Bolivia - 3 days around the Salar de Uyuni and the southwest of the country

This travel diary takes you on an unforgettable adventure with varied landscapes. Picturesque mountain ranges frame numerous lagoons, desert landscapes, unique rock formations and flora and fauna that will take your breath away at an altitude of over 3,500 meters. The guided tour takes place in an off-road vehicle that can accommodate seven people. Without a map or paved roads, you will be navigated by the driver unerringly to all worth seeing destinations.

Day 1: Railway cemetery, Salar de Uyuni and Isla Incahuasi

The journey begins on the outskirts of Uyuni with a visit to a railroad cemetery. There, in addition to rusted trains, metal sculptures, such as a robot or a unicorn, can also be found. One train compartment has been painted with traditional Bolivian symbols, including the creator god Wiraqucha.

After a short drive, you arrive at the Salar de Uyuni and are surrounded by a salt landscape as far as the eye can see. With more than 10,000 square kilometers, the Salar de Uyuni is the largest salt desert in the world and lies at an altitude of 3,653 meters. The ground consists of a salt crust up to 30 meters thick. In the rainy season, the landscape turns into a shallow lake, making it a gigantic mirror.

After about two hours of driving you will reach Isla Incahuasi, which means "House of the Inca" in Quechua. It is an elevation in the Salar de Uyuni on which meter-high cacti grow, some of them more than 1,200 years old. Walking around, you will have a perfect panoramic view of the Salar de Uyuni and the mountains and volcanoes far away.

The first night you spend in a salt hotel, that is, the walls are made of salt blocks. Since these hotels are located far from civilization, you are not exposed to light pollution. In the cold night you can admire an incomparable sky full of shining stars, so that the usually visible constellations are no longer recognizable.

Day 2: Sand desert, petrified tree and lagoons

The next day takes us out of the barren salt desert and into a steppe landscape with several lagoons. Due to the high mineral content, mainly flamingos settle here. From time to time you will see a small herd of alpacas and llamas wandering around. Throughout the trip, you will be amazed by the impressive mountain landscape, which shimmers purple in the distance.

Continuing your journey, you will pass by smoking volcanoes, through an increasingly arid region, until you finally arrive in a sandy desert. Still surrounded by magnificent mountains, you will come across a huge rock where viscachas live.

In the middle of the desert is the "Árbol de piedra", which translated means "tree of stone". The rock, which is about seven meters high, owes its special shape to the wind and sand. Thus it was formed over centuries in a natural way to a tree sculpture.

Another natural spectacle with a unique panorama offers the "Laguna Colorada", in German "red lagoon". The lake got its name because of the red color, which is due to a type of algae found there and a high mineral content. Here you can also watch hundreds of flamingos wading through the water.

Day 3: Geysers, green pastures, black lagoon and rock formations

On the third day of the trip you will reach geysers. The smell of sulfur is in the air and hot steam bubbles from the craters. Nearby, thermal baths have been built, where you can warm up in the cold temperatures.

After a short drive through a stony landscape and fantastic views, it becomes greener again. Streams flow through the steppe and even small villages can be seen from time to time. The journey leads between narrow rock walls, just wide enough for the car. At the end of the road you come to a large meadow where alpacas graze together with donkeys. A stone reads "¡La naturaleza es nuestra amiga. Cuidela!" Translated, it means "Nature is our friend. Protect her!"

Behind one of the rock walls lies the "Laguna Negra", the "black lagoon". It is home to several species of birds, with luck you will see a mouse flitting through the bushes. There is something truly magical about this place and it brings peace and quiet. The rock formations extend in various shapes around the entire lake, like a protective wall.

The last stop of the tour leads to unmistakable rocks that rise meters from the ground in the middle of the landscape, as if they were placed there. The wind has helped to give the rocks such a special shape through erosion.

After three days the trip ends again in Uyuni. It is an adventure through the most diverse vegetation that will remain in your memory forever. Endless expanses with idyllic mountain landscapes, a salt and sand desert, special stone and rock formations, numerous lagoons full of flamingos and geysers give you an insight into the beauty of nature. But also cold nights, which offer an indescribable starry sky and strong wind, which causes a small tornado, make this trip a real experience.

These experiences make a trip around the Salar de Uyuni unique and unforgettable and give reason to tell a story.

If you want to experience more breathtaking landscapes in South America, feel free to check out our Peru adventure an. Interesting insights into our travels can be found on our Instagram channel.