From 7 to 30 June 2023 - 4'143 km
Driving from the border crossing of Ollagüe, my first destination was Uyuni!
The Salar de Uyuni is the world's largest salt flat, or playa, at over 10,000 square kilometres in area, near the crest of the Andes at an elevation of 3,656 m above sea level.
The Salar was formed because of transformations between several prehistoric lakes that existed around forty thousand years ago but had all evaporated over time. It is now covered by a few meters of salt crust, which has an extraordinary flatness with the average elevation variations within one meter over the entire area of the Salar. The crust serves as a source of salt and covers a pool of brine, which is exceptionally rich in lithium. The large area, clear skies, and exceptional flatness of the surface make the Salar ideal for calibrating the altimeters of Earth observation satellites. Following rain, a thin layer of dead calm water transforms the flat into the world's largest mirror, 129 km across.
The Salar serves as the major transport route across the Bolivian Altiplano and is a prime breeding ground for several species of flamingos. Salar de Uyuni is also a climatological transitional zone since the towering tropical cumulus congestus and cumulonimbus incus clouds that form in the eastern part of the salt flat during the summer cannot permeate beyond its drier western edges, near the Chilean border and the Atacama Desert.
Not wanting the salt to corode my Land Roamer, I elected to join an organized tour for 3 days with an English speaking guide. This trip was made in a comfortable and reliable Toyota Land Cruiser.My travel partners were from Canada, Germany and Lebanon we had a great time together!
