Salar de Uyuni - One of the Coolest Places on Earth

Salar de Uyuni, the world’s biggest salt flat in Bolivia, is by far one of the coolest and most unique places I’ve ever seen and it’s like being on another planet.

With 10,582 km² of salt flat, Salar de Uyuni seems to go on for infinity. When dry, the salt looks like ice or snow, and it feels like ice too, minus the slip factor.

Salar de Uyuni bolivia — Perspective photos. A very strong guy, holding up our tour group

And when the salt flat is wet, the reflection off the water is surreal.

Creativity runs wild with perspective and reflection photography at Salar de Uyuni. It’s a lot of fun and I easily could have spent all day there.

Salar de uyuni sunrise — The sunrise and sunset at Salar de Uyuni are also stunning

HOW AND WHEN TO VISIT SALAR DE UYUNI

TAKE A 4×4 TOUR

Salar de Uyuni and the surrounding sights are some of the most beautiful landscape in the world. So you absolutely must do the 3 day/2 night tour because you see much more than just the salt flat. Bolivia has some of the craziest, most unique and varied landscape I have ever seen in my life and I was constantly blown away by its beauty. It was like being on another planet.

You’ll see geothermal vents, desert, rock formations, and multiple colorful alpine lakes, which sometimes have thousands of flamingos flamingo-ing in these lakes.

thermal vents bolivia — Thermal vents in Bolivia

Arbol de Piedra Bolivia — Arbol de Piedra

The tour starts in Uyuni and ends in the Atacama Desert in Chile, or vice versa. There are usually 6 people, plus the driver, on a shared tour, but you can get a private tour if you prefer to be alone.

On average, basic tours can cost anywhere from $100-$150US+, which includes transport, meals, and the majority of the sights on the trip.

Things to consider when booking a tour:

Do you need an English-speaking guide? This will cost extra. My guide did not speak a word of English.
How involved do you want the guide to be? Some guides are very involved in the tour, while others hardly get out of the car (like mine).

THERE’S NO BAD TIME TO VISIT SALAR DE UYUNI

The best weather is from September to November, during the dry season. BUT December to April is the wet season, which means the salt flat will have a mirror-like effect, which is what most people want. June through August will be very dry and very cold, as it’s their winter. In general, you can expect sunny, warmish weather during the daytime, and freezing temperatures at night.

For perspective photos, you need a dry salt flat, while for reflection photos, you need a wet salt flat. I visited Salar de Uyuni in January and it was a great time to be there because I saw the salt flat both wet and dry.

salar de uyuni

NEED TO KNOW

HIGH ALTITUDE GETS REALLY COLD

Especially during the mornings and nights. Salar de Uyuni is at 3,663m and some of the surrounding sights are over 4,200m. And heating only exists in the most plush hotels, so you’ll need lots of warm clothes.

EXPECT COLD SHOWERS

A lack of heating in accommodation also means that on a regular budget tour (like mine), you can expect cold showers and bedding that is not regularly washed. Remember that Bolivia is a developing country and it’s the poorest country in South America, so if you require a higher standard of comfort, you’ll have to pay extra.

WEAR SUNSCREEN

You can still get a sunburn, through the clouds, in the cold because the sun is much stronger at high elevation and the reflection off the water of the salt flat is fierce.

DEALING WITH HIGH ALTITUDE

The elevation you’ll experience on the tour will be between 3,660-4,200m+, so you will likely experience at least a little altitude sickness. It’s normal to have a terrible sleep on your first night at very high altitude because one of the side effects of high altitude is difficulty sleeping, which is really stupid because one of the other main side effects is fatigue. If you ascend to high altitude too quickly, like I did, you will wake up with a vicious headache and you’ll feel like you have the worst hangover of your life, due to the lack of oxygen.

There are medications available to help adjust to the altitude, but do your research because the side effects can often make you feel worse (I opted out of taking any). I’ve literally never met anyone who had a good experience with altitude medication. Make sure you drink a lot of water and eat a lot of carbs to help minimize the effects of altitude sickness. See here for more tips to help minimize altitude sickness.

MY TOUR EXPERIENCE

I booked a basic 3 day/2night Salar de Uyuni tour, so my guide didn’t speak a word of English and he was not at all involved or interested in being a tour guide, so he was basically more like a lazy, grumpy driver. There were 5 other travelers on the tour and we stayed at very basic places with cold showers, no heat and unwashed bedding.

I was also in Salar de Uyuni the day before Dakar came through, which sounds cool, but in reality, it was a really big headache and inconvenience because it cut my time in the Atacama Desert very short and because it was uncertain if there would be accommodation for us in Uyuni. I met some travelers who had to sleep at their guides’ homes, while others were left with no choice but to take a night bus out of the town. Again, Bolivia is a developing country.

I still had an amazing time, but my experience obviously could’ve been better even if just the guide was more engaging. We missed a few sights because he was lazy and didn’t feel like going there.

You get what you pay for. Do some research in order to find a reputable company. Spending a little more money is worth it.