Truly breathtaking; some of the best scenery in the world
Disadvantages:
Hard to get to; gets very cold
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
The Salar de Uyuni is more commonly known as the salt flats or salt pans. Coming to Bolivia, I had heard a little about them, someone likening them to a desert of salt but I wasn't quite sure what to expect. After visiting though its something i would say is an absolute must for anyone travelling to this part of the world! Imagine being surrounded for hundreds of miles by compltley flat pure white salt. It feels as though the dazzling whiteness extends forever and is truly breathtaking!
Getting There: Travelling to Uyuni from La Paz for me was a gruelling experience - 13 hours on a cramped bus along un-tarmacked roads, made only slightly more bearable by a TV showing the most over exaggerated Spanish soaps and a slightly dodgy copy of Troy. It was definitely worth the long journey, however, and the drivers are generally happy to stop off in the small hamlets along the way to stock up on supplies, or even pull up by the side of the road for toilet breaks. My only advice is to take a sleeping bag or blanket onto the bus as it gets pretty cold as night falls, and there's no heating.
It is also possible to get a train from La Paz and a variety of other cities around the country, and this does work out slightly quicker, although it is far more expensive, and the timetables were exceptionally difficult to work out, not helped by the absence of any staff whatsoever in the entire train station.
Town of Uyuni: The town itself is fairly basic, its essentially just a centre for tourist expeditions to leave from, though there are a few industries (mainly salt production and refuse processing) around the outskirts. As buses from La Paz tend to arrive in the early morning, then even the seasoned traveller will turn his thoughts towards breakfast, and there are certainly a number of fairly good quality restaurants, generally serving omelettes, pancakes or bread and jams, and you'll never have to pay more than a few dollars for a good sized breakfast. The restaurants are also good for evening meals, and again for a cheap price you can find pizzerias, traditional Bolivian restaurants and burger bars. The town does also have a Western Union for changing money, a post office (though the mail in Bolivia is notoriously unreliable) and several internet cafés where a couple of US dollars will get you all the time you could need.
The Salt Pans: The main reason for coming to Uyuni, however, is for the salt pans, and the best way to experience these is through one of the organised tours which can be booked from any of the vast number of offices dotted around the town. They generally have large signs outside and are all around the centre so should not be too difficult to find. It is also possible to book rooms directly for the Salt Hotel (an entire hotel made from salt cut from the flats - the walls, floor, bar, even the beds and chairs are all made of salt!) and whilst this is an impressive sight to see, it is included in the longer tours and you can explore very little of the salt flats by just staying in the hotel.
Generally the tours run for between 3 and 6 days and the generally offer the same kinds of things, though it is perhaps worth looking around at different itineraries if there are particular things that you want to do. They all include food and accommodation for the duration, and this tends to be in the form of small stone built houses out on the salt pans which offer little warmth, although the longer tours do generally include at least one night in the Salt Hotel.
Sights to see - Train graveyard: This is situated just outside of Uyuni and is a throwback of the days when Uyuni used to be a vast train junction. I found it to be a little uninspiring compared to many of the other sights around the area, although walking among the hundreds of old trains, you do find some humorous messages scraped onto the rust. I have a photo of two of my friends standing next to a South American train with "Tony Blair is a ****" written in three foot high letters (!)
Isla de pescado: (translation - fish island): This is not really an island in the nautical sense, but merely a huge piece of rock jutting out from the salt. It is so named because it resembles half a fish when you approach it, and if the sun catches the salt just right, it turns reflective so it appears as thought there is a giant fish hovering in mid air!. This was one of my favourite places, as we travelled here before dawn and walked about fifty metres up the rock face to watch the most amazing sunrise ever!
General tips: -Its important that you bring a lot of warm clothing! The salt flats are perhaps the coldest place in Bolivia (barring the tops of the mountains) and especially if you are sleeping in unheated rooms, you will get very cold. -Sunglasses are also an essential. It's probably worth bringing two pairs, as i broke mine a few days before we arrived in Uyuni, and spent the next five days squinting all the time. The salt reflects a lot of the suns light and it really gets very bright! -Explore if you get the chance. We were on an organised tour, but a few of us went off to explore the small settlement we were staying in and were invited to join a local Bolivian party! Fiesta!
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Sightseeing
Excellent
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