Salar de Uyuni, South West Highlands DIY August 16 17 18 19
The reason why I wanted to visit Bolivia. Although I realize now that it also has more to offer.
The only way to see the Salar spending almost nothing is to take a public bus from Colchani to Llica, to have a rough idea, but it is only just “an idea” and is definitely not the same thing as “live it” . Not to mention that, at least from my point of view, the highlight of the excursion is not the Salar but the lagoons at the Chilean border. In some forums I read many people ask whether it is possible to visit the area with a rented car. Rent a vehicle is more expensive, if doable : I have not seen any car rentals in Tupiza. As a starting point I chose Tupiza because: 1) the village has more attractions than Uyuni 2) on the web they say that Tupiza agencies are better than Uyuni ones 3) tours that leave from Tupiza arrive at the Salar at sunrise of the last day, those from Uyuni at noon of the first one. I speak of course about the cheap group tour, and not the “tailor-made” ones
The itineraries are more or less the same, the success depends in my opinion on the car, the driver and the cocinero. You spend long hours in the car, and you just go down for lunch or for a stopover, photographs, lookout, a pee break hidden behind some bushes, some legs stretching. The driver is not a real guide, but still knows basics information about the area. A too cheap tour operator saves money on vehicles maintenance, employees wages, food quality and quantity. Saving 20 Euro and renounce at the above mentioned seems stupid to me. 4 normal size people can sit comfortably in the jeeps.
I chose the tour organized by Hostal Los Salares Tupiza because of the good reviews on the web.
Our driver, Victor, and the chef, Elvis, are not particularly talkative, but the same am I 🙂
Cost 1300 BOB, regarding drinks, you are entitled to 1 liter of water a day, then there are soft drinks. If one thinks to drink more, or want beer and spirits, you have to bring your own bottles.
We leave Tupiza at 8.00, and just left the town, we find ourselves immersed in a Western movie set, canyons, gorges, smoothed rocks with rounded shapes, cactus, I think the name of the place is El Sillar.
We stop for lunch (fried steak, potatoes, rice) in Cerrillos, red mud brick houses
We assist a resident who is defining the perimeter of his new home, a bit bigger than a standard Western living room. I go looking for a public toilet, which is a shack with a hole. I decide to give these “pleasant” details to give the whole idea of the involved reality, and what you have to expect. We go on and, in an increasingly desert landscape, and more and more uphill, we reach an abandoned village, already at 4690 mt altitude
Shortly after, we reach a Mirador on the Morejon Lagoon, 4855 mt. The Diamox eliminates the annoying effects caused by altitude sickness, but anyway I do not feel 100% well
Today it is our longest traveling day, with few stops. When we cross the fence that marks the access to Reserva Eduardo Avaroa (entrance fee 150 BOB to be paid extra), it is now nearly 17.00. We stop to check-in; kittens and puppies, all dusty, are waiting for us. Tickets have to be kept, since, leaving the reserve, have to be exhibited at checkpoints.
We stop to sleep at Sol de Mañana, in a kind of hostel
All the chefs of various expeditions begin to unload their supplies fumbling in a shared kitchen, while we tourists take possession of the very simple rooms. There is no heating and no hot water, so no one washes. I feel cold in the room, so I curl in my sleeping bag. Excellent dinner, vegetable soup, minced meat, mashed potatoes. Two groups of French people arrive, someone throws toilet paper in the toilet and the pipes get clogged.
The dining room is heated by the human bodies, I have my woolen hat on my head. I sleep with thermal underwear, the hat, the temperature goes below or close to zero, but my feet and hands are warm.
After breakfast (tea, herbal tea, bread, butter, jam, biscuits, juice), we help drivers to load and the leave.
Today and tomorrow will be the epic days at the Northern and Southern Lipez lagoons, a few kms from Chile, an extraordinary and unique natural spectacle, landscapes I have never seen before, which leave me speechless and enrich my spiritual and cultural background.
Sequence of encountered lagoons: Laguna Hedionda I, Kollpa (amazing), Blanca, Green (extraordinary), Colorada (exceptional)
The Laguna Hedionda I
Laguna Kollpa: the white substance is not snow but borax, a derivative of sodium which is used in detergents and soaps
We cross the Salar de Chalviri, a dry and barren area
and arrive for lunch at the Laguna Verde. Behind the volcano which stands behind the lake, the Licambur, lies San Pedro de Atacama. Our cocinero cooks a steak (a bit hard), broccoli, cabbage and oranges. The green color of water is determined by the large concentration of minerals, sulfur, calcium carbonate, arsenic, copper and lead, and varies according the conditions of light and wind. Because of the breeze, today is not at its best, although I think some photos on the web are blatantly “corrected”.
I can spot some vizcachas, hares with the long, flat tail, attracted by the leftovers of our lunch
After leaving, we meet a small fox
and some vicunas. Crossing a creek, we arrive at the Desert of Dalì, framed by multicolour mountains.
Nest stop are the Sol de Mañana thermal baths
and the geyser
We reach our hostel, at Huayllajara, quickly leave the luggage, and get again on the car toward the Laguna Colorada, the last stop of the day. The red color has no mineral origins, as in Laguna Verde, but organic, because it is determined by microorganisms and algae, the same pigment present in many flamingos that inhabit the shallow water (30 cm) of the lake. The birds are wary and can’t be approached. We have some free time to walk around and take pictures
Night accommodation seems slightly worse than yesterday, again, no hot water, so no shower. Dinner: vegetable soup, sausages, boiled eggs, fried potatoes, tomatoes, sweet pudding.
The third day begins with a stop at the Silloli Desert with its rocks that rise to challenge the wind and get fanciful shapes, so photogenic, like the Arbol de Piedra. How hard is climbing the rocks! We are at present something in between the 4300 and the 4150 meters high!
Nest stop is the last series of Lagoons. The Laguna Hondas
Laguna Charcota, where we do not stop, the Laguna Hedionda II, where instead one would like to stop forever, and Laguna Cañapa.
The natural scenery surrounding these ponds is a miraculous vision, the birds that inhabit the Hedionda II are not wary, and you can get close to 1.5 / 2 meters, walking slowly and without shouting.
Lunch: chicken, pumpkin, baked potatoes and bananas, papaya. We stop at the viewpoint of volcano Ollague, from whose cone white fumaroles emanates
and finally at the necropolis of San Juan, where several well preserved mummies (they still have almost complete hair), rest in a fetal position. A small museum explains the Andean pre-Columbian peoples customs, and exhibits textiles, pottery, ornaments
We spend the night in Chuvica in a very cute salt hotel, decorated with brightly colored fabrics. Paying 10 Bob extra we can take a hot shower, I rush to buy the voucher and I’m the second on the waiting list in front of the bathrooms, just to make sure to really get hot water, since it is heated by solar panels.
Tonight it’s less cold than usual. Dinner: soup, lasagna, and canned peaches.
The departure for the next day is planned at 5.30, which allows us to reach on time the Salar de Uyuni to see the sunrise. I get off the car to see better, but can’t resist much. It’s damn cold. The colors are gorgeous
At around 8.00 we reach the Isla Incahuasi, where we are given some free time, while our chef prepares breakfast for us
The chef cooked us a simple cake, with little sugar inside.
At about 10.00 we pause in the blinding light of the desert, to admire closely the geometric “ojos” (eyes), through which the salar breathes
Finally we visit, at Colchani, an abandoned salt hotel, which is waiting to be restored, and we stop for lunch (meatballs and potatoes) next to a tourist market
The last stop is the train cemetery, already close to the town of Uyuni, which disappoints me a little because the ground is infested with rubbish and plastic bags, swinging sadly in the wind, among the shrubs branches
I touch with my hand what I had read already in the guide books, Uyuni is much less pleasant than Tupiza, so I am really happy with my choice.
The driver leaves us at the Todo Turismo agency. Two words about the organization of the excursion. I chose the agency which belongs to the owner of the Hostal Los Salares because the web reviews were positive. I believe that all agencies more or less follow the same itineraries, the difference is made by the driver and the food. Many people complain that very often the drivers are drunk, they do not wake up in the morning, and cannot drive safely. Other complain that they drive too fast, and don’t want to stop when someone want to take pictures. Our driver was ok. The meals in my case were simple and abundant, it is worth pointing out that the lunch is cooked in the morning before leaving, and then you will eat cold food. I found steaks a bit hard, but I survived. The supply of water is a liter per day, you need to take the extras. We also had a box of 6 different soft drinks, but pretty much we did not use them. What I gladly point, regarding the driver, is that he came back to give me back the expensive sleeping bag I forgot in his jeep.
We (I was traveling with two other ladies) decide to leave a tip, and we give, in the whole, 210 BOB.
We wait for the bus departure at night, walking around the town of Uyuni which has not much to offer, after leaving the luggage at Todo Turismo agency. As already mentioned, the bus is not very comfortable, and overpriced. When leaving, I saw some other buses with cama seats, parked around. They should be Trans Omar and Panasur. Trans Omar looks comfortable http://www.transomar.com/es/ and Panasur as well
http://www.uyunipanasur.com/001/foto.php?sip=4
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