29. June – 01. July 2019
In the town of Uyuni itself, there is not much to do except of comparing offers for tours. Thus, that is what I did after having arrived (and I indeed found a good one for about 85 USD for 3 days) and before taking the last shower for three days and having a good night’s sleep in a warm hostel bed.
The next morning, Debora, whom I had met a couple of months ago in Ecuador, got there and our tour started. At first, we went to the train cemetery where you can climb on old trains that are not used anymore. After the museum of salt and a small market in Colchani, we finally started driving through the biggest salt desert on earth. At the salt hotel which had been built for the Dakar Race taking place here in 2016, we had lunch and then continued to a nice photo spot. Another sight in the salt desert is the island Incahuasi with hundreds of huge cacti and amazing views of the desert and the volcano Tunupa. In San Juan, inmidst the Chiguana desert, we stayed in a salt hostel and had a great dinner.
At the Train Cemetery 
Salt Sculptures 
Monumet for the Dakar Race 
International Flags 
The Salt Hotel 
Island of Incahuasi 
Sunset in the Salt Desert
In the morning, we had to drive a while until we got to the lagoons where the flamingos are roaming about. With these views in sight, we were having lunch outside before going on through amazing landscapes to the rock tree surrounded by astonishing rock formations. It was also here, where we saw desert foxes and vizcachas and got a good view of the volcano Ollague. In the afternoon, we arrived at Laguna Colorada where we took a walk to the viewpoint in order to soak in these incredible views of the lagoon and the flamingos. In the evening, we were sitting at the fireplace for dinner in order to get warm (it was freezing cold)…
Volcano Ollague 
Flamingos 
Vizcacha 
Little Desert Fox 
Rock Tree 
Laguna Colorada 
When we left in the morning, it was snowing very badly – thus, we were not able to get to the geysers due to this snow storm. But at least, we still were able to go to the thermal baths – what an experience to sit in this hot water while the air is freezing cold! Afterwards, we went to the green and the white lagoon before getting to the border post next to Licancabur, the third volcano we saw on this trip. Unfortunately, the street to Chile was blocked due to the snow. Thus, we had to wait for 2.5 hours until finally getting into the country and being driven to San Pedro de Atacama.
Snow Storm 
Sunrise in the Hot Springs 
Debora & Me 
At the Lagoon 
Border between Bolivia and Chile 
Group Photo – SMILE! 🙂