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The Salar de Uyuni is undoubtedly the highlight of Bolivia. The salt plains are immense and provides a scenery which can not be seen in many other places. The nearby national park shows some amazing landscapes of colorful lakes and massive volcano's. The whole area is best seen on a tour by 4x4 jeep because there are no roads. To see the most of it, the three day tour is recommended which takes you to all the best places. There are also shorter tours which last for one or two days. The most common start place for the tours is Uyuni. Unfortunately some of the tour operator do not provide high standards, but you will need to be a bit lucky when booking the tour. Below is described what can be seen on each day.
Day 1: Train graveyard, salt plains, and Isla Incahuasi.
The first stop is the train graveyard. For the photographer, this is the place to be as the rusty trains allow for some nice pictures. Driving a bit further and you will arrive at the salt plains. Often there is a stop first at a village which relies on salt mining, but is not that interesting. However, once you get to the salt plains some amazing scenery can be seen. At places where the salt is mined, piles of salt which are drying in the sun can be seen. If there is water of the salt plains, it will reflect the blue sky. Do bring sunscreen and sunglasses as the sun is very intense. After that stop, the tour will continue to the salt hotel which is not closes. It is possible to see the salt depositions on the hotel. After driving many more miles Isla Incahuasi pops up. This is a island in the desert which has many large cacti growing on it. There is a track around the island to see more scenery and also to view the expansive views of the Salar de Uyuni from a higher point. Because of the white (salt) soil perception of depth is different and allows for some funny picture taking.
Day 2: Volcano Ollague, national reserve park Eduardo Avaroa, Laguna Canapa, Laguna Hedionda, desert of Siloli, rock tree formation and Laguna Colorado.
The second day starts with a view of the volcano Ollague. It is not a closeup view, but there is some attractive scenery that surround it. After a short stop there is a drive onwards to the national reserve park Eduardo Avaroa. This is another highlight as it has many lakes and volcano's. The first stop would be Laguna Canapa which is a bright blue colored. The next lake Laguna Hedionda is probably the most beautiful of all. It is large and surrounded by mountains, some of which have a white snow-cap on top. There are quite a few flamingo's in the lake which appear to be undisturbed by anything. Most tours allow a walk around a large part of the lake to get some different views of the scenery. After lunch the tour will continue to the desert of Siloli which has some awkward rock formations. The most famous of these is the rock tree formation which stands out compared to the others. The final stop is the Laguna Colorade, which is a red colored lake. The colors of the lake and the surrounding mountains and other scenery are bright and often give the impression of walking around an oil painted landscape.
Day 3: Geyser at Sol de Manana, Laguna Challviri, Laguna Verde and the volcano Lincacabur.
The last day of the tour starts with a visit to the Geyser at Sol de Manana. Basically you get to see hot gas coming out of the earth. Some parts look like a whole plaque of earth is spitting out gas. To allow a bit of relaxing a stop is made at Laguna Challviri. This lake does not look as amazing as the other lakes, but does has a hot spring in which you can relax. The last important stop is the Laguna Verde. This lake is brightly light blue colored and is overlooked by the volcano Lincacabur. After a short stop the tour just drives back to Uyuni while stopping only a few ties along the way.
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