More Salt, Please !

I am in chilly La Paz after finishing the four day salt flat tour and ending up in the dust bowl town of Uyuni. My first impression of Uyuni was that "I don't want to stay here" and promptly took the bus out that night.Uyuni is made up of non-descript, pale square buildings, dusty roads, a deserted train station and surprising number of pizzerias catering to tourists waiting for their salt flat tours to start.

I don't mind La Paz. I have been getting mixed reviews of Bolivia's capital city from other travellers. Sure there is lots of honking and fume-spewing traffic and plenty of steep hills to climb as the city is built in a valley. But the city is overlooked by the Cordillera Real de Los Andes mountain range including the Huaya Potosi and Illimani 6000+ meter peaks. The city also has some great markets including the Lanka food and flower market where great steak, fried onion and egg breakfast sandwiches are made (and consumed). A steaming cup of coffee and one of these wonderful sandwiches will cost you $1.90 and get started for the day.

The salt flat (Salar De Uyuni) tour is stunningly beautiful and I think a "must do" if you are in Bolivia. Brave the rough teeth-chattering roads, ice cold accommodations and nights and in our case, your truck stuck in the mud for two hours and you will be rewarded with breath-taking and changing scenery. Wide expansive sand dunes, snow capped mountains, red rock canyons, the aqua blue and green Laguna Verde, the red Laguna Colorado full of flamingos, hot springs and geisers under an equally expansive blue sky. At about 4000 - 4600 meters, there are no trees in the landscape and only scrubs and at night, the stars shine brightly and the galaxies swirl above.

Much like Africa, the Toyota Land Cruiser is the most popular and reliable vehicle on most  tours. I recommend you start the tour from Tupiza instead of Uyuni and you will catch the sunrise on the Salar De Uyuni, the largest salt plain in the world at an altitude of 3755 meters on the last day. Formed 25,000 to 50, 000 years ago from a gaint interior sea, the salt flats receives less than 300 cm of rain in a year. The hardened salt forms a particular pattern on the ground, much like a hexigon jigsaw pieces as you stare out into the distance. It is a stark, beautiful place as the salt plains blends into the horizon. Did I also mentioned there are llamas roaming around or in one of the villager`s homes. Who doesn´t like llamas?