The Southern part of Bolivia lies the vast area of Reserva Natural Andina (Andean Nature Reserve) that is blessed with incredible landscape, larger-than-life mountain range, volcanoes and lagoons. Llamas and alpacas roam freely in the wild and cactus fill the endless deserts. The stunning Salar (salt flats) of Uyuni that stretches across 13,000km2 of area is amazing in its grandeur, reflecting the clear skies on its white surface.
We went on a 4-day safari through the wilderness where electricity and heating were minimal. Climbing as high as 5000m, it was freezing cold especially in the night. Life in the mountains can be bitter especially for the native Bolivians who call the mountains home. Let Alberto’s photos tell the stories of this amazing part of Bolivia that truly captures the soul of the country.
Sierra de Sillar (Saddle Mountain Range)
Laguna Hedionda (Hedionda means ‘smelly’ in Spanish)
Aguascalientes (Thermal Spring) right in the heart of the reserve
Laguna Verde (Green Lagoon is named for its color thanks to the plankton)
Geysers Sol de Manana
Llama grazing Laguna Colorada in the morning light
Llamas and Flamencos at Laguna Colorada
What used to be the sea millions of years ago, the Salar de Uyuni (Salt Flats) is formed naturally by the salt water carried down along the slopes of the surrounding mountains. With time, the water gets evaporated, creating an entire area of thick layer of salt. The Salt flat is so vast that from the distance, one can even see the curvature of the Earth.
Salar de Uyuni at sunrise
View of the Salar from Isla del Pescado (Fish Island)
The island stands in the midst of the endless salt flat, with countless cactus standing proudly reaching into the clear blue skies.
Cactus on Isla del Pescado
Salt Hotel built entirely with salt
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La Torre Tours organizes 4-day trips through the white deserts and lagoons of the Nature Reserve and Salar de Uyuni, for 1200Bolivianos (120euros). The trip starts from Tupiza and ends in Uyuni. All meals and basic accommodation are included.
Remember to stock up on medication (especially for altitude sickness) and warm clothing (it gets as low as –20degC at night).
Contact latorrehotel@yahoo.es for information.
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I did this trip in 2007 and loved it. I note you have photos of the Aguas Calientes pool. I took a dip in there when it was -15 degrees C air temperature. Since the water is around 35 degrees C, or near body temperature, it felt hot as soon as I entered the pool. However, I dipped my head underneath the water, and when I came back up, my hair had frozen in a few minutes! I could hear my hair crackling (ie. the ice) whenever I touched it! It's spectacular part of the world there!
this is beautiful!… i love your travel adventures!
keep writing! hope u r well!
What fantastic photos! I'm currently working on a salt flats tour provider ranking website. I'd really appreciate it if you could spare 2 minutes to fill in our review form for the salt flats tour you did so that other people booking can easily choose a tour company that's what they want. You'll find the form at http://www.triptiv.com/uyunisaltflats/submitreview . You can see our comparison pages at http://www.triptiv.com/uyunisaltflats . Thank you! Cat
These snaps are really beautiful the place is awesome, I like you travel blog very much; keep it up you done well.
Aww Samuel, thanks for the encouraging words!
i did the 4WD tour in 2005 – your pics brings back such fond memories !!
Looks like quite the adventure! Your photography is beautiful. I'll be sure to visit the Salt Flats of Uyuni if i ever travel to Bolivia! Trust me its on my ever growing list of places to visit. Although I'm sure i need a very large amount of time to do such a varied content justice. I travelled to the salt flats in Northern Namibia, heart of the famous Etosha National Park, which is teeming with wildlife – around, not within, the salt flat itself. It seems like Uyuni offers even more varied & spectacular landscapes than Namibia!
Thanks Amanda for the kind words. I'd love to see the landscapes of Namibia as well, always wanted to explore the sand dunes there. Thanks for sharing!
Gosh! what a view…
I'm curious how they built the entire hotel with salt, whoa..
It’s incredible to see and touch the salt hotel for yourself. I guess building a hotel with salt isn’t exactly the sturdiest way, that’s why they have prohibited further construction on the salt flat itself.
Oh man… Sweet!! Most of all, I like llama. Haha!!
Beautiful….I keep travelling to many places and write about my trips in my travel blog. However, after reading your blog, I feel like doing adventure travels.
Regards,
Suhasini http://indiancolumbus.blogspot.com/
A unique travel blog
I wanna stay in the salt hotel…
The Salt Hotel is extremely interesting, but be sure to bundle yourself up, we were freezing our asses to death there!
I've been to Bolivia (only briefly), but didn't make it to the salt flats. Must get over there. Looks incredible…definitely other-worldly!