Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia is the world’s largest salt desert with a size of more than 10.000 square-kilometres. At 3600 meters above sea level we went out with Quad/ATV and 4×4-Offroad-Vehicle to discover the salt desert and continue to the Chilean Border / Atacama Desert. 70 years ago the mining industry in the Salt Desert collapsed and trains were ‘parked’ in the Train Cemetery. During our trip we found many different kinds of pink flamingos, wild lamas and colourful lagoons. Within the salt desert Incahuasi Island is lying. It is a great reserve of huge cactuses on a small hill. In several colourful and unique lagoons (Laguna Chiarcota, Laguna Cañapa and Laguna Colorada) we saw many different birds and especially pink flamingos.
It’s interesting that about 50% of the world’s Lithium reserves are stored in this desert and currently don’t get extracted. As Lithium is used for many electrical components (e.g. Batteries for electro-cars) the salt desert will get of upcoming interest in the following years.
Just arrived in Chile we visited the Moon and the Death Valley: Bizarre stone and sand formations give these valleys a unique surface. But watch the pictures – they say more than many words. So enjoy our trip from Bolivia’s South to Chile!