Background
I decided to take a long weekend trip, take a little break from work and do what I love doing the most… explore a new and unusual place. Based on the recommendation of a few people who had been there prior, I decided to visit the Salt Flats of Uyuni in Bolivia.
La Paz
The trip began with a flight from Cusco, Peru to La Paz, Bolivia. The flight took about an hour and took me over Lake Titicaca and had some really nice views along the way. The La Paz Airport is located in El Alto (The High) and from there I took a ride down into the center of the city. The city is basically bowl shaped and surrounded by mountains on all sides. It is admittedly quite beautiful and only after having been there did I learn that it was named one of the 7 New Urban Wonders of the World! I only had a few hours to explore the area before heading south to Uyuni, but I made the most of it:
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Plaza Murill, La Paz, Bolivia Salteñas – Without question, these little culinary delights are my favorite Bolivian street foods. They are basically pastries filled with a variety of meats and veggies. They can be sweet or savory… savory are my favorites. On the street they would cost 3.00 Bolivianos (or maybe $0.43 each). I ate quite a few of them.
- Teleferico – Because of the bowl shape of the city, a teleferico system was built to help people travel up and down the steep slopes. It cost me 3.00 Bolivianos for each ticket. They are clean and quite… and they give some spectacular views of the city as you ride them.
- Plazas – The plazas were quite pretty and were a great venue for people watching.
Telefericos, Yellow Line, La Paz, Bolivia 
Pigeon people in Plaza Murill, La Paz, Bolivia. 
Street musicians from Equador playing in Plaza San Francisco in La Paz, Bolivia.
Uyuni
From La Paz that same afternoon I took a 13 or 14 hour overnight bus ride to Uyuni, which is the main take off point for trips to the Salt Flats. The market is nice, and there is cool ghost-town-ish plaza complete with unused Ferris wheel… but otherwise I mostly just farted about until the trip began.
The Salt Flats – Day 1
I did the 2-day overnight trip. There were seven of us on the trip, plus the guide, and the group could not have been better! Everyone was super nice and it helped make the trip even more enjoyable!
We started by visiting the train cemetery in Uyuni. The trains there were about 85 years old, at least according to the guide, and it was quite fun to hop around all over them like a kid. Afterwards we drove into the salt flats. They are pretty massive… that is undeniable. From a distance you might almost think you were looking at the sea. They are about 10,582 square kilometers in size (1) and even have their own road system! The salt flats were formed due to changes in prehistoric lakes, are exceptionally flat, and also host up to 70% of the world’s lithium (1).
We ate lunch in a building made of salt using salt tables. We drove around for hours, saw men harvesting salt, climbed small islands in the middle of the salt flats and clearly had some fun taking loads of pictures. We slept in a nice enough hostel in a very small town called Jirira. The sunset was spectacular.
The Salt Flats – Day 2
The next day we got up very early and made our way into the Salt Flats to see the sunrise. Following that, and a nice breakfast, we drove up to the Volcano Thunupa where we saw some mummies and had stunning views of the Salt Flats. From up high you really begin to get a since for how big they truly are. I also hiked up about 45 minutes to the lookout point on the Volcano Thunupa where we had some nice views of the volcano on one side and the Salt Flats on the other. We then kept driving around, visited another island where we had lunch, saw some sulfur ponds… and eventually said our goodbyes to the Salt Flats.
After a nice farewell dinner with the group, I caught a 13 hour bus ride back to La Paz and then a plane ride back to Cusco, Peru.
Impressions
The Salt Flats at Uyuni were pretty spectacular. I would have loved to have had more time to explore them, as well as more time to explore La Paz. Mostly, it was wonderful to be away from work for a little while, visiting new and unusual places, and meeting amazing people along the way. I was very happy with this trip… everything was smooth and easy, and I definitely recommend the site to anyone looking for something a little off the beaten track.
Bibliography
- “Salar De Uyuni.”Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 23 May 2015.