Backpacking South America

The must-do trip for nearly all travelers to Bolivia is Salar de Uyuni. We decided to explore the region with a 4-day jeep tour starting in Tupiza. Accompanying us were our driver, cook, a Swede and an Israeli. We loaded our gear up around 8:30am and were on the road shortly thereafter.

Our first day took us up to the altiplano and we stayed above 4000 meters for the rest of the trip. We drove up and down mountains, across open plains and through valleys. It was a beautiful landscape.

We stayed the night in a traditional house made of mud/clay walls. All electricity was provided by small solar panels in the central courtyard. Our room was a bit tight for 4 people, but we stayed warm and had the coolest sheets!

Our second day started a 4:30am. We were starting day one of laguna visits. Bolivia is rich in minerals, so when it rains, water collects in the low points, and with no escape path for the water, mineral rich lagunas are created. The more amazing part though is that the color of the lake depends on which minerals get trapped in the laguna. Also, these lagunas typically have hundreds of flamingos. I always thought flamingos lived in tropical areas.

We visited yellow, green and white lagunas – but the most impressive was Laguna Colorada – a red laguna in the middle of the desert.

We took our lunch break at the thermal pools along a laguna and then we visited some geysers – it was hot stuff!

Our third day was another early start. We visited a string of lagunas in the morning and had lunch at the base of a volcano where we spent some time playing in and around the rock formations created by the surrounding volcanoes.

In the afternoon, we were the first ones on the road and we tried to keep our distance. Our hope was to be the first to reach the nicest hotel near the Uyuni Salt Flat. We made one pit-stop at a market where I tried the local beer made using Quinoa instead of barley and it was actually much better than the mass market beers we typically have.

The day was a success—we were the first to arrive at the salt hotel in Puerto Chubica. Fortunately, they had room for our group as well. There were no reservations made for accommodations before we left Tupiza. All accommodations were based on availability that day and if there was “no room at the inn,” we moved onto another.

The hotel was made entirely of salt. The walls were made of salt bricks. The tables and chairs, salt. Our bed frames, they too were made from salt. Even the floors were covered in granulated salt. It was a very comfortable place to stay and a very unique hotel. So, we hauled all our gear in, and after snapping photos of the hotel, we were the first in line for a shower – hot shower – our first in 3 days.

Our final day we awoke before dawn and set out to cross the Salar de Uyuni for a sunrise on the salt flat. We were able to get some nice photos from the jeep of the pre-dawn. We hopped out to watch the sunrise over the salt flat – it was quite amazing and a bit chilly.

From there, it was a short drive to Isla Pescado, which is in the middle of the salt flat. We were the first to arrive, so we got to go on the trail around the island alone and spend some time in peace at the viewpoint.

We made our way back down for breakfast. By this time, all the other jeeps had arrived as well as a very persistent rhea (looks like an emu). The rhea kept trying to steal our food and successfully stole Carra’s cake while she was looking the other way.

We finished the tour by crossing the Uyuni Salt Flat, snapping photos locos (with a camera there is no depth perception on the salt flat), and visiting another salt hotel in the middle.

We finished with lunch and dropped our fellow riders in Uyuni, while we made the 5-hour trip back to Tupiza with our drivers – it was very dusty.

In all, we were extremely thankful that we chose to do the Uyuni tour starting in Tupiza – each day got more amazing. We used Valle Hermoso for our tour. Our driver was safe and courteous and every meal delicious.