The salt flat was so white and so flat that it erased the horizon. I stood in the middle of the Salar de Uyuni, the world's largest salt flat, and could not tell where the ground ended and the sky began. The effect is called infinity perspective, and it happens because the salt surface is perfectly level across ten thousand square kilometers. During the rainy season, a thin layer of water covers the salt, creating a mirror that reflects the sky with perfect fidelity. I visited in January, at the height of the wet season, and the reflection was so complete that I photographed my jeep floating in a cloud. The image looked manipulated. It was not.
The Geography of the Salar
The Salar de Uyuni is not a lake. It is a prehistoric lake that dried up thousands of years ago, leaving behind a crust of salt up to ten meters thick. The surface is hexagonal, formed by the crystallization of salt as water evaporates from beneath. I walked across it for an hour and saw no change in elevation. The only interruptions are the islands, volcanic outcrops that rise from the salt like shipwrecks. Isla Incahuasi is the most visited, covered in giant cacti that grow one centimeter per year. Some of the cacti are nine hundred years old. I climbed to the top of the island and looked out over an ocean of white. It looked like the surface of another planet.
The Practical Challenges
Visiting the Salar de Uyuni is not comfortable. The altitude is 3,656 meters, and altitude sickness affects most visitors for the first two days. I had headaches, nausea, and shortness of breath. I drank coca tea, chewed coca leaves, and avoided alcohol. The accommodation in Uyuni, the town at the edge of the salt flat, is basic. I stayed in a hostel with no heating and a shared bathroom where the water was cold. The temperature at night drops below freezing even in summer. I slept in my down jacket. The tours, however, are well-organized. I booked a three-day tour in a Toyota Land Cruiser with a driver and a cook. The cost was two hundred twenty dollars, including all meals, accommodation in basic shelters, and transport.
Beyond the Salt Flat
The three-day tour continues south into the Eduardo Avaroa National Reserve, a landscape of colored lagoons, geysers, and volcanic peaks. Laguna Colorada is a shallow lake that turns red due to algae and is populated by thousands of flamingos. The morning I visited, the temperature was minus twelve degrees Celsius, and the steam from the hot springs created a fog that drifted across the red water. The Sol de Mañana geysers, at five thousand meters, are a field of bubbling mud pools and sulfur vents that smell like rotten eggs. I watched the sunrise from a pool of thermal water, surrounded by steam and silence, at an altitude where most people cannot breathe without effort.
Getting There and Timing
Uyuni is accessible by bus from La Paz, a twelve-hour journey on a rough road, or by flight from La Paz to Uyuni airport. I flew for seventy dollars each way. The salt flat is visitable year-round, but the experience changes with the season. The dry season, from May to October, offers the white desert landscape and access to the islands. The wet season, from November to April, offers the mirror effect but makes some areas inaccessible. I prefer the wet season. The mirror is surreal, the light is softer, and the photographs are unique. The total cost for four days, including flights, tour, and accommodation, was six hundred fifty dollars.
