Salar de Uyuni & High Andes (E)

I met three other travellers in the bus to Uyuni and we decided to join up for a tour through the salt flats and the Bolivian altiplano. Claudia & Lars from Germany, Joanna from Poland and two girls from England & the US were part of our group for the next three days. Our Backpacks were loaded on top of a Toyota Land Cruiser 4WD together with food, petrol and other essential equipment for the trip through desert and rough terrain.

The first stop was at a train cemetery where dozens of rusty locomotives found their final resting place. The British built railway had once been used to transport minerals from the nearby mountains and transport them to Chile and the coastal ports. The trains were abandoned in the 1940's, producing an eerie train cemetery, one feels like being in the middle of an old western movie.

We continued our way onto the Salar de Uyuni, the world’s largest salt flat at 3,656 meters above sea level. The ancient lakes are covered with a thick crust of blinding white salt which expands for miles and miles until it meets the horizon. Only very few mountains are visible in the far distance and they seem to be floating in mid air, an optical illusion caused by salt and light. We stopped in the middle of nowhere to take some funny pictures playing with the optical illusion of not having any point of reference.

The first night was spent in a nice Hostel made out of salt blocks and cactus wood so we didn’t have to suffer from the cold temperatures of the desert night. Early next morning we left the salt flat and salt hotel behind us and headed for the high Andean mountains & lagoons. The barren landscape above 4,000 meters with its mountain peaks, bizarre rock formations and colorful lagoons was literally breathtaking and we couldn’t stop taking pictures. It was one of the most fascinating sights I’ve ever seen!
All seven lagoons we visited were shimmering in different colors and we could watch flamingos searching for food in the shallow water. The second night was much colder than the first one with temperatures dropping to around -10 degrees. The thermal clothes were much needed as was the sleeping bag I rented for the trip.

Arbol de Piedra - Stone Tree

Laguna Colorada - Colored Lagoon

The third day started at 4:30am with an early breakfast in freezing conditions. We packed our bags and headed towards the Chilean border, stopping on the way to see an impressive geyser field where we watched the sunrise. Once we reached the border post in the middle of nowhere, it was time to say good-bye to some of our group members as they were heading back towards Uyuni. A few days later we learned that their/our car had a major accident on the way back to Uyuni, overturning and landing on the side. Fortunately Susannah, our English group member, had the good idea that everyone should wear their seat belts just minutes before the accident happened and therefore no one was seriously injured and they could get out of the car through the broken windscreen.

Claudia, Joanna and I made our way across the border and were picked up by a Chilean bus bringing us to San Pedro de Atacama.

Salt flat

Our car

Susannah, Lars, Joanna & I

Vicuña