Tupiza - tour Reserva Nacional Eduardo Avaroa and Uyuni salar

Flamingos at Laguna Hedionda
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Upon arriving in Tupiza we got ourselves a nice double room with private bath (for Bol 90 = USD 10) and inquired about the tours they offered. Ran and Daryl wanted to go on a tour the next day as they are running out of time, but we wanted to check out Tupiza first as it seems to be a nice place for horse riding. In the end we decided to go with them and come back to Tupiza afterwards as we could have the 4x4 to ourselves (some tours take 6 passengers, which seems to be quite uncomfortable) and we knew it would be fun with the two of them.

Lama
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Tired after the train journey, J and I went for a quick diner at a brilliant restaurant called Pastipizza, run by a local woman. The food was fresh and tasty, all we needed to charge our batteries.

The next day we got up early to get ready for our 4-day tour, but Daryl had fallen ill the night before (altitude sickness, Tupiza is at an altitude of 2,990m) and could not make it. So we delayed the tour by a day. J and I did not mind really as we looked forward to a relaxing day of sun and good food. So that is what we did, we read our books, enjoyed the sun and walked around town. As it was Sunday there was not a lot going on though.

More flamingo
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Tupiza is known also known as the place from where to take Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid tours. They were killed by a police patrol in San Vicente (after holding up a company payroll 2 days before), and were buried in the cemetery od San Vicente.

Daryl had recovered by the end of the day, so we were ready to leave the next morning.

Day 1

Our driver/guide Idel loaded all our luggage onto the 4x4 Toyota Landcruiser and the 6 of us (incl. cook Ellie) left Tupiza around 9:30. Before heading for the mountains of Quebrada de Palala, our car was checked by security officers (checking our safety equipment - so a good start of the tour). The first part of the day was driving through a valley of red rock formations resembling needles reaching as high as 4200m.

Stone tree (Arbol de Piedra)
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We had lunch in the middle of nowhere amongst many lamas (their owners identify them by putting different colours of wool through their ears). We continued until we reached the tiny village of San Antonio de Lipez (4,660m, 250 inhabitants). By then it had turned really cold and with no heating this was no luxury hotel. We shared a 6-bed dorm with Ran and Daryl. The toilets were very basic, which did not help as we were all struggling with our stomachs as a result of the altitude. A nice diner and a couple of headache tablets later, we went to bed at 8pm (as this was the only warm spot). This was our 1st anniversary, but the circumstances could have been better... Guess we will have to celebrate some other time...

J holding Tal on Uyuni salt flat
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Day 2

Tal was the only one who slept well last night, so it was quiet at the breakfast table. We drank our poposi tea (against altitude sickness) and tried to warm up after a very cold night. By 7:30am we were ready to go and continued onto a deserted village called 'El Pueblo Fantasma' (Ghost Town). The story goes that Spanish and indigenous people worked in the silver mine. The locals chased the Spanish away and became gready with the richness that the silver provided them. God sent somebody to bring the plague and within weeks most people died. Survivors took doors and everything usable and moved to the nearby San Antiono de Lipez. The locals believe that at night you can still hear the sound of mules, workers in the silver mine etc. There was nothing else out there but shells of houses and a chinchilla looking rabbit.

Salt piles on Uyuni salt flat
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Moving on, we saw many more lamas as well as vicunas, a lama-like animal looking like a deer. Vicunas are protected. Apparently the quality of their wool is one of the best available. Interesting fact about lama meat: it contains no cholesterol and when this came to truth its price went up considerably.

Today we entered Reserva Nacional Eduardo Avaroa and had lunch at Rio Amargo/Aguas Calientas, where J and Daryl took a bath in the hot spring (30 C). After lunch we moved onto Laguna Verde (4,400m) and Laguna Blanca with views on the Volcan Licancabur (5,950m - 1/3 Chilean, 1/3 Argentinean and 1/3 Bolivian) and passed Salar de Chalviri. We then entered a geothermical area called Sol de Manana, a 1 km2 area of craters of lava (active) at an altitude of 5,000m. Here we saw a couple of active geysers.

Water hole in salt flat
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50km from the geysers we saw Laguna Colorada with flamingos and vicunas and the mountains in the background (4,270m) - a beautiful sight. The colour of the laguna is determined by the sun, wind as well as the algae pigments and fine sediments at the bottom of the laguna.

At the end of this day we stayed in another tiny village, but this time the accommodation was comfortable and Tal managed to have a hot shower (J had his in the hot springs - we are on a budget still...).

Day 3

Vicuna
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After a great breakfast (pancakes), we moved onto the next stop: Desierto de Siloli, splashed with volcanic rock formations, one of which the Stone Tree (Arbol de Piedra). Heading north we passed 5 small lagoons (laguna Hedionda had a huge amount of flamingoes and we got some good close-up pictures). Here we had lunch, which was perfect again. I think we have not eaten this well in weeks. We passed Salar de Chiguana and saw active volcano Ollague (5,863m - half Chilean, half Bolivian). Our final destination was a hotel made out of salt right along the Uyuni salt flats. Diner consisted of lama meat - it tasted similar to beef, but a little gamy. Lights went off at 9:15pm and we then went to our double room. The salt walls acted as a great insulator for heat and sound - hence a good night's sleep!

Cactus on Isla del Pescado
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Day 4

This morning we had a bit of a sleep-in and left the hotel around 8am after Ellie had baked us a cake for breakfast. We drove onto the Uyuni salt flats, an amazing sight. Try to imagine a 11,000 km2 salt plain. To put this into perspective, we drove for 25 minutes at 100 km/hr and were not even half way across the plain. The Uyuni salt flats used to be one big lake, now it is a 2-10m deep flat consisting of 11 stratums of salt and water.

Here we stopped for some silly photos before carrying onto the Isla del Pescado (1 km2), one of the 14 islands on the plains. It is the only island where cacti grow, which makes it an amazing sight: salt plains, cacti and Andes/volcanoes in the background.  We explored the island on foot and saw a 1,200 year old catus (12m high, as they grow 1 cm per year). Before leaving the salt flat we saw big holes in the flat (spring sources caused by minerals in the flat). Towards the edge of the flats we saw locals scraping salt into piles, for it to dry before being transported and sold mostly within the country (5 kilos for 1 Boliviano = 5 pence).

Quebrada de Palala
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We had lunch in Colchani, on the edge of the flats before heading to Uyuni where we would stay the night.

During the last months of our trip we have seen some pretty amazing individual sights, but these 4 days have been a highlight. We can only but recommend Tupiza Tours for their comfort, safety, food and professionalism.