Uyuni is the largest salt marsh in the world. It covers 1,2106 km2, five times the area of Luxembourg.
The huge mountain lake of Minchin almost completely dried up 25,000 years ago, leaving behind a couple of small ponds and two giant salt marshes: Uyuni and Coipasa.
The desiccated Uyuni Salt Lake is the main attraction in Bolivia. A visit to the salt marsh is included in almost all tours. Hundreds of tourists come here every day to see the ethereal scenery. Most people seek to get to Uyuni in the rainy season – from late January to February – during this time the salt desert is covered with a layer of water and becomes a giant mirror in which the blue sky is reflected in contrast. But even in the dry season, the Uyuni salt marsh is incredibly beautiful, and there are even more photo opportunities in the borderless, blindingly white desert.
About 20 tons of salt is extracted here each year, and the total salt reserve of Uyuni is estimated at 10 billion tons. The value of the salt mine is not exhausted by the salt. There are about 100 million tons of lithium in Uyuni, which is up to 70% of the world’s reserves – enough for all the smartphone batteries that will be produced in the next 100 years.
Uyuni is a fantastically beautiful place, one of the most incredible places on our planet, where the sense of space is erased. Most tourists come to Bolivia to see exactly this cosmic landscape and to feel like an inhabitant of another planet.
The sun, the bright blue sky and the endless salt flats even without filters will make your shots ethereal and vivid. And even if you find yourself here out of season when the salt marsh is completely dry, your photos will still be fantastically beautiful! This is why Uyuni is one of the favorite places of photographers all over the world.
In addition to visiting the salt lake, you can also visit a number of unusual places around Uyuni – from the “train cemetery” to geysers, thermal springs and pink flamingo habitats:
Colchani, a salt mining village
Salt is the main source of income for the people of Colchani. Guides take tourists here to show them how salt is harvested, processed, and packaged and how they build houses out of salt blocks. Colciani is also known for its souvenir market, where you can buy unique items in the traditional Bolivian style, which are not sold outside of Uyuni.
Volcanoes and Glaciers
This region has many glaciers and volcanoes to climb: Licancabur volcano (Licancabur, 5960 meters), Candelaria glacier (Nevado Candelaria, 5995 meters), active Ollague volcano on the border with Chile (Ollague, 5865 meters).
The active volcano Uturuncu (Uturuncu, 6020 meters) is a great opportunity to add the ascent of 6000 meters to the piggy bank of your achievements. And during the ascent to Tunupa volcano (Tunupa, 5432 meters) from the village of Kokesa you can also visit the caves with pre-Inca mummies. The ascent and descent usually takes 10 hours.