Salar De Uyuni: The World’s Largest Salt Desert

Awe-inspiring, breath-taking and simply stunning, the Salar De Uyuni is 10, 582 square kilometres of salt flats sprawling across south west Bolivia.

Containing more than 10 billion tonnes of salt, the Salar De Uyuni is the world’s largest salt desert and was once part of an ancient salt lake, Lake Minchin. This lake covered a large part of Bolivia and when it dried up it left behind large salt pans, including the Salar De Uyuni.

The rugged beauty of this hostile landscape makes it one of the most astonishing natural formations in South America.

 

Of Myths and Legends

An ancient Aymaran legend has it that the mountains surrounding the salt flats, named Kusina Kusku and Tunupa, were once giant humans. Tunupa and Kusku were married and when Kusku abandoned his wife for Kusina, Tunupa couldn’t stop crying and her tears formed the salt flats.

 

Best Enjoyed With a Pinch of Salt

Scattered with salt pyramids, the Salar De Uyuni is an endless criss-cross of hexagonal lines, caused by the crystalline nature of salt. That’s not all, in the middle of this great salt desert is a hotel made entirely out of salt! Constructed using salt bricks and mortar, everything inside the hotel, including the chairs, tables and beds are all made of salt. Hotel Playa Blanca does not have much to offer in terms of amenities, but is a great place to enjoy some peace and quiet, along with extraordinary views of the night sky.

 

Let’s Get Reflective

During the rainy season these salt flats transform into a shallow lake which perfectly reflects the sky. This mirror effect gives rise to unbelievable mirages of infinity. Such a sharp reflection also means double the natural beauty and not one, but two sunsets!

 

Flamingos, Did You Say

There’s more than just a lot of salt in the Salar De Uyuni. Travel to the nearby Laguna Colorado, a huge red lake which is home to thousands of pink Flamingos. Another place you can visit is Laguna Verde which is a blue-green salt lake situated at the foot of the volcano Licancabur. The lake gets its unusual colour from copper sediments and several micro-organisms which inhabit this lake.

 

How to Reach Salar De Uyuni

There are many tour groups which organise tours to Salar De Uyuni. Most tours originate from the town of Uyuni in Bolivia. You can reach Uyuni via the city of Ororo, a journey which takes 7 hours by train, or 8 hours by bus. You can also choose to rent a car or take a flight to Uyuni from La Paz.

Do make sure you book your tour in advance as getting a place in a group at the last minute can be very difficult.

Don’t forget to carry your camera along as the Salar Du Uyuni makes a great backdrop for some really stunning photographs. Also, carry sunglasses and sunscreen to prevent yourself from a severe sun burn.