Unlike the Chileans, the Bolivian’s speak slowly and clearly so Vaughan and I were able to pick up some of what he was saying.

Our journey took us through some incredible landscape, by now we were some 4500 meters above sea level and still climbing. We had left the snow behind and now it was just bone cold, when we stopped to admire Laguna Blanca and Laguna Verde at the foot of Licancabur Volcano we didn’t hang around too long as the wind was bitterly cold.

We continued on to the Daly Desert to the thermal pools where you had the opportunity to have a soak.  Alan and Sarah got in but there was no way we were going to strip down to the bare essentials in temperatures well below freezing, even though the pools were hot it was getting in and out that was the problem. We chose to wander around the area and take photos of the streams of steamy water flowing amongst the icy landscape.

Next up was the bubbling mud pools and geysers which I spent some time photographing and watching despite the bitter wind.

Before we reached our accommodation we stopped at Laguna Colorado which is the main nesting area for three different species of flamingos but unfortunately we didn’t see any.  Our accommodation for the night was a basic and rugged sandstone looking building, the rooms were separated by a corridor which help to diffuse the outside elements.

Close to our digs was a group of Llamas and Alpacas which were quite tame but not tame enough to let us pat them.

The setting of the hotel with its surrounding dry desert, lagoon views and distant volcanoes was quite surreal, we were in the middle of absolutely nowhere at an elevation of near 5000 meters. Our group of 6 were assigned a dorm room which had single beds and we all jumped into our sleeping bags and smothered ourselves in blankets as we were cold, there didn’t seem to be any heating and their certainly wasn’t any hot showers.  We stayed in our snug beds until we were called for dinner and was a little miffed by the fact it was freezing and they didn’t even light the fire.  The food was good with hot soup and a mixture of pastas, chicken, rice and veges with some warm tea and coffee.

Day 2

We woke up to snow! the ground was white outside and the drivers were scraping the snow off the cars. After breakfast we headed off into a landscape of white snow and ice. It was absolutely stunning with the pink hue from Lake Colorado and redness of volcanic landscape set against a white backdrop.

This time we got to see flamingos walking on top of frozen Colorado, there wasn’t as many as we liked to have seen and and we couldn’t get that close.

As we continued on the weather set in and we hit a blizzard then we came to a grounding halt, we had broken down!  Not the best place to break down in the middle of nowhere and worse still in the middle of a blizzard. Our little driver was out of the car with the hood up and his mate from the other car were both there with their heads buried under the hood.  I actually thought that our two cars were out here alone until I looked out the window and saw about 6 other cars behind us!  It wasn’t long until our little bush mechanic had the car started and we were on our way again, well for a short drive anyway. The blizzard got worse so both our drivers made the sensible decision to double back and take the other route which meant missing out on a couple of sites but I’d rather that than get stuck.  We ended up going around the other side of Laguna Colorado and from the other side it was even more orange pink, unfortunately we didn’t stop so I could take a photo.  The weather was definitely much better on our new route, there was no snow at all.

We stopped at an area that resembled Mars with some very interesting rock formations that had been carved by the wind, here we spent some time having fun clambering all over the rocks.

The scenery from then on changed to a land of rolling hills that were more fertile and less like desert. We past some villages and stopped at one for lunch.  When we got back in our cars to leave Gilberto noticed his phone was missing, he had left it in the car to charge and now it was gone. We searched under the seats and all around the car but to no avail, we can only guess one of the locals helped themselves to it as the car was left unlocked. So hence my warning in my tips section to take your stuff with you!

Later in the afternoon we arrived at our second night of accommodation, a very cool Salt Hotel.  Everything was made of salt, the tables, chairs and even our beds.  Colourful wall hangings and table cloths offset the starkness  of the white salt, it was so unique we loved it.

We were not in dorms this time we had our own room which was nice and better still there were hot showers so I jumped in quick while they were still hot!  (Tip: get in first as the hot water does run out and you’re not the only group in the hotel!)  Dinner was a feast and we were even given some wine as a treat.  The hotel was warm so we stayed up and chatted and interacted with the other guests before retreating to our salty bed.

Day 3

Today was the day we would be visiting Salar de Uyuni salt flat and we were pretty excited about seeing it.  Now we were at lower altitude it felt much warmer and the sun was shining. Soon after leaving the hotel we hit the start of the salt flat and felt like we were gliding across a sea of white, it was amazing. Although we had seen similar in outback Australia with Lake Eyre it wasn’t blindingly white as this.

Isla del Pescado  (Fish Island) is a hilly rocky outcrop of land in the middle of the flats and is covered with cacti and low scrub vegetation.  This was our first stop and we were given plenty of time to explore. A walking trail takes you up through the cactus garden and to various viewpoints where you can look out over the vast expanse of white.

A few Llamas inhabited the island as well as some pretty birdlife, its perhaps the only place you will find wildlife.

Just off the island on the salt flat we played silly buggers with our travel buddies with making jumping photos.

We drove further into the salt pan where the salt was much more pristine and much whiter. The salt pan was a carpet of hexagonal patterns which I imagine are formed by water. Our driver picked a spot to stop and then the fun began. Out came the plastic dinosaurs, bottles and all sorts of objects to create that pose of perspective where you make objects look big or small. Unfortunately some of our photos didn’t turn out too well!

Lunch was at the Museo de Sal, we didn’t go in the museum which is also a restaurant, we did however enjoy our picnic lunch tucked behind the Dakar monument.

As we left the salt pan and neared Uyuni to visit the train graveyard we could see the biggest dust storm heading the same direction. Once we got to the train grave yard I took one step outside of the car only to receive a face full of dust, I stayed in the car!  Vaughan and the others went exploring around the yard and took some pretty good photos.

We did plan on spending the night in Uyuni but as we came into the town Vaughan’s words were “I am not staying in this s****e”!!!  Which translated to.. we are on the next bus out of here!  I have to say it wasn’t very inviting, a very unattractive dust bowl of a town and one that had a power cut that evening so staying wouldn’t have been fun anyway.  We stopped outside of the Cordillera tourist office and bid farewell to our drivers. We also found out from the office that the track back to Chile which we came along on day one was closed due to the blizzard, we timed our departure from San Pedro just perfect. Our next mission was to find a night bus out to La Paz, with the help of Gilberto and Thayane we managed to book ourselves onto a bus which we would be travelling with our Brazilian friends. The comfortable Tourist Bus Todo Turismo was already booked out which is no surprise, it’s like a first class service and one you have to book in advance. We were on the locals bus and that is an experience I will share in another blog 😉

As we had plenty of time before our departure we decided to hit the towns nightlife! Its not too bad it has the odd nice pub and restaurant and by candlelight it was all quite romantic.  Our little group headed to dinner at the Tonito Hotel which is renowned for its great Pizzas and it didn’t disappoint, the pizzas were amazing. Next was the Extreme Fun Pub Uyuni where we bumped into a couple we had met back in Peru, it’s a small continent!  So even though we didn’t get to stay in Uyuni we did have a chance to sample its nightlife with our newly found friends, a good end to an amazing three days.

Final Reflection..

Overall we were very pleased with Cordillera Traveller despite the bumpy start with the minibus driver.  The Bolivian drivers were courteous and patient there was no erratic behaviour, when they saw that the situation with the blizzard could get us into trouble they made the wise decision to turn back and take a different route. Other companies that we saw didn’t as they sped past us.  Food was good and plentiful, accommodation was good especially the salt hotel.  I would rate them 4/5 and I  highly recommend them as a company to use.

For more information on when to go, what to pack, transportation out of Uyuni etc then please see my posting  “13 things you should know before taking a tour to Salar de Uyuni”

Visted Month – May 2014

If you have enjoyed the photos and would like to see more! then the complete gallery can be viewed in the Trip Photos