Bolivia – How to plan a visit Uyuni Salt Flats

Uyuni Salt Flats (Salar de Uyuni) is most certainly one of the most visited places in Bolivia. Vast plains, salt stretching out as far as the eye can see will most definitely bewitch you. It’s no wonder, that this is a regular stop of Rally Dakar, as this place is absolutely unique. No traveller will miss the opportunity to take a picture at the salt plain and take advantage of the singular perspective this area offers. Here you will find the necessary information needed to carefully plan a visit to Uyuni Salt Flats.

When to go to Uyuni Salt Flats

Visiting Uyuni is an all-season matter. During winter (July – October) you have the best chance for all-day sunny weather, but prepare for freezing temperatures during the night, the temperatures can drop to -10 C°. On the contrary, in summer (March – April) the weather will be significantly warmer, however, there is a high chance that it may rain more often. That can be very interesting because the entire Uyuni Salt Flats becomes one enormous mirror.

Check out the list of 8 must-see places in Bolivia.

Monument Dakar Rally Bolivia in the middle of Uyuni Salt Flats

How to get to Uyuni Salt Flats

You can visit Uyuni Salt Flats alone if you have a quality 4×4 car or you can join one of the tours that are organized from Uyuni or La Paz. Most of the Uyuni Salt Flats tours begin in the town of Uyuni. Reaching the town is very simple from other places in Bolivia. The buses run regularly from La Paz, Oruro, Sucre, Potosí, and Tupiza or you might take a train from Oruro. The last option is flight directly from La Paz, which is, of course, the fastest method.

Check our Tip How to Get from Peru to La Paz by Bus.

Salt Museum in Uyuni Salt Flats, Bolivia

Which Uyuni Salt Flats tour choose and what will you see

Most agencies offer two basic Uyuni Salt Flats tours – one-day trip or three-day trip which you can eventually end (or start) in Chile in the town San Pedro de Atacama.

One-day tour from Uyuni

The basic day trip takes you to the amazing train graveyard near Uyuni. There are dozens of old British steam locomotives and hundreds of old wagons. Those are abandoned trains, which were mainly used for transporting material from the local mines to Argentina and Chile. Next, you’ll set out to see the Salar de Uyuni There, the guide will show you a museum, where you will learn all about salt mining. Lunch will be served in the middle of a plain in a restaurant built from salt blocks. Later in the afternoon, the guide will help you take funny photos that play with the perspective on the white fields 20 Amazing Ideas for Salar de Uyuni Photos. In the evening, you’ll visit one of the islands located on the plain. The view of the surrounding area from the island is magical. The islands are also interesting by having hundreds of giant, which thrive in local conditions.

Train Graveyard at Uyuni, Bolivia

Three-day tour from Uyuni

We recommend taking the three-day tour, which includes three days and two nights. That’s what we chose as well and here are our experiences from the 3-day Uyuni tour. The first day is the same as the one-day tour, with the difference that at the end of the day you are staying at the hotel instead of going back to Uyuni.

The second and third day you can admire the majestic Andes, you’ll see many gorgeous lagoons, which have several different colours – green, white, blue or even red. Most lagoons are inhabited by flocks of flamingos, but you might be able to see local foxes, wild lamas, and other mammals. We can’t forget to mention the spectacular geysers, deserts or beautiful rock formations, and all this you will see during the visit to the National Park Eduardo Avaroa National Reserve of Andean Fauna. Don’t forget that you will be in high altitude and a lot of people can be sick from it. Read our guide on how to deal with High Altitude sickness.

The price and quality of the different tours usually depend on the quality of the accommodation. In most cases, the first night you’ll be sleeping in double rooms, but the second night may be very different. If the tour is cheap, you will sleep in rooms of six and you can forget about being able to take a shower. On the contrary, expensive tours will offer you double rooms with hot showers.

A beautiful view of the Andes peaks in Bolivia in the Eduardo Avaroa National Reserve of Andean Fauna

How to Make your Tour Uyuni Salt Flats

There are many travel agencies in Uyuni that offer a variety of tours of the surrounding area. We visited maybe six companies and their offers were very similar, but the prices, as well as the quality of services, can be very varied. Tours can be arranged directly in Uyuni just a few days ahead or in the early morning before the start of a tour. Anyway if you want to be sure, we recommend booking the tour online directly on the agency’s website.

It’s better to check out several agencies and find out the price and their exact offer. The price may also differ depending on what language your guide will be speaking. The price for an English-speaking guide is of course much higher than for a Spanish-speaking one. Because our agreed-on English tour didn’t work out at the last minute, we were only able to find a Spanish guide. Fortunately, it wasn’t a huge problem, because the other members of our tour were kind enough to translate for us. In the end, we were happy because we saved almost half the price.

Flag Square in the middle of Uyuni Salt Flats, or Plaza de las Banderas Uyuni

Read Next: Our Experiences from Salar de Uyuni Tour

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