As usual, once arrived in Uyuni, the first thing we did was to look for a hotel. We didn't book anything in advance, because most of the time, when booking on the internet you will pay much more. The best is to go yourself and negotiate a good price.
It's also the same thing about finding a tour for the Salar De Uyuni. It's a must to do in Bolivia. 100% of the people who booked online paid much more. We had a recommendation from a bunch of friends we met in Sucre. We went there next morning and had a good deal. The rest of the day, we did nothing except washing clothes and rest!
Day One: Trains Graveyard and the Salt Flats
So, it was the day to start the tour. The number of 4x4 cars on the street was impressive and we started already to feel a bit disappointed about it. Anyway, we started driving around 10:30 AM. Our group was composed of 2 couples, one from Australia, one from Germany. Pretty cool guys! First, we visited the trains graveyard of Uyuni. Crowded as you can see on our pictures, but still, it was nice visiting as it was just 10 minutes from the city.
We went back on our way and stopped in a small village where we again found 100% of the tourists — just a place to buy souvenirs much more expensive than somewhere else. So, we left quickly to go in the middle of the Salar de Uyuni to take a few pictures. Then, we arrived at the lunch place which is famous because the Dakar Race used to pass by in 2016.
We headed further in the desert in the middle of nowhere to take pictures and enjoy the landscape. We played with a dinosaur toy with different perspectives… Who will not do it? Then, we stopped at the island of cactus called officially the Isla Del Pescado because its form looks like a fish. It was a nice stop and William was always looking to see real big cactus (child stuff!). The last things we did was to buy beers and enjoy the sunset in the desert. We went to a place to sleep with many more people and quickly fell asleep with an amazing sky full of stars.
Day Two: Lagoons, Flamingos and Valle de los Rocas
The second day was much better! We started by a long drive in the desert, still going south closer to the border with Chile, between 4000 and 5000 meters of altitude. You are in the middle of nowhere surrounded by so many beautiful sceneries, mountains, lagoons... We did a few stops at the lagoons to take pictures. We also stopped at the "Vale de los Rocas" — special because there are many rocks with strange forms from volcanic eruptions. We enjoyed climbing on a few to take pictures.
We continued our ride and saw hundreds of pink flamingos. We didn't expect it to be so beautiful with all the décor around. We had a better lunch with a view on the lagoon and the flamingos.
After lunch, we arrived in the Eduardo Avaroa Andean Fauna National Reserve. The first thing we saw was the Arbol De Piedra (Stone Tree), a rock formation due to the strength of the wind over the years. Then, before reaching the hotel, we stopped at Laguna Colorada. It's certainly the most beautiful lagoon of Bolivia. Check our picture, it's breathtaking! We started seeing snowflakes on our way. We had a short evening and everybody went to sleep.
Day Three: Geysers at 4am and the Dali Valley
The last day was also intense. We woke up at 4AM and started visiting one hour later. The sceneries changed a lot, it was all white. We stopped at the Geysers del Tatio. It's a geothermal place where you can see intermittent underground springs that project columns of steam and hot water. Honestly, it was freezing but it was like we were on another planet! Good memories for us.
We continued driving and reached the Desierto de Salvador Dalí (Dali Valley). From what we understood, this name was chosen because the sceneries look like the paintings of Salvador Dali. It's very close to the border with Chile.
For the end, we visited Laguna Verde and Laguna Blanco, very close to each other. The color of each lagoon is different because of the high content of certain chemical elements. This is why sometimes there are no flamingos in some lagoons — some chemicals are toxic for them.
Crossing the border was funny, but quick! It's a small wood house where we did the queue outside. Chile border was a bit more exigent — it took us one hour as they checked the bags for forbidden items (they confiscated an onion and a few potatoes left from cooking… but bringing butter was OK. Let's find the logic behind...).
October 5–8, 2018