Salar de Uyuni

A dream come true

By Thomas Feng

October 27^th, 2017

An overnight bus to uyuni

Another day, another 5am arrival.

It was a tragic 600km overnight journey where I lost my phone on the way to the bus, and I was scammed 245 bolivianos by a greedy Bolivian tax collector. The perks of terrible Spanish and drowsiness from altitude.

Nevertheless, my spirits were high. I was visiting Salar de Uyuni, the world's largest salt flats.

The salt flats are officially named Salar de Tunupa locally after the dormant volcano and important deity Tunupa in the area, but is called Salar de Uyuni due to the number of tourists who come via Uyuni.

Uyuni is a growing town due to tourism. At 6am though, it feels like a Western cowboy dusty desert community. A few stragglers and disheveled stray dogs amble with the salty breeze.

Seeking refuge in a cafe until 10am when our tour left, I met Ellie from London, another solo traveller who happened to be on the same tour. It was lovely to have her company over the three days. This post will cover day one.

train cemetery

Our first stop was the train cemetery, 20 minutes down the road. It showcases the mining legacy of Bolivia which stretched all the way back to the late 1800s. The whole field was covered in train-wrecks which people could climb on and take photos on.

Out in the distance, mountains floated atop in the sky.

the salt flats

The next stop was Colchani, a salt co-operative town where we saw a local salt-maker create the salt we consume, and could buy souvenirs for the road. The souvenirs were the same quality but much cheaper than everywhere else I have been. I wish I had bought them there!

Afterwards, the part everyone was waiting for. Lunch. On the salt flats.

Despite having seen numerous pictures prior to coming, nothing could prepare me for how vast the salt flats were and how bright they truly were! Sunglasses and a hat were necessary.

Apologies for the lack of silly perspective photos, I didn't take any on my DSLR or my non-existent phone. They do exist though. There's also a hilarious video featuring the group, the song Despacito and a rogue toy dinosaur.

A salt hotel

There is so much salt that locals often create bricks out of salt. At one stage, they built an entire hotel out of salt where people visiting could stay. It is now a rest point, and has hosted the start of the Dakar Rally the past four years. I loved the salt llamas.

incuahasi

The salt flats were part of a prehistoric lake which dried up. In the middle is Incuahasi, an island which is now home to some stupendously large cacti.

It was a 45 minute walk around, though by this stage I had started to feel the altitude tiring out my body. Each step strained my legs and my lungs. Towards the end, there was a cave made out of fossilised coral.