The mesmerizing Uyuni Salt Flats are one of South America's most astonishing
sights and is the main reason for my visit to Bolivia. In this video I'll show
you some of my highlights of what you can expect if you decide to visit. it's
five o'clock in the morning bright and early we are about to start our
three-day two-night tours it's 40-something degrees outside now
we're gonna go pick up the truck and get ready to head out so let's go 5:10 a.m.
and they are packing up the truck and look who it is
15 minutes late as usual okay now she has an attitude she's upset she has to
lug her suitcase all the way to the van like every one of us and this is Paulie
helping a pack of the van. The best way to see the Uyuni Salt Flats is on a
three-day tour combined with all the other incredible sites in this area
showing us around for three days was La Torre tours with ID who took great
care of us and Vicente our trusted driver. There are many different tours
available to the Uyuni Salt Flats and they basically follow a similar
itinerary. The Jeep we'll be spending a lot of time in seat six people max. If
you prefer something more comfortable then four people to your Jeep would be
ideal and remember not all seats in the Jeep are created equally. How long have we been
driving driving about three and a half hours now our first stop to have
breakfast you know we stopped to get our breakfast and everyone is getting their
tea everyone is getting there tea. They gave
me this tea said it's for to calm you down
and here is Pauli having his lemon cake oh no what's going on back there
but the llamas are migrating it seems like this is what you got to do when
you're out here in these open plains. While the Uyuni Salt Flats are definitely
the highlight of the trip they are really only a small part of this
breathtaking region. The landscape is truly unique and you'll be amazed at how
beautiful it really is. After driving several hours we made it to Termas de
Polques. Termas de Pulques is a surreal paradise.
there's a small hot spring pool here as well, not boiling by any means but
suitable for taking a therapeutic dip. nice must be hot but nobody wants to get
in because we're tired from driving 7hrs. The mineral-rich waters are believed to
relieve the symptoms of arthritis. After soaking up as much of the beauty around
us as we could we ate a quick lunch and headed right back on the road.
next stop Sol de Manana. Sol de Manana is a geothermal area sitting at an altitude
of fifteen thousand nine hundred and twelve feet. This beautiful outer worldly
landscape is led with geysers, bubbling mud pots and the distinct smell of
sulfur. You can walk around here but please be careful the temperatures in
the volcanic pool can reach upwards of 392 degrees Fahrenheit. You'll definitely
want to ensure you bring a camera to capture your experience here at Sol de
Manana as the view here is second to none. this freezing this windy
adventurous. From geysers to lagoons. Laguna Colorado also known as the red
lagoon is a shallow salt lake in the southwest of the altiplano of bolivia
within Eduardo Avaroa Andean Fauna National Reserve and close to the
board of Chile. Dotted with white islands of massive borax deposits the nearly
15,000 acre salt lake is less than three feet deep and is tinted blood-red due to
a variety of algae which thrive in the salt water. The reserve around laguna
colorado is home to a wide variety of indigenous birds and animals that
amazingly thrive in this hostile landscape. Three of the world's six
flamingo species Chilean, Andean and James flamingos inhabit the freshwater
lakes and saltwater lagoons of the reserve. The reserve also provides
habitat to mammals including Pumas Andean foxes and cats domesticated
llamas and alpacas just to name a few.
After driving for almost the entire day we finally made it to hotel Tayka del
Desierto where we spent the night. If you ever make it here it is important to
understand the limitations that the environment and altitude creates. With
this in mind you will not be disappointed. oh shit what a long last
day yeah most of the day we spent driving
like literally what about ten hours driving there's a little rough I will
admit it was rough we were all fighting each other and tomorrow we're back at it
again that's it I think we're gonna sign off for tonight and we'll pick back up
tomorrow so you guys alone alright so how'd you sleep last the how was your
night last night not great look at you I couldn't sleep I kept
waking up every two hours cuz at this altitude
alright you excited for today I am I'm excited to see what's on the list of
things to do and things might be too cold we're all bundle of ready to go
prepared today let's go
that right there is ice in the desert hey look at that little thing like he's
holding it up that is hilarious
Our first stop of the day was at Laguna Honda another saltwater lagoon near the
border of Chile. Here you'll hop out of your Jeep and walk down to the lagoon
and walk about a kilometer along the western shore of the lagoon to its
northern end where your Jeep will be waiting for you. The walk along the bank
of the lagoon is very pleasant. Mother nature got really creative here
as you'll see from the lagoons numerous places of interest. The walk along the
shore takes about 30 to 40 minutes. Between the hundreds of flamingos and
the mountains in the backdrop this view will stay imprinted in my memory
forever.
We made a quick stop for lunch then back to our hotel Crystal Semana salt hotel to relax and
prepare for another exciting day tomorrow. Alright
after a long day on the road we finally made it in to our yeah here's the room it's
actually pretty nice Wow definitely a lot better than the other one
nice we even got a balcony how beautiful muy bonito so yep here is our hotel for
the night it's not bad at all, What's going on folks it's bright and early and
I'm here at my hotel in Uyuni. Today we are heading to the salt flats. It is the
largest salt flats in the world and nothing but salt for more than 4500
square miles that's a lot of damn so make sure you're dressed appropriately
and now I'm gonna show you what you can expect if you do make it here. With its
seemingly endless sparkling horizon the Uyuni Salt Flats are one of South
America's most spectacular sights to behold. Remote breathtaking and unique
Salar Uyuni is a visual feast to partake in. out here with those steps that lead
Stairway to heaven is a land art piece that was created by Gaston Ugalde in
2017. It took him 12,000 salt bricks to create
this art piece that leads to nowhere. they need more these out here in this
area. This is where they harvest the salt for eating or for building houses or hotels
can we taste the salt? Yes
alright guys let's go next up this is the only water that's in
the salt flats right now because we came in the dry season the salt flats has two
seasons wet and dry and it's worth visiting in either season. The wet season
has its visual advantages but the rains sometimes make it difficult to access
the flats where water levels getting too high for vehicles to maneuver safely. The
dry season on the other hand makes the entire Salarl accessible but you'll
miss out on the mirror-like quality of the wet flats that you get in the wet
season. Incahuasi island or house of the Incas a popular stop for many
visiting the majestic Uyuni Salt Flats. Incahuasi island is situated in the centre
of the salt flats at its highest point this makes the island an ideal spot for
visitors to enjoy amazing 360-degree panoramic views of the salt flats other
than the spectacular bird's-eye view the island is covered with giant cactus and
we chose to prepare our lunch amongst these resplendent towering Giants. Fluff
her favorite part of the day lunch time
vegetarian I'm not really a vegetarian person but I can definitely say that I
enjoyed it good job ID
Our goal on this stop is to get some crazy funny pics that's it that's the
only goal we have for this stop so let's go and take some pictures. The
seemingly endless horizon of the salt flats makes the perfect backdrop for
photography enthusiast like myself. The horizon gives the illusion that objects
nearer to the camera are larger than those that are further away take a
perspective photos in the salt flats is a lot harder than you may think but
thankfully our guide ID knows all about capturing them and we had so much fun
doing this.
stop by the old hotel in the heart of salar de uyuni and you will spot
several colorful flags hanging from a series of poles outside. Yes they are
the flags of those who have visited the Salt Flats.
if your country's flag isn't already there make sure to bring one and hang it
leave your mark on one of the most surreal landscapes on earth. I just
placed the first Jamaican flag out here. how does it feel to place the first Trinidad
flag here feels amazing there's not many first you could do
these days and I imagine there's tons of journeys that have made it out here
before but still being able to put the flag in represent first of all I feel a
little sabotage why because the foodboo was responsible for getting me a big flag
yeah definitely sabotage but as usual trinni's always putting us small island
people down. during the tour of the uyuni salt flats you feel like you're in
another world it's so surprising how the world we
think we know is actually so vastly different from our perceptions this
experience was literally on a different level we reach heights of over 16,000
feet. The adventures and the experiences provided by Latorre tours were some of
my most are inspiring date. Bolivia is not a luxury destination but those who
are willing to step off the beaten path will be rewarded. Thanks for having us
Bolivia. If you haven't already please subscribe
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