And What Can I Make Out of This Vast, Lonely Desert of Salt?

Memories, epic ones. You say jump, and I say get high. 3,565 meters above sea level is Bolivia’s Salar de Uyuni or the Salt Flats. The world’s largest, covering 10,582 sq km, this massive desert of salt is what’s left of the prehistoric lake that went dry. The salt flats are completely covered in salt during the dry season. And in the wet season, they are covered with a thin sheet of water. The sky is reflected in the brine when there’s a thin sheet of water, creating reflections that trick the eye. The Salt Flat is a photographer’s dreamland or for those who know how to have fun with photos. To say that this natural wonder is awe-inspiring is an understatement.

And if this still doesn’t ignite the travel bug in you, then read on. I’ll tell you from my own experience why travelers flock to South America just to visit this huge salty desert.

Still sleepless from having arrived at the town of Uyuni during the wee hours in the morning, accompanied by a Bolivian dog that seemed to have found a company with a fellow homeless. I found myself wandering in this ghost town. Everyone was still sleeping. Blame the bus ride, blame my lack of organization or my lack of care of the proper time to arrive in a place. I just love spontaneity.

I booked the day tour covering an entire day of touring the salt flats, although one can choose to do the 4-day camping tour that will include the great Atacama Desert of Chile, about 100+ bucks. I guess I wasn’t being adventurous enough that time, perhaps due to my exhaustion and not having a lot of money. So I went to see this famous wonder of nature just for a day, and check what this salty desert is all about.

It was hot and humid, and I was still in my Icy Andean attire coming from the higher altitude part of Bolivia. This is what makes South America such an amazing part of the world for traveling, the varying climates in different places, the amazing nature, and the landscape like you have never seen before. I just came to Bolivia this time via hitchhiking from the north of Argentina. Bolivia’s a beautiful country to visit, with its virgin nature and mysterious appeal, and Salt Flats is one of its pride.

I tasted the salty ground as to fulfill this crazy thing from my bucketlist. Salty indeed huh, never mind the dirt and the germs, I was a happy person. What can I say, this place is just a vast emptiness of blinding white. But I could appreciate the beauty in this massive space of nothingness. I stared in awe and looked at the blue sky to give my eyes a change of color. Too bad though, I was here during the dry season. So there was no thin sheet of water, meaning there was no reflection of some sort, like what you see in those famous shots. Regardless, I joined the bandwagon by taking the famous perspective pictures with a fellow traveler. Ok, that was fun.

Aside from trying to look far beyond, hoping to catch a glimpse of something out of the white plains, there's really nothing much else if you just take the day tour. There are giant cactuses that can be found at some part of the dessert though, and the jeepney will take you there. And there’s the beautiful sunset worth waiting for at the end of the tour. That's pretty much it, no over-glorification and all that. But I was happy to see this part of Bolivia and I recommend visiting this place to anyone traveling to South America.