Salar de Uyuni: Explore Bolivias Surreal Salt Flats

English-speaking guides aren’t standard so check with the tour company if one is included. Unless you’re confident in your Spanish skills, you’ll likely get more out of a tour with a guide who speaks English. There was so much more to see than I expected and the locations on days two and three were far less crowded because there were no daytrippers at these sites.

• The Salar was formed as a result of transformations of seven Late Pleistocene lakes whose progressive desiccation led to the accumulation of extensive evaporitic salt deposits.
• Here are some of the key differences between the plethora of tours on offer.
• The first night’s accommodation (salt hotel) was very clean and comfortable, with fresh bedsheets, towels, and toilet paper provided.
• Polques Hot Springs are the most common hot springs stop on 3-day Uyuni tours.
• These months are also less cold than the dry season.
• Catch a local bus to Colchani (this is a stop on tours to visit a salt museum).

Salar de Uyuni Tours Starting Points

On the 2nd and 3rd days of a standard 3-day tour, you will be taken to beautiful lagoons, and you will see flamingos and vicuñas. Due to the proximity to these international borders, many travelers either start or end their time in Bolivia at Salar de Uyuni. The hotel’s interior showcases the artistry of local craftsmen, featuring intricate salt sculptures and designs that celebrate Bolivian culture.
It’s also possible to take a tour starting in Tupiza – a great option for those coming from Argentina. It’s also possible to take a tour from La Paz with transport to Uyuni included as part of the package. It’s possible to book ahead or choose a tour company on arrival. As you’d probably expect with one of the most popular attractions in South America, there are endless choices when it comes to booking a tour. “One of my favourite things about the Salar De Uyuni tour was simply driving from location to location.

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Laguna Verde (Green Lake) turns green when strong winds lift the sediments of arsenic, copper, lead, and other minerals from the bottom of the lake. To add to the experience, we could see flamingos at Laguna Challviri. On our 2025 tour, we practically had the place to ourselves and enjoyed it more, as there was only one other group besides us. Challviri Hot Springs are tucked away near Laguna Challviri and are much quieter and usually less visited. The water is about 29 degrees Celsius and contains minerals that relieve the symptoms of arthritis and rheumatism.
From strange islands in a sea of blindingly bright salt to delicately colored mineral lakes in the Andean mountains, this is an unforgettable Bolivian landscape. When it dried up, it left a couple of seasonal puddles and several salt pans, including Salar de Uyuni. It was part of a prehistoric salt lake, Lago Minchín, which once covered most of southwest Bolivia. The world’s largest salt flat sits at a lofty 3653m (11,985ft) and blankets an amazing 12,000 sq km (4633 sq miles).

Can you visit Salar de Uyuni without a tour?

The night sky is bright with stars, constellations, and even Milky Way which is perfectly reflected on the mirror-like surface with minimal light pollution and high altitude (wet season). There are reputable travel firms such as Gokite Oman which may help to organize well-curated tours with local Bolivian firms. When Opera Exploring Salar de Uyuni and the natural wonders around it, it is one of the most photogenic places to visit.
Across its 10,582-square-kilometer (4,086 sq mi) surface, the elevation variation is less than 1 meter (3 ft 3 in) relative to the Earth’s circumference. Around 2007, a new hotel was built, under the name Palacio de Sal, in a new location at the eastern edge of Salar de Uyuni, 25 km away from the town of Uyuni. Mismanagement caused serious environmental pollution and the hotel had to be dismantled in 2002.

Salar de Uyuni Travel Tips.

• The vast majority of the visitors arrive at Salar de Uyuni through the Bolivian capital, La Paz.
• On its shores are saltworks at Salinas de Garci Mendoza on the north, Llica on the northwest, and Calcha on the south.
• If you have time, take a longer tour – you won’t regret it.”
• Since the salt flat is already extremely smooth, this water film becomes a near-perfect reflective layer.
• There are options for one, two or three-day tours to Salar de Uyuni (some companies also have four-day options).
• The Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia offers a variety of activities, from exploring its vast salt flats to discovering the surrounding lagoons and volcanoes.

The itinerary is similar to the standard 3-day tour, just in reverse, but this route is usually more expensive. Tupiza is another starting point for alternative Salar de Uyuni tours. A 2-day tour from Uyuni covers everything included in the 1-day tour. A 1-day tour from Uyuni is the cheapest option to explore Salar de Uyuni. Most tours to Salar de Uyuni start from the small town of Uyuni.

Some people decide to skip Isla Incahuasi and just walk around it to save 30 Bs, but I think it’s money well spent. There’s a short walk to the top of the island, and the entry fee is 30 Bs (not included in the tour price). Except for two cacti-filled islands, Salar de Uyuni is completely flat, creating an endless horizon perfect for fun perspective shots. Salar de Uyuni is a paradise for photographers. This is the area where salt is dug up, piled into large pyramid-shaped mounds, and left to dry in the sun.
Polques Hot Springs are the most common hot springs stop on 3-day Uyuni tours. Standard tours allow time for taking perspective photos. That’s what it’s like when you visit the Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia’s enormous salt flat that stretches as far as your eyes can see. Alternatively, shorter one- to three-day tours are available from Uyuni or Tupiza, depending on your onward travel plans. Travellers with more time can opt for extended five- or nine-day tours from Salta, Argentina. From December spinmaya no deposit bonus code to April, the wet season creates a stunning mirror effect across the salt flats.
Here’s all you need to know about this unique experience. The fields of salt, extending as far as the eye can see and backed by distant mountains, create one of the most dramatic and unique vistas on Earth. Salar de Uyuni is the remains of an enormous prehistoric lake. In February 2024, the Copernicus Sentinel-3B mission conducted calibration activities over the salar for its Synthetic Aperture Radar Altimeter (SRAL). As part of its validation strategy, CryoSat-2 has relied on the salar, where its Interferometric synthetic-aperture radars (InSAR) capabilities were reinstated to enhance the precision of altimetric observations. The mission focused on calibrating radar-based measurements of surface topography.

I am not a fan of commercial tours and wanted to experience Salar de Uyuni independently. South America has stunning salt flats, but Salar de Uyuni is the world’s largest at about 4,674 sq mi (12,106 sq km). Be sure to check out the Dakar Rally monument located in Colchani, right at the edge of the salt flats.
Its remarkable design features walls, floors, furniture, and even igloo-shaped roofs constructed from salt blocks that are carefully harvested from the surrounding salt flat. The dry season, which lasts from May to November, offers clear skies and the opportunity to observe the unique hexagonal salt patterns. Many visitors enjoy stopping at the Salt Museum, a quaint space made of salt bricks that features a variety of carved sculptures.