Three-day tour from Uyuni
In our attempt to drive our camper from San Pedro de Atacama to Laguna Colorada, we learned the hard way that the road was too bad to make it to the red lake (and Salar De Uyuni). We wanted to spare our truck and tires, as the 4×4 cars need to replace tires every six months and cars often break down during these tours, due to the extreme conditions (salt, rocks, 4×4 roads, altitude, cold, storms). Two months after our own insane adventure in Eduardo Avaroa National Reserve of Andean Fauna we decided to book a three-day tour from Uyuni.
Salar De Uyuni
While we already drove through another great salt flat (Salinas Grandes in Northern Argentina) without other tourists and though there is only a true water mirror on Salar de Uyuni in February (and we went in August), it was absolutely worth going on this trip. Though we are not a fan of organised tours, this was one of the best ever, due to the great variety of amazing natural wonders. The meters thick immense 10,582 km2 salt flat felt otherworldly. It takes some expertise and effort, but some perfectly square salt crystals can be found, hidden under the surface.
Isla Incahuasi
Hours of driving on the sharp salt hexagons brought us to the cactus filled Isla Incahuasi, a bizarre contrast.
Cold night in a salt hotel
We were lucky to stay the night in a beautiful new salt hotel in San Juan; a good spot for a jog by sunrise, between the llamas.
The food is very basic and the nights are cold, so we recommend taking extra care of yourself during this tour (e.g. hot water bottle, extra sleeping bag and food, as there is not much for sale). We have to applaud our tour guide though (Gerardo Cary from Andrea Tours), he is one of the few responsible drivers, very kind and brought us to some additional stunning sites.
One of our favourite places on the planet!
The next two days were equally impressive. Moon landscapes, rock formations, geysers, mud pools, wildlife and lots of lagoons of which the most unbelievable was colourful Laguna Colorada full of flamingos.
Laguna Blanca and Laguna Verde looked totally different from the first time that we went there. For us, this confirms that every place and every day has its unique beauty. We were so glad to have covered this surreal part of the world on two separate trips; it is definitely one of our favourite places on this planet!
