A 4:45 am start. We arrived at the start of salar de uyuni just as the sun was coming up. We had to drive through shallow water to get to the salar. Whilst driving through the salt dessert we watched Sol (sun) rise ready to warm us up. Definitely colder today! I will include a must-need packing list in another post as I was very underprepared. It was -5C. Nana’s beanie was an absolute life saver!
Isla Incahuasi!
Also known as cactus island. I have to say it was the biggest highlight for me. It is a random island situated in the middle of the salar covered in cactus. Every year a cactus grows 1cm and some stand 8-10m tall… which means they are old, around 800-1000 years. Hernam also told us that the salar is incredibly deep at 120m and spans 180kms from east to west and 70km from north to south.
The absolute must-do is take some creative photos in the Salar. Hernam provided a dinosaur and the others had a lama and elephant to use. Was VERY entertaining as it is harder than it looks!
This was the first salt hotel built in the Salar
Now just used as a museum which is a bit of a shame…
We survived the Salar and arrived in Uyuni around 1:30 and went to the train museum. It’s very similar to a car wreck yard and only took about 15 minutes to walk through.
After 3 days traveling through Bolivia our tour came to an end. It was incredible to see the different landscapes. Going from Lagunas to rocks, mountains, desserts, the Salar and a cactus island we were overwhelmed with the beauty. HIGHLY recommend! Especially with the company we used.
Hernam our tour guide was amazing. He made sure James and I arrived safely to the Tour Turisma office. They have good facilities to charge devices, have tea and use the wifi. We found a little Mexican place for dinner which was great. It was in the main town square. Definitely recommend booking a bus straight away as there is not a lot to see in Uyuni.
100 Days of Travel 