The three-day tour you can take from San Pedro de Atacama in Chile to the Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia has some of the most stunning natural scenery I have ever seen. The route is through south-west Bolivia, including through the Reserva Nacional de Fauna Andina Edoardo Avaroa. It involves volcanos, salt lakes, red lagoons, feats of geology, and of course the Salar de Uyuni – all at high altitude.
The wondrous nature begins immediately, on the road from San Pedro to the Chile/Bolivia border. Winding higher and higher in the shadow of Volcán Licancabur, the air becomes fresher and colder and the ground beside the road accumulates small white patches. I assumed these were salt but they turned out to be pure white snow.
Once you arrive in Bolivia, you start down a sandy track. This will continue all the way to Uyuni. There are no roads, and we barely came across any people for the entire route. You really are out in the wild, miles and miles from anywhere.
Before long, you’ll reach the first of the lagoons: Laguna Blanca. Laguna Blanca is a frozen salt lake at 4,350m above sea level. Snowy mountains look down on the laguna and dry grasses rustle by the shore.
Beside Laguna Blanca is Laguna Verde, a greenish lake reflecting Volcan Licancabur looming beside it. As we watched, and as the sun rose higher in the sky, the ice on the lake melted and gradually turned the water a vivid, almost luminous turquoise.
Via the dunes of the Salvador Dalí Desert – named after the Spanish artist, with an average altitude of 4,750m – we arrived at the Termas de Polques, hot springs beside another salt lake. I decided not to take a dip but instead wandered over the salty ground, powdery underfoot, to snap some photos of the flamingos bathing on the lake beneath snow- (or salt?)-topped mountains.
The scenery, already breathtaking, continued to stun. I was already excited to have seen flamingos but Laguna Colorada was something else entirely. First, the water in this laguna is an unusual red, created by algae and a high concentration of certain minerals. The laguna sits at an altitude of 4,278m and whilst walking around it your lungs can certainly feel the lack of oxygen in the air!
Even better, Laguna Colorada is home to around 30,000 flamingos and they gather in flocks on the lake, preening themselves, walking unsteadily in small groups, or suddenly taking flight, their huge wings outspread and their long necks stretching in front of them. The backdrop of a snowy mountain against the red lake makes Laguna Colorada feel unearthly or at least extremely remote.
Laguna Colorada was the last stop of the day and we stayed overnight in Villamar.
On the road again the next morning, the scenery now becomes a geologist’s dream. First is Italia Perdita, a rock formation so named to commemorate four Italians who went missing whilst cycling through the area (although the rocks themselves have nothing to do with Italians). The deep blue sky emphasises the orange colour of the rocks, which feel untouched and remote.
The route has ticked many natural boxes so far. Perhaps the only thing missing is mammals, and here they are: llamas grazing on a mossy field. A stream bubbles along a random course through the springy ground, overlooking a glassy lake with craggy (presumably volcanic) rock formations jutting upwards in the background.
Next, in a return to the geological focus is a precipice overlooking Cañon de Alota, a canyon with a green river snaking through it. The river is said to look like an anaconda, which you can see if you’re brave enough to climb up to the viewpoint…
A feature of the route from San Pedro to Uyuni is train cemeteries. You pass two: one in a tiny village called Julaca and one on the outskirts of Uyuni itself. Julaca used to be a stop on the train route to the Chilean coast but now only freight trains pass through without stopping. Nonetheless, the signal box still looms over the village and wooden carriages sit at the centre of the town, deteriorating to dust.
Then, finally, to the Salt Flats for sunset. This deserves a separate post – read it here.
Although this was all on a guided tour, which is not my favourite format, this one is 100% worth it. It would be extremely difficult to navigate this route on your own, given the lack of roads, and a guide can take you to all the best natural hotspots hassle-free.
If you’re in Bolivia or Chile, don’t think, just do this tour. The scenery in south-west Bolivia is absolutely out of this world.