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The Salar de Uyuni tour from Atacama is definitely one of the most beautiful tours to do in the world, without a doubt! In this post I describe how you can organize this tour leading to the Salar de Uyuni.
These two tours match in much of their itinerary: in the final part of the post I describe what we see on the first day of the tour starting in Tupiza (Dedicated POST).
Located at 3,600 meters above sea level, the Salar de Uyuni is the largest salty expanse in the world, created by the evaporation of a salt lake. A tour of Uyuni from Atacama allows visitors to see the Reserva Nacional de Fauna Andina Eduardo Avaroa: lagoons, deserts, and geysers make a succulent aperitif to the Salar de Uyuni’s main dish.
I toured the Salar de Uyuni from Atacama in May 2023, in the dry season. Here I leave you some photos from the rainy season: in-depth information can be found in this post.
Salar de Uyuni tour from Atacama: day 1
The van picked me up at my hostel in San Pedro de Atacama at 6:30 am. After about an hour’s drive we left Chile, entering Bolivia. After the bureaucratic formalities, we stopped at the refuge at Laguna Blanca: I had stopped to sleep before climbing Licancabur. This area, in fact, is surrounded by volcanoes, between 5 and 6,000 meters high: it is a magnificent area!
The first vantage point of the Uyuni tour is a very short distance from the above-mentioned refuge: the Blanca Lagoon. From here it is possible to admire this volcanic area perfectly. The next vantage point, the Green Lagoon, is even more beautiful: in fact, from here it is possible to perfectly admire the symmetrical shape of the Licancabur volcano (which means mountain of the people). Here is a video demonstrating the beauty of the place!
Having resumed the jeeps, the guides took us, after about an hour, to the Desierto Salvador Dali: the name comes from the strange geological shapes of this area. Soon after, it was time to relax at the aguas termales de Polques: here there are two pools of thermal waters, very hot! The hour of relaxation in the thermal waters while waiting for lunch was very welcome! After lunch we resumed our journey. In the early afternoon we devoted twenty minutes to visit the beautiful Sol de Manana geysers.
Finally, the Colorada Lagoon was the focus of the second visit of the afternoon. A one-hour visit allowed us to admire this beautiful red-colored lagoon. The lagoon, located at an elevation of 4,200 meters above sea level, is a mineral-rich salt lake: it is easy to find James’ flamingo and…lots of llamas!
The first splendid day ended at a hostal in Villa Mar.
Salar de Uyuni tour from Atacama: day 2
The second day of the Salar de Uyuni tour began with a visit to Italia Perdida. This area is full of strange geological formations: the most famous are named Copa del Mundo and Camel because of their obvious similarities. The name of Italia Perdida comes from a legend: apparently a young Italian got lost in this place a decade ago.
On the second day, the lagoons also took center stage: the de Vinto did not impress me, while the hour-long walk that took us to the Mysterious Lagoon was interesting.
After the lagoons we admired the beautiful canyon de la anaconda: the panoramic views are impressive!
In the afternoon we stopped in the small town of Julaca-it was a great place to have a couple of beers while listening to typical Bolivian cumbia.
We spent the second night in a hostal de Sal, near the Salar de Uyuni.
Salar de Uyuni tour from Atacama: day 3
On the third day we left at five in the morning. After about 45 minutes by jeep we arrived at the base of Isla Incahuasi. This veritable islet is a paradise: full of cacti, it is totally surrounded by the immensity of the Salar de Uyuni. After a hike of about 20 minutes (elevation gain about 100 meters) we arrived at the summit of Isla Incahuasi: the sunrise from the island is simply unforgettable (video of the island!)
After having breakfast at the base of Isla Incahuasi we resumed the jeeps to enter the middle of the Salar de Uyuni (video).. Of course, it was time for the long photo session! In fact, the Salar de Uyuni lends itself perfectly for special photos, thanks to the deceptive perspective for human eyes!
The museo de las banderas is the end point of the Salar de Uyuni: just outside the Salar is the town of Colchani, famous for its markets.
The Salar de Uyuni tour ends with a visit to the cementerio de los trenes: here you can see the various train cars used in the past.
IN ADDITION TO THE SALAR DE UYUNI TOUR FROM ATACAMA YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN ….
Santiago, the capital of Chile!
SALAR DE UYUNI TOUR INFORMATION FROM ATACAMA
- The Uyuni tour starting from Atacama takes three days. I organized it with Sajama Expediciones: I had a very good time with them. I paid about $200, to which you have to add about $30 in entry fees to be paid in Bolivianos : there are exchange houses in San Pedro de Atacama. It is possible to return directly to Atacama : the tour in this case is four days and the cost is about $220. Generally you pay in cash.
- Once in Uyuni, it is possible to reach La Paz by night bus: it arrives in the main Bolivian city at first light. It is also possible to reach Potosi, one of the most interesting places in Bolivia (described in this post): it is about four hours away.
- There are two different seasons in Uyuni. In the season from December to March, in fact, the rains cause a mirror effect to form between the salar and the sky. in this season, during heavy rains, it is not possible to visit Isla Incahuasi.
- When to visit Uyuni? In my opinion Uyuni is always magical. The mirror effect of the wet season is incredible, but the perspective of infinity of the dry season is equally hallucinating.
- It touches a maximum altitude of 4950 meters. I strongly recommend staying at least a couple of nights in Atacama (located at 2300 meters altitude) to acclimatize a bit. It is, in fact, quite common for tourists to suffer from altitude sickness. Coca mate and coca leaves help, but the first rule here is to get down in altitude quickly!
- Cold weather clothing advice. I brought fleece, windbreaker and hiking pants: all were necessary! Very little walking: the only uphill walk was to the summit of Isla Incahuasi. This is an easy walk, despite the altitude.
- You can also visit the Salar de Uyuni independently, with your own jeep.
- The typical cuisine encountered on the Uyuni tour is chicken and rice.
- The town of Uyuni is frankly not interesting. In my opinion at the end of the tour it is better to leave directly for La Paz or Potosi, without spending a night in Uyuni.
- The tour can also be taken in the reverse direction. This is a big difference from the Tupiza tour, which is taken almost exclusively from Tupiza.
- Having done it three times I can safely confirm that the Salar de Uyuni tour is one of the wonders of the world, without a doubt!
