If you go to Bolivia, you need to visit the Salar de Uyuni - a 10,582 square km salt-flat desert made entirely of salt. Most tours to the Salar start from the North in a city called Uyuni, but after doing some research we decided to take the road-less-travelled and start from the Southern city of Tupiza. Doing the trip in reverse allowed us to keep the best day for last. Our 4x4 trip crossed 1000km over 4 days and 3 nights, through some of the most beautiful and memorable landscapes of Bolivia.
Since we were here in winter, the temperatures were pretty cold. At night, we were sleeping in hostels with no heat or insulation and the temperature was between -8 an -14 Celsius!! :(
Ok, actually that wasn't Jen's breath…..it's the offshoot from one of the geysers that we saw at 5000m altitude... But the ice on the lagoons were definitely real!! :)
Regardless of the cold, we were able to warm ourselves back up by enjoying some time in the natural hot springs.
Since we did the trip in reverse, we left the best part for last: the Salar De Uyuni! This desert is the biggest of its kind - it covers a 10,582 square kilometre area and is about 20 meters deep.
While passing through the salt desert, we also stopped by the Isla de Pescado where you can admire enormous cacti that grow at a rate of about 1 millimetre per year…. and let me tell, you their size would even put some God(s) to shame! ;)
Another advantage of doing the tour in reverse was that we had the opportunity to see the sunrise over the Salar de Uyuni.
After the salt desert we visited a small village near the Salar where they explained the salt extraction process. Since the salt desert is protected by the government, salt extraction can only be done by locals and it must all be done by hand…ichhhh! They also told us that 50 kilos of salt is sold for a meagre 14 Bolivianos (~$2 CAD)!!
Our tour then ended in Uyuni, but a couple more posts on the Salar are still to come your way soon…!!! :)