Salar de Uyuni

The Salar de Uyuni, a salt desert in southwestern Bolivia, was once an inland sea. But the thin dry air of Andean altitude madeall the water vanish,and all that you'll find is the salt, tens of meters thick, lying stark beneath the bright sky! This place is most vast than you could ever imagine.

Touring Salar usually takes several days during which you'll come across wild shooting spots, the ever-changing landscape where the water and the rocks are first red, and then turquoise and finally green with minerals an microbes. It's no less than a wonderland.

Take a bus or train and join the backpackers heading for the dusty town of Uyuni. This is where your real tour will begin. The most common way to visit is to take a standard three or four day tour that leads you through Salar and the windswept Martian landscape beyond. However, it's possible to design a private tour with plenty of camping, longer excursions and even transfers into northern Chile.

Although the Salar itself is incredibly barren, you'll find a geologically active landscape nearby, which nurtures major volcanoes crested above picturesque brine lakes. The area is brimming with mudpots, geysers and geothermal springs, providing a stark dichotomy with the frigid climate. The sights are that you'll remember this trip for a long time.