While in La Paz we took a side trip to see the Bolivian salt flats. The town of Uyuni sits on the edge of the flats and we took an overnight bus from La Paz to Uyuni. We then had two days at Uyuni before taking another overnight bus back. It was a tiring trip in that the overnight buses didn’t provide quite the adequate sleep we were hoping for, but the salt flats are so unique, it was worth the trip.
Train Graveyard
Our first stop was the “train graveyard” which we learned was a result of the Pacific War between Chile, Bolivia and Peru. We had heard about some of it from the Chile side while in Valparaíso, but now got to hear about it from the Bolivian perspective. Bolivia originally controlled the land west from the salt flats all the way to the Pacific. These trains were British made steam engines and took resources to the Pacific ports of Bolivia. Once the Pacific war started in 1879, with Chile the ultimate winner, Bolivia became landed locked and the trains could no longer reach the Pacific ports that Bolivia once controlled. The trains have been here ever since, partially stripped for metal.
Our guide told us that there are projects by Bolivia now to restore these lines. Relations with Chile have improved and there are estimates that somewhere between 25% to 75% of the world’s lithium is under the salt flats. On the one hand, this sounds like great new for Bolivia which could really use a resource win (since Chile got the copper mines that once were part of Bolivia), but on the other hand, we wonder what will become of the flats.
Salt Production
Our next stop was to a local salt production company. Almost all, if not all, of the salt production here is done manually and is not exported from Bolivia. Our guide also explained how they cut out the layers of salt to create blocks to build walls, buildings, carvings, and even the tables where they do the salt production. The salt itself goes through a few steps of drying/cleaning before being finally bagged. It is estimated that about 25,000 tons of salt have been extracted from the salt flats but that the salt flats contain between 10-12 billion tons of salt.
The Flats
It is hard to capture on the camera how massive the salt flats are, in part because it deceives the eyes as well. It is so flat that the concept of distance is distorted. When your guide points out an island that you are headed to that seems pretty close, you realize 45 minutes later that it really wasn’t as close as you thought. The plains themselves are 10,000 square kilometers (3,900 square miles) and it is about 135km across at its longest point.
Salt Hotel
About half way between Uyuni and Isla Incahuasi (which is at the center of the salt flats) is the one and only salt hotel that is actually on the salt flats. When tourism first started, people would hike for about a day and reach this spot on their way to the islands at the center. Eventually people started to cut out blocks and the hotel was formed. To prevent an explosion of hotels on the flats, the government of Bolivia declared building on the flats themselves would be restricted. So all the newer salt hotels are built from salt blocks, but on the edge of the flats and not on the flats themselves. This hotel now is only open to those that arrive on foot or bike and not those by car. However, its big open common room is available to all and was our lunch point. Everything but the roof was made of salt blocks!
The salt hotel we stayed in for one night was newer and quite the experience to stay in, complete with extreme howling wind that can be found frequently in the high mountains and desert/salt flat region.
Perspective Photos
So what do you do on a super flat surface with what seems like an infinite skyline? Perspective photos of course! Just Google Uyuni salt flat photos and you’ll see they are famous for this. Here are some of our favourite shots. (The photo above right shows our guide taking the picture on the left (the dinosaur was left over from a previous shot)).
Isla Incahuasi
Of the many islands in the center of the salt flats, the “Inca House” island was the only one that had evidence of settlement. What made it really unique though was the many large cactus found there and the fact that almost all the rocks were made of petrified coral.
Mountain Pass
Our overnight stay was in a salt hotel at the edge of a “bay” in the salt flats. On day two, we took a drive up over a mountain pass to get to the next salt bay. It is such a desolate landscape but still people try to make a living out there with two primary agriculture products: quinoa and llama meat. Our dinner the night before was quinoa and llama steak.
Over the centuries/generations, almost every hill side has been terraced with rocks. It is in these small terrace patches that quinoa is grown. It looked like a tough life to scrape a living out of those hills.
Galaxy Caves
One reason for the drive over the mountain pass was to visit the Galaxy Caves on the other side. They were pretty small caves, but super delicate and intricate formations, almost like petrified sponge.
Volcán Tunupa
One of the theories of why the sea that used to be here dried up is volcanic activity. The largest one is Tunupa and was our next stop.
At the base of the volcano was a few lagoons at the edge of the salt flat that was a common place for flamingos.
Our tour didn’t allow time for a long hike, but we almost made it to the first mirador (lookout). The view was breath taking, both up towards the volcano and out over the salt flats.
Sunset and Pools
Another thing the salt flats are famous for is that during the rainy season, it floods and creates the largest mirror in the world. We weren’t there during the raining season, but as the water evaporates there are still usually locations that have some standing water even during the dry season. It was scheduled in our tour that we could go to one such area to see the sunset, but our guide and about 15 other cars drove around in circles trying to find the water. The drivers were consulting with each other and eventually it was determined that the strong winds from the night before caused most of the large pools to evaporate. So we got only a few small pools of water, but it sounded like we may have been one of the last groups of this season to see water.
Just enough water to attempt the wheel reflection photograph.
While waiting for the sun to set, there was some time to try a few more perspective shots.
Snacks and drinks for the sunset. However as the sun set and the wind picked up, the temperatures get close to freezing and boy was it cold, so cold that when we got back to the car, the girls sat an each others feet to warm their toes up!
Getting Around…
As a kind of fun aside, I’ve decided to include these photos to explain one of my few frustrations with Bolivia. On the left is the vehicle that we drove around the salt plains in. It served us well, but if you notice the top 1/4 to top 1/3 of the windshield is covered with a sunblock/sticker. Given my height, the picture on the right was my normal comfortable view. Whether tours, Ubers, or taxis, I’d say 9 out of 10 vehicles had something like this. I’d often have a crick in my neck from trying to see under! One of the downsides of being a foot taller than the average height in Bolivia.