Colchani

• The salt in Salar de Uyuni is at least 700 feet deep in the center, though the true depth is unknown and a lower depth of 400 feet is cited often.
• The largest salt flat in the world, the Salar covers an area of over 4,086 square miles.
• Of the at least 11 billion tonnes of salt in the Salar, 25,000 tonnes are extracted and processed every year at Colchani.
• There are 11 layers of salt ranging from 6 to 60 feet deep each. The top layer is around 32 feet.
• Rainwater results in salty brine collecting between the layers. The dark bands in blocks of extracted salt represent rainfall.
• Evaporating salt lakes 40,000 and 12,000 years ago left behind concentrated minerals in the Salar, including potassium, boron, magnesium and lithium.
• Salar de Uyuni by itself contains over half of the planet's lithium. Along with Salar del Hombre Muerto, Argentina and Salar de Atacama, Chile, 75% of the world's lithium deposits are in the salt lakes of the Andes altiplano.
• Compressed salt bricks are used for construction, including other salt hotels and buildings around the Salar.

There are some mineral rocks from the area also on display at the salt factory. They contain Pyrite (FeS₂), a mineral that resembles gold, often referred to as "fool's gold". Plastic-wrapped pieces of rocks are available for purchase as souvenirs, as are little bags of salt produced in the factory and hand-made sculptures of salt.

What really is the Salar de Uyuni?

According to National Geographic, "Bolivia’s Salar de Uyuni is considered one of the most extreme and remarkable vistas in all of South America, if not Earth. Stretching more than 4,050 square miles of the Altiplano, it is the world’s largest salt flat, left behind by prehistoric lakes evaporated long ago. Here, a thick crust of salt extends to the horizon, covered by quilted, polygonal patterns of salt rising from the ground. 

The Star Wars Connection

Star Wars: The Last Jedi (Episode VIII) (2017) introduces us to the icy planet of Crait far far away. Crait is the site of a Rebel base. "Originally a mining installation, the Crait outpost was transformed into a fortress by anti-Imperial insurgents bankrolled by Alderaan’s Bail Organa. The Rebellion abandoned the base when a change in Imperial patrols endangered it, though Leia Organa and her friends fought a brief skirmish against the Empire there. Leia then tucked Crait’s coordinates away in a file she kept in case of emergencies – a precaution that would one day prove a lifeline for her Resistance", says the official description of Crait.

The Salar de Uyuni was the shooting location for Crait.

After lunch at Colchani, we drove straight into the white wonderland of Salar de Uyuni in the direction of Tunupa. We struck luck on the way and found an area of shallow standing water not too far from Volcán Thunupa. Water famously turns Salar de Uyuni into a mirror which becomes the planet's largest mirror when a thin water layer covers all of it after rainfall.

We continued to drive up to the trail head. There are some nice views of Salar de Uyuni from the way up. It was all empty and barren with only us around.

Las momias de Coqueza: the mummies of Coqueza (The Cave of the Mummies)

Grocery of the Mums of Coqueza

A sliver of light comes in through a hole in the rock covered with a grill. A Chinchilla peeks at us from outside.

There are chambers cut into rock. In these chambers there are mummified remains of six departed souls in fetal positions. They have been there for over 500 years, wrapped in straw, leaves and blankets. They have not been disturbed since being put there. Hair, clothes and positions are untouched. There is no odor other than the musty smell of an old cave.

One of the chambers has mummies of an adult woman and two children. Looking at the kids is particularly heart wrenching. Who knows what catastrophe befell them!

The mummies are surrounded with earthen jars, plates and stuff for them to use when they are reborn. On the floor in front of the mummies, there is a fireplace and bowls. People leave wine, food and money (and cigarettes!) for the departed. In Andean tradition, this cave is not a memorial, its a continuum.

Sunset over Salar de Uyuni

December 29, 2022

8:30 AM

A country in turmoil

We were supposed to be picked up at 8:30 AM by Nelson. We had our breakfast, packed up and arrived at the lobby of Hotel De Sal Luna Salada ready to check out and leave. It was then Nelson called my phone and informed us he will be a bit late since there is a gasoline shortage and all local pumps are out of gas, and he has to to get gas from somewhere else. The reason? Bolivia had gone into a political turmoil and violent protests had broken out following the arrest of Santa Cruz opposition governor Luis Fernando Camacho for whom prosecutors were seeking pre-trial detention in connection to a prior political unrest in 2019. Protesters, calling a "general strike", were blocking roads, burning cars and tires, hurling fireworks and clashing with police in Santa Cruz. The police were responding with riot control measures, starting with tear gas.

We had just managed to leave Peru a couple of days ago under similar circumstances of violent demonstrations. Looking at live news reports (BBC News covered it a day later, as did Reuters), we started to wonder if Bolivia would spiral out of control and whether we should bail out to Chile right then. However, the part of Bolivia we were in was so lightly populated and the people so nice, it was hard to imagine Santa Cruz-style violent conflict and fires burning here. Ultimately we decided to stick to the plan as best as circumstances allow. In hindsight, this was the correct decision given the epic few days we would spend next.

9:30 AM

Luz, Nelson and the folks at Expediciones Mammut did find gas somewhere and sent their Japanese colleague Masayuki-san in a Toyota Tundra to pick us up from Hotel De Sal Luna Salada. We headed to their office on Av. Ferroviaria (Ruta Nacional 5) in Uyuni half an hour away. Masayuki-san's Tundra did not even bother to take the dirt road back to Ruta F30 but cut diagonally across open terrain and climbed up on the highway.

We had a bit of time at the Mammut office while they figured out logistics for the next steps of our trip given the political situation in Bolivia. Taking a stroll down Av. Ferroviaria, we come to the intersection with Av. Avaroa at the center of which is a large sculpture of soldiers with guns. This is the Monument to Soldiers in Uyuni in tribute to servicemen who fought in the 1932-1935 Chaco War (Guerra del Chaco) between Bolivia and Paraguay.

Further west at the next intersection with Av. Ayacucho next to the Infantry Regiment 4 ( RI-4 ) "Loa" (Regimiento LOA), there is a big bustling bazaar-style marketplace with rows of stalls selling a myriad of goods from bluetooth speakers, clothes, fish, vegetable, fruits to handicrafts. I picked up a pack of peanuts to munch on.

Bolivia's Train Cemetery: The Great Train Graveyard at Uyuni

11:21 AM

The rail graveyard at Uyuni is among the strangest places we have visited across the world.

On Nov 20, 1890 Bolivian President Aniceto Arce rode a train to a brand new Uyuni station inaugurating the nation's first railroad to transport and export minerals. The trains moved much mineral between Uyuni and the Pacific port of Antofagasta until the Chile vs. Bolivia+Peru war of 1879-1884 (War of the Pacific, Guerra del Pacífico) resulted in Bolivia losing Antofagasta to Chile. Antofagasta was subsequently incorporated into Chile’s Department of Atacama, and the railroad had nowhere to go. Today the abandoned station and rusty remains of trains are immensely popular with visitors.

Return to Salar de Uyuni

We headed back to the Salar from graveyard of trains to continue the first of our three days of offroad 4x4 driving across the Bolivian Andes altiplano.

Ojos de Agua - Eyes of Water

Monumento al Dakar: Dakar Monument

12:56 PM

The route of the eighth stage of the 2015 Dakar Rally was from Salar de Uyuni to Iquique, Chile. The drivers flagged off in the Salar on Jan. 11, 2015.

A monument made of salt in the middle of the Salar commemorates the occasion not too far from Ojos de Agua.

Plaza de las Banderas: Flag Square

12:59 PM

Close to the Dakar monument, there is an elevated platform made of salt with salt steps leading up to it. There are flags of many countries fluttering on poles on that platform, often with flags of different countries on the same poles. It is a custom in the Salar for visitors to place their country flags at the Plaza de las Banderas.

Other than at least two of our own Old Glory, it was exciting to see the flag of Ukraine, the bravest of countries at this time, fluttering high and proud sharing a pole with Venezuela and Panama. We spotted the colors of Ukraine on at least two other poles as well.

Hotel de Sal Playa Blanca, Salar de Uyuni

The original old abandoned Hotel Palacio de Sal

13:07

In the mid 1990s, a hotel named Palacio de Sal was built entirely of salt in the middle of Salar de Uyuni. Featuring 12 double rooms and a shared bathroom with no shower, the ensuing throngs of tourists caused issues with sewage collection which was a manual process, resulting in a mismanaged environmental pollution crisis that forced the hotel to cease operation. It is not possible to spend the night at the hotel from 2002.

The old hotel building is now called Hotel de Sal Playa Blanca and used as a place for having lunch while on tour of the Salar. That is exactly what we did. The salt sculptures in the hotel are still impressive.

Stuck on the Salar de Uyuni Salt Flats

14:20

https://youtu.be/K2FbER_ypO0

Salar de Uyuni can be treacherous for 4x4 offroading which is the only means of mechanized transport over it. Even experienced drivers can get into trouble any time. The depth of the salt crust formed by evaporation can be deceiving.

Our Nissan Patrol 4x4 broke through the crust into the soft mud and slush below and got stuck.

Nelson tried to get the wheels off the mush one at a time but they were in too deep. He got on the roof  of the Patrol and managed to get two bars of signal on his cell phone that let him call his office.

Not having much to do while waiting for help to arrive, we relaxed on the white salt desert.

14:49

Eventually Masayuki-san arrived with the Toyota Tundra bringing Luz with him. Sadly the Tundra too promptly broke through the salt crust and got stuck on the slush below.

However, there was equipment on the bed of the Tundra: strong wooden poles, wood blocks and metal jacks. They tried to get the wheels of the Patrol and the Tundra out using the wooden poles as levers against the wheel rims, with wood blocks and metal jacks as fulcrum. The Patrol did get out once, but as soon as Nelson tried to reverse, it broke through below again.

At this point, we had two vehicles immobilized. We wandered around the Salar while the Mammut team were figuring the next step out.

15:20

We see our second relief vehicle (3rd vehicle in all so far) - a Toyota Land Cruiser - coming up to us from the horizon. As it gets close, it crashes through the salt crust and the wheels end up deep in the same murky wet slush below. The driver of the Land Cruiser gets out and surveys the surreal scene.

Sustained and valiant attempts by the Mammut team of now four people failed to extract the Land Cruiser. 

We were in an unbelievable situation of being stranded in the Salt Flat because the Salar de Uyuni immobilized three capable rugged 4x4 offroad vehicles.

Eventually a motorcycle was spotted far away on the horizon. Luz ran towards it waving her hands and I followed her doing the same. Miracuously the biker saw and headed towards us. When he was getting close Luz waved frantically for the biker to not come any closer. She then walked up to the biker, had a conversation, got on the bike and the two rode away back towards Uyuni.

17:10

A place was identified quite some distance away from the three stuck vehicles that had significantly thicker solid salt crust. A tarp was laid on the salt there, and our luggage was collected and hauled on foot and placed on the tarp. So were big cans of gasoline and essential items for us to continue with the trip. Never has our luggage looked so lonely!

Presently we saw a vehicle approaching from the horizon. It turned out to be a tow truck to take care of the three stuck vehicles.

Not too long after the arrival of the tow truck, another Toyota Land Cruiser (the fourth vehicle excluding the tow truck) arrived at the new location of our luggage. It reached us safely without sinking. This, finally, was our replacement vehicle for us to continue our trip on. We all breathed a sigh of relief!

Things took a huge turn for the better. We hopped into the latest Land Cruiser (vehicle #4) and were soon on our way.

I did check with the Mammut team later that evening and was told they and the three vehicles were all doing fine. All in all, we had an extra, unscheduled and exciting experience and came out with a great story to tell.

Funny Pictures at Salar de Uyuni: Extreme Perspective Photos

Salar de Uyuni is world famous for extreme perspective photography. I had tried to take a couple of such photos the previous day, but Nelson took these far better pictures.

Isla Incahuasi: The "House of the Incas" Island

Hotel de Sal Cruz Andina

20:00

We spent the night at the relatively new Hotel de Sal Cruz Andina which is located on Tambo Loma island off the south shore of Salar de Uyuni just over a mile southeast of the town of Colcha K. It is close to the military base of Regimiento de Infantería 27 Antofagasta (Regimiento Legionarios).

December 30, 2022

We get ready, pack up, have breakfast at Hotel Cruz Andina and hit the road. We would leave the Salar de Uyuni behind and head off to our offroad 4x4 drive across the revered Andes altiplano into Chile the next day.

Julaca, Bolivia (20.9112° S, 67.5649° W, alt. 12,500 feet)

10:48 AM

We drive generally east on Bolivia Ruta Nacional 5 towards Rio Grande. Our first stop is the tiny hamlet of Julaca.

There are rail tracks going off into the horizon to the west into Chile.

Estancia Chakha: Wildlife Valley and Flat Tire

Villa Alota

Volcán Ollagüe

Laguna Chulluncani

14:27

At an altitude of 16,404 feet in the Andes mountains, Laguna Chulluncani (map) is the first lake after the great Titicaca that we behold on the legendary Altiplano.

Lake Chulluncani is a salt lake with Flamingos on and around it. The 17,848 foot snow-covered volcanic summit of Cerro Caquella in the Bolivian Andes and Cordillera Occidental ranges looms over it.

Laguna Hedionda (Stinking Lake): Suri (Andean Ostrich) and more Guanaco

14:39

The mineral-rich salt lake Laguna Hedionda (map) on the Bolivian Altiplano sits at an altitude of 13,520 feet. Snow-covered peaks of mountains Michincha, Cerro de Caquella, Cerro de Pajonal, Cerro de Tatio, Pabellón and Tocorpuri of Cordillera Occidental range of central Andes overlook it. Pink and white flamingos walk on it. Llamas and alpacas graze on its shore.

Laguna Hedionda literally translates to "Smelly Lake" or "Stinking Lake". The smell is of volcanic gases and sulfur, similar to geothermal areas like Hveravellir (Iceland) or Yellowstone.

By Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0, Link

As we cross Laguna Hedionda on our way to Laguna Cachi (map), we see two Suri birds (Andean Ostrich) and more Guanaco.

The Suri is an endangered species categorized to be in "critical danger" in Peru and only a few hundred left in Bolivia.

Guanaco are related to camels and evolved for survival in the high deserts of the Altiplano.

Laguna Cachi

15:11

Laguna Cachi, altitude 14,744 feet (map). Mineral rich salt lake with barren desert and high snow-covered mountains around. Flamingos love it. The volcanic mountains are sites for mining with shafts leading into them. Ores extracted include for Sodium, Cobalt, Halite, Lithium, Boron-Borates, Molybdenum, Tungsten and Arsenic.

Laguna Kara

15:54

Leguna Kara (map) sits at an altitude of 14,846 feet in the desert highlands of Bolivian Altiplano nestling under snow-covered peaks of Cordillera Occidental range of central Andes. Flamingos walk on it. The landscape around it gets even more rugged and desert-like than the lakes on our way here. Desierto de Siloli lies ahead.

Desierto de Siloli

16:38

Legend has it the high desert of Desierto Siloli (map) is where the earth meets the sky. (Ref: dangerousroads)

At an altitude of 15,604 feet, the Siloli Desert in the Bolivian Altiplano is lined on two sides by colorful volcanic mountains of Cordillera Occidental range of the Andes. On top of the thin air making breathing challenging, gale force winds whipping through this driest of deserts makes it hard to remain standing although our children somehow climbed up some rocks.

Siloli Desert is part of the great Atacama Desert which holds the distinction of being the most arid desert in the world. Entrance to the Eduardo Avaroa Andean Fauna National Reserve park is next to it.

There are spectacular rock formations sculpted by sandstone and salt laden forceful winds, the most famous of which is the Árbol de Piedra - the "Stone Tree" sticking out of the desert. It is a 16½ foot natural monolith of mostly quartz with more iron at top which makes the top more resilient.

Árbol de Piedra: Stone Tree at Desierto de Siloli

The 18,432 foot Cerro Inacaliri o del Cajón (Volcano Inacaliri) towers above the colorful range of high mountains at the northwest of Siloli. There is a crater lake on a large 1,300 foot diameter crater at the top of Inacaliri which can be hiked to.

Reserva Nacional de Fauna Andina Eduardo Avaroa: Eduardo Avaroa Andean Fauna National Reserve

17:11

We stop at the control point at the entrance to the Eduardo Avaroa National Park (map) to purchase tickets. This entrance is next to the northwest corner of Laguna Colorada.

The passes are valid for four days and cost 150 Bolivianos each. Chilean Pesos and US Dollars are also accepted at the ticket office, though we paid in Bolivianos.

For people like us heading to Chile over the Hito Cajon international mountain crossing, it is very important to hold on to the tickets even after exiting the park. Cancelled ("Anulado", annulled) tickets are part of required documents to exit Bolivia.

Laguna Colorada (Red Lagoon)

17:25

A legend says the Red Lagoon (map) is made of God’s blood, but the dazzling colors of the incredibly panoramic lake are due to plankton, algae and minerals.

By any measure, Laguna Colorada sitting at an altitude of 14,035 feet inside geologically active Eduardo Avaroa National Reserve on Andes altiplano is stunning. The shallow 3 foot deep salt lake with white borax islands nestles in a caldera - a large depression formed when a volcano erupts and collapses. Covering almost 15,000 acres, the colors of its water are a glorious range of deep blue, bright white and deep red.

Of the six species of flamingos in the world, three are found abundantly on the Red Lake: Andean, Chilean and the thought-to-be-extinct James’ Flamingo.

Latitudes Hostal, Huyajara

17:47

Courtyard of Latitudes Hostal

We stayed the night at Latitudes Hostal located just over 3 miles south of southwestern corner of Laguna Colorada, close to the village of Huyajara (map). The hostel is not marked on Google maps at the time of writing and I sent a update request, but the Laguna Colorada Simple Mountain Lodge (GPS coordinates -22.26354751826685, -67.81586925150025) exists on Google maps as right next to it. Or maybe the Simple Mountain Lodge, whose photos look like an under-construction version of Latitudes Hostal, was the same hostel before the pandemic wiped out tourism. I don't know.

Reception desk, Latitudes Hostal

Located in the barren mountain desert of the Andes altiplano, Latitudes Hostal operates completely off-grid. Electricity is from battery-backed solar panels during the day and they run a generator in the evenings till 9:30 PM after which the batteries provide some power. We had two rooms with attached bathrooms. There is hot water for showers on request assumedly from an oil or propane water heater. Internet is available for a small fee over satellite, and WiFi continues to work from the solar-charged battery setup after the generator shuts off. There is no heat. The ceilings of the rooms are translucent, letting through a remarkable amount of light from the moon and stars in the most clear air on the planet that Atacama is famous for.

All in all, Latitudes Hostal is surprisingly cosy and comfortable given its location and infrastructure!

Generator at Latitudes Hostal

Solar Panels for power and Satellite dish for internet at Latitudes Hostal

Rooms surround a central dining area reachable across a hallway. The kitchen is on the right of the hallway before it opens up to the dining area.

Hallway to the left of the kitchen, Latitudes Hostal

Numbered rooms around Dining area, Latitudes Hostal

December 31, 2022

05:38

We wake up very early when it is still dark, have breakfast and hit Camino Hito Cajon - Laguna Colorada road by first light of dawn. Back inside Eduardo Avaroa National Park, our first destination for the day is the geothermal area of Sol de Mañana which coincidentally translates to "Sun of the Morning".

Geotermas Sol de Mañana

05:54 AM

https://youtu.be/qlPwVfOiOLo

At an altitude of 16,092 feet in the rugged desert of the Bolivian Andes Altiplano lies the 2,500 acres of Sol de Mañana Geothermal Area (map) with furiously boiling mineral rich mud in scary cracks on the ground, intense jets of vapor and geysers shooting up hot water sometimes to over 160 feet.

The Laguna Colorada Geothermal Plant under construction at an altitude of 16,305 feet is the world's highest such facility. The 5mW plant will generate enough electricity for over 2,500 people. The plant is a pilot project inside the Reserva de Fauna Andina Eduardo Avaroa in the Campo Sol de Mañana area. Bolivia's Ministry of Economy and Public Finance announced the signing of the contract in March of 2019.

Termas de Polques: Hot Springs on Laguna Chalviri at Salar de Chalviri

06:33 AM

The salt flats of Salar de Chalviri (map) at an altitude of 16,306 feet sit not too far southeast of Sol de Mañana. On the western side of Salar de Chalviri, there is a mineral salt lake called Laguna Chalviri. The Aguas termales de Polques - the Polques Hot Springs - is at the western tip of Laguna Chalviri.

Termas de Polques has a reputation for being rejuvenating and therapeutic with water temperatures hovering around a comfortable 70 degrees fahrenheit. The lake with flamingos and the salt flat with surrounding volcanoes provide a spectacular natural backdrop. There are restaurants, cafes and nice parking facilities at the site which looks more touristy than the places we visited so far.

1. The Bolivia - Chile border here is also the border of Bolivia's Eduardo Avaroa Andean Fauna National Reserve. The first control is the exit gate of the National Park where we get exit stamps on our tickets and are repeatedly reminded to retain the tickets.
2. The second control before Hito Cajone is a building where we fill out immigration / customs exit forms and stand in a queue. The officer there checks our canceled Park tickets, verifies our exit forms for correct passport numbers and lets us go.
3. Migración Bolivia: Bolivian Immigration Control at land border at Hito Cajone pass.

Chile Customs / Immigration

The Wild Donkeys of Atacama Desert

We then strolled around a bit at random, picking up some essentials, a traditional llama wool scarf and simple souvenirs. Interestingly a local money exchanger agreed to exchange our remaining Boliviano to Chilean Pesos, probably at a pretty bad exchange rate but we were happy to swap out the little unused Boliviano we had.

There is something about sowing machines in shops on the altiplano. A classic singer machine was displayed in a minimarket, perhaps for sale.

We headed back to our hotel at dusk to get some dinner and be ready for the famous Atacama astronomical tour.

Astronomical Tour at San Pedro de Atacama

We had no prior reservation for an astronomical tour. It was a challenge to find one operating on the night of New Year's Eve with only a few hours left before nightfall. With great effort and a lot of convincing ("We are coming from Washington, DC to tour with you, so please please ..."), Tour Astronómico por Sol Andino (Astronomical Tour by Sol Andino) agreed to take us. We walked to the pick-up point of Sol Andino Expediciones office at Caracoles 362 at 9 PM. The tour guide and assistant met the four of us there along with just one other couple, and we walked together to Plaza TourisTour (where we had gotten off the Bolivia-Chile Transfer minibus earlier in the day) to board their van.

We met Laika the Dog on our way. Apparently this Laika of San Pedro de Atacama hangs around every night to welcome stargazers like us. Laika is, of course, named after the legendary Soviet space dog - a stray mongrel from the streets of Moscow who became the first animal to orbit planet Earth and sadly gave her life in pursuit of the science of astronomy.

Our guide then pulled out a laser pointer and we listened to him awestruck as he pointed out clusters, superclusters, nebulae, planets and constellations. It was like we were in a real-life planetarium show. 

It was a mesmerizing couple of hours as our guide and his assistant then pointed the telescopes to different objects and we put our eye on the eyepieces of wonder. Distant gaseous nebulae and galactic clusters to the rings of Saturn revealed themselves with a clarity only possible from the Atacama.

Laika the (Chilean) Dog loves to sit below telescopes!

The historic 17th century adobe (built of mud and cactus wood) Iglesia San Pedro de Atacama (Church of San Pedro de Atacama) is the second oldest in Chile. It was built using traditional Andes altiplano construction techniques. Painted white in and out, the walls, roof, and main door are built of algarrobo wood and cardón (cactus wood) bound together by llama leather. It has an arched stone lintel and beamed ceiling, with the roof made of large rafters of algarrobo wood overlaid with slices of cactus logs. (Ref: Wikipedia)

More Andean adobe construction is seen in the Casa Parroquial San Pedro de Atacama (Parish House), Municipalidad San Pedro de Atacama (San Pedro de Atacama Municipality) and Carabineros de Chile - Prefectura El Loa - 2a Comisaría San Pedro de Atacama (Chile Police - El Loa Prefecture - 2nd Commissioner) buildings.

There was a contraption hanging from the electric meter on the boundary wall of the church. It appears to be some sort of a cell phone charging station for public use.

The streets around the central plaza were deserted. And every Chilean street dog we saw was huge and insanely beautiful!

Calama, Chile - Driving the Ruta del Desierto