2 Day Tour Uyuni Salt Flats takes you to Tayka Hotel through lagoons and desert. Next day, head to the salt flats for the craziest pictures and stunning sunset.
The Uyuni Salt Flats in Bolivia have become the most popular destination and must-see for everyone. You will get a chance to visit the incredible surrounding attractions. But this two-day tour will give you plenty of time to soak in the magic of Salar de Uyuni and capture jaw-dropping perspective photos.
Your Tour Features
Tour Type Private
Tour Duration 2 Days
Pick-up time 7:00 AM
Drop-off time 8:00 PM
Pickup at Hotel, airport
Drop-off Hotel
What You’ll Do
Day 1: Uyuni to Tayka
You’ll be picked up at your hotel in Uyuni town or at the airport and transferred to Tayka Hotel with sightseeing stops along the way and lunch. You’ll ride off road more than 5 hours throughout the lagoons and deserts.
Day 2: Uyuni Salt Flats Tour
After breakfast, you’ll head to the Salt Flats on a private 4×4 vehicle and visit the Incahuasi Island, Playa Blanca Hotel, Dakar statue, and the salt eyes. Then after capture the craziest perspective photos and the most amazing sunset over the Salt Flats.
Your Tour Itinerary
Day 1: Uyuni to Tayka
7:00 am – 8:40 am – Departure from Uyuni to Tayka Hotel
You’ll be picked up from your downtown hotel in Uyuni city or at the Uyuni airport by our team (driver and guide) then head to the Siloli Desert with sightseeing stops along the way.
Train Cemetery
Here steel giants have been abandoned and destroyed by salt winds becoming a cemetery for trains, for locomotives. Most of the trains that can be found in the Graveyard date back to the early 20th century and were imported from Britain. There are many train cars with unique structure and occasional graffiti.
In other places in the world, the mighty steel trains would have held up better. The salt winds that blow over Uyuni, which hosts the world’s largest salt plain, have corroded all of the metal. Without guards or even a fence, these pieces were picked over and vandalized long ago.
Following that, your trip will continue on to the Bolivian highland.
San Cristobal Village
This is a village located 45 minutes away from Uyuni city and characterized by the silver mining. Stop at this place if you’d like to use bathroom.
You’ll drive off road for more than 5 hours throughout the Bolivian highland. You’ll stop at Sora Canyon, Rock Valley, and Hidden Lagoon.
Stone Tree
You’ll stop at the Stone Tree (Árbol de Piedra) which will have you all in awe. This particular rock projecting out of the sand dunes of the Siloli Desert, has been whittled down into the shape of a tree over time by sand and 120 km/h winds that whip across 4,000 m high Bolivian Altiplano in the colder months.
The Stone Tree is about 7 m high, its shape, particularly the thin stem, are due to strong winds carrying sand and eroding the soft sandstone.
In the endless sand desert you would get easily lost without your expert driver.
Your driver has a great knowledge about the roads and routes. He’ll take through the many serpent ways.
Laguna Colorada (lunch place)
After hours travelling off road from Uyuni town, you’ll arrive to a rare natural wonder a Red Lagoon, filled with hundreds of pink flamingos. There are more flamingos during the rainy season (from December through April). You can also spot llamas and alpacas there, making it another very photogenic location in Bolivia.
The Laguna Colorada is a shallow salt lake and contains white borax islands, whose white color contrasts with the reddish color of its waters, which is caused by red sediments and pigmentation of some algae. Curiously, the flamingos are naturally white; they look pink because the red algae stains their feathers. It spans 6000 hectares, but is less than a meter deep.
Thanks to Laguna Colorada’s abundant supply of plankton three of the world’s six species of flamingo can be found here: the Chilean, Andean and the James’ Flamingo.
James’ Flamingo is only found in the high Andean plateaus and was thought to be extinct until a small population was rediscovered in 1956.
You will enjoy this spectacular landscape after exploring its surroundings and before heading towards your hotel located in Siloli desert.
You’ll arrive at the Tayka del Desierto hotel and have dinner. Later walk under the starry sky (from April to November).
Included:
- Pick-up at your hotel in Uyuni city or at the airport
- Private 4×4 WD transport
- English speaking tour guide
- Entry tickets to Avaroa Reserve
- Lunches
- 01 night at Tayka del Desierto Hotel
- Private bathroom, limited hot shower, limited electrivity
- Dinners at the hotel
Excluded:
- Extra expenses
- Cameras
- Gratuities
- Photographer
Day 2: Tayka to Salt Flats
7:00 am – Departure towards Uyuni
After an early breakfast you’ll drive off road for more than 6 hours to the Bolivian largest salt flats.
You might take a different route. You’ll enter the more than 10,000 square kilometers that form the Salar de Uyuni.
Eyes of the Salt
Eyes of the Salt, literally means “Ojos de Sal”, these are where you could see how the salt flats were formed. These bubble springs are outlets for subterranean rivers flowing under the surface of the meters thick salt but thereafter just salt as far as the eye can see and Fish Island will maroon in the salt.
The Salt Flat is covered with water during the rainy season after raining (from December to March). Then the sun and the wind dry the surface and a layer of white crust is formed. The crust will eventually crack as the salt, which is still wet, underneath dried up and protrude to the surfacing. The end result is polygon patterns that you see during the dry season.
Dakar Statue
After the first stop in the edge of the Salar and taking the first perspectives pictures, you’ll migrate towards the Dakar Monument.
A slat statue honoring the annual rally raid started in 1978, organized by the Amaury Sport Organization, contestants driving across South America in this off-road competition with different motor vehicles – crossing dunes, crossing dunes, mud, camel grass, rocks, and erg.
The Uyuni Salt Flat was the stage of the rally since 2014, and the dramatic terrain of the Bolivian highland and the salt flats remained one of the most awaited parts by spectators.
Playa Blanca First Salt Hotel
You’ll continue your journey and you’ll reach an old fashioned hotel in the heart of the salt flat. The Playa Blanca Salt Hotel was once in operation, but now it’s a pit spot for tourists to take pictures of the flags and have a walk inside.
The outside of the hotel has many country flags hanging on a series of poles. In fact, these flags were brought there by the tourists.
Incahuasi/Cactus Island
After the openings in the salt you’ll head to what they call an Island on the Salt!
You’ll arrive on time for lunch/picnic in the Salar. This lunch will have you revived to explore more spots in the area such as the Incahuasi Island, an island full of cactuses!
Well, since it’s a salt flat, the entire area is really, just salt.
There are several “Islands” in the salt flat and the Incahuasi Island is in the center of the Salar. It’s undeniable that the Incahuasi Island is a visually captivating place. The island is a hilly and rocky outcrop of the land – “Incahuasi” literally means “Inca House” and the island is a giant rock that is filled with coral-like structures and gigantic cactuses.
That’s why sometimes it is called the “Cactus Island” as well. It is also a great view once you reach the top of the island. The view of the salt flat is boundless, and it looks so much more amazing if the salt flat is filled with water but it’s not reachable.
Drive away in the endless white layer for perspective photos with toys, llamas, dinosaurs, etc.
Perspective Photos
It is t3ime for taking the craziest and funniest optical illusion pictures. The reflection of the water after the rain is the perfect setting for epic photos that allows you to show off to your friends. True, that’s probably the reason that you visit the salt flat. But in case the weather doesn’t go your way, the vast, white flatland is still very impressive.
The dry land may be even friendlier for you to take optical illusion pictures. Imagine the flatland is filled with nothing but salt as far as your eye can see. This is the perfect canvas for taking optical illusion pictures and letting your mind go wild. Play with proportions, and play with distance – the horizon will give the perspective that the objects nearer to the camera are larger than those farther away, and there is nothing else in the frame to ruin your illusion, and there is nothing else in the frame to ruin your illusion.
Uyuni Salt Flats Sunset
How the Sunset in the rainy season (from January to March) would look like.
By the late afternoon before the sun is gone, before you return to your hotel in Colchani or Uyuni town, bundle yourselves into warm jackets and go out the 4WD transport to watch the sunset over the salt flats.
The vast expanse of salt will turn pink as the sun sinks and the sky deepens to an orange glow reflecting on the ground, this would be the perfect mirror to what is above, an amazing sight which augured well for the days to come.
Since the area is so flat you’ll likely witness some insane color in the sky which provides a great juxtaposition to the endless white color of the ground.
Return to Uyuni town and drop off at your selected place in Uyuni town (hotel or bus station).
Included:
- Breakfast at Tayka hotel
- Private 4×4 WD transport
- English speaking tour guide
- Entry tickets
- Lunches in the Salar
- Gum boots (December to March)
- Drop-off at your hotel in Uyuni town
Excluded:
- Extra expenses
- Cameras
- Gratuities
- Photographer
What to bring:
- Warm clothes
- Small back pack with toiletries
- Hat, cap, scarf
- Local cash currency
- Sunscreen
- Sunglasses
- Warm, light jacket
- Comfortable shoes
Get more. Do more.
Hey! I’m Fredy, one of the support team members, responsible of answering your emails and inquiries at headquarter.
If you have questions about 2 Day Tour Uyuni Salt Flats or need help making your booking, feel free to text me the number below and reference the name of the tour (or send the link). I’d be happy to help.
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+51 965154772
Pricing:
No PAX | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
PRICE | USD 995 | USD 1,170 | USD 1,470 | USD 1,720 |