Salar de Uyuni + Sud Lípez (tour)
Potosí Department · Altiplano, lakes and salt flats
The Salar de Uyuni is 10,000 km² of white salt as far as the eye can see, a perfectly flat horizon where you lose all sense of scale: it's the place for impossible photos and, in the rainy season, the sky reflects as if in a giant mirror. The tour continues into the Sud Lípez, with red and green lagoons full of flamingos, steaming geysers at sunrise and a hot bath at 4,400 m. For many people, it's the strongest memory of a trip to Bolivia.
3,656 maltitude
1 to 3 daysto spend there
High altitude. Above 3,500 m, altitude sickness (soroche) is common. Arrive gradually, drink plenty and take it slow on the first day.
Things to do
- Day 1: Colchani, a salt hotel, Isla Incahuasi with its giant cacti, perspective photos
- Day 2: flamingo lagoons, Árbol de Piedra, Laguna Colorada
- Day 3: Sol de Mañana geysers at dawn, a soak at Termas de Polques, Laguna Verde
- Back to Uyuni (or on to San Pedro de Atacama in Chile)
What to eat
- Quinoa realThe world's best quinoa grows around the Salar: in soups, patties or as a side.
- Llama meatLean and tasty meat, often grilled or as “charque” (dried). Very common in Uyuni and on the Altiplano.
- Quinoa soupA hot soup of quinoa and vegetables, served in refuges and high-altitude comedores. Perfect when it's cold.
Tip. 4x4 tour of 1 to 4 days (3 days recommended). Up to 5,000 m with nights at −10 °C: bring a sleeping bag and warm clothes. Rainy season (January to March): mirror effect, but some areas are closed.
Also here
- Myths and legends Tunupa and the SalarThe mountain Tunupa, abandoned by her husband, wept while nursing her child: her tears and milk are said to have formed the Salar de Uyuni, which she still overlooks to the north.
- Border Hito Cajón (to San Pedro de Atacama)At the end of the Sud Lípez tour, near Laguna Verde: many tours drop travellers here, with a transfer to San Pedro de Atacama (about 1 h). Book it with the tour.
How to get to Salar de Uyuni
Photos of Salar de Uyuni + Sud Lípez (tour)
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More places in this region
Sajama National ParkBolivia's highest peak (6,542 m), geysers, hot springs and llamas.
Curahuara de CarangasThe “Sistine Chapel of the Altiplano”: an adobe church covered in murals.
OruroAn Altiplano mining city, famous for its UNESCO-listed carnival. Starting point of the train to Uyuni.
Obrajes and Capachos hot springsNatural hot-water pools on the Altiplano, less than an hour from Oruro.
Machacamarca railway museumOld steam locomotives and the history of the mining railways, south of Oruro.
Lakes Uru Uru and PoopóShallow Altiplano lakes on Oruro's doorstep, visited by flamingos.
ChipayaVillage of the Uru-Chipaya, one of the oldest peoples of the Andes, with round earthen houses.
Coipasa Salt FlatBolivia's second-largest salt flat, wild and almost without visitors.
UyuniBase town for Salar tours, with a train cemetery on the edge of town.
TupizaWild West scenery: red canyons, cacti and the last ride of Butch Cassidy.- CotagaitaA small green town in a fruit-growing valley, on the road from Potosí to Villazón.
VillazónThe border with Argentina, facing La Quiaca: the crossing travellers use most.