The biggest salt desert in the world
In San Pedro de Atacama, Chile, I booked a tour on which you are picked up in Chile and delivered in Uyuni in Bolivia. The tour leads through beautiful landscapes including the Salar de Uyuni, the huge salt desert. With more than 10,000 square kilometres, it is the largest salt desert on earth. The salt crust was formed over 10,000 years ago by the drying up of a lake.It is also inredibly flat with the average elevation variations within one meter over the entire area.
If you don't have your own jeep you can't avoid booking a tour here. This is also what most travelers do. It is definitely worthwhile to book a tour here!
Entering the amazing landscapes of Bolivia
Early in the morning the jeep picked me up from my hostel in the Atacama Desert. My driver was a small Bolivian and this time I had more luck with my travel group than with my pensioner jeep group in Colombia. On board this time were a young English couple and three young Chilean girls.
First the jeep took us to the Bolivian border post at an altitude of about 4000 meters. Then we stopped in the Laguna Blanca, the white lagoon, at almost 4400 meters. The characteristic white colour is created by the flooding of minerals. An Andean Jackal watched us while taking the photo.
We made the next stop at hot springs, the Termas de Polques, where you could swim. After we had heated up again we drove to the Sol de Mañana (morning sun), a geothermal area with geysers from which the hot water shoots. We were at an altitude of almost 4900 meters and the oxygen was slowly running out. Good that I already bought some Coca-Candy, which is said to help against altitude sickness.
Lagoons, Canyons and strange rock formations
We drove on to Laguna Colorada, which has a striking red coloration caused by the predominant algae species and the high mineral content of the water. It is also the home of some flamingos, which we could see in the distance. During our further drive we repeatedely saw alpacas.
We stayed overnight in Alota Canon, a small mountain village with just over 500 inhabitants. Actually, we were supposed to stay over night in another village, but all of a sudden it was already fully booked and the guide was busy to find us another accommodation.
Early the next morning we went on to the Italia Perdida, which had strange rock formations, one of which looked like a camel. We then headed for Laguna Negra. A beautiful location, a lagoon with a large green grass area, where alpacas grazed, surrounded by bright rocks. We had lunch at a family with cute little puppies.
The next stop we made at a canyon. Impressive how different the landscapes are here. At the entrance of the next village we saw quinoa bushes, the superfood from the Andes.
A hotel made out of salt
At night we stayed in a hotel completely made of salt. Only recently the repair works had been finished, because it had been damaged during the heavy rainy season just before. I still remember the staff of the hotel. The staff looked so unfriendly that it started to be amusing again. But this should not be misunderstood, this grumpy expression is typical for the Bolivians, nevertheless, most of the times, they are friendly.
