Salar de Uyuni

24 Apr 2018
Sticky Post By Posted in Off the Beaten Track Permalink

6 unusual places you must see before you die

Sticky Post By On April 24, 2018

With so many beautiful spots around the world, it’s hard to see everything before we leave this world as we know it. In order to narrow down your bucketlist, we have listed these 6 unusual places in the world, so you can die peacefully. (ok, that’s a little dramatic, but you get the idea!)

Forget about the Pyramids, Chinese wall or the Colosseum. These are some of the world’s trangest must sees.

Lake Bumbunga, Australia

This lake is used to extract salt from and turns pink during some seasons. It’s located in an area that is lesser known in Australia so you could say that this Instagramable pink lake deserve a spot on our list!


Lake Bumbunga Source

Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia

Reflections, crystal-white salt, never ending views, ice scraped mountains, wildlife, and this all above 4000 km height.  Combine breath taking colourful lagoons with steamy volcanoes, geysers and warm hot-springs. This popular destination is without doubt an unforgettable and magical journey that you will never forget! Experience the world’s largest salt flats: Salar de Uyuni. 


Sarah at Salar de Uyuni

Chocolate Hills, Philippines

Now, don’t get your hopes up, you’re not going to find a valley full of chocolate like in some kind of dream. These hills located on the island of Bohol, are covered in green grass that turns brown (like chocolate) during the dry season, hence the name. Legend says that the hills are the dried up tears of a giant… but I leave the preferred story up to you. When I was there, I was impressed by the amount of hills (there are at least 1,260 hills) and their beautiful colours. 

Chocolate Hills, Bohol

Spotted Lake (Osoyoos), Canada

This unusual lake, located in the eastern similkameen valley of British Columbia, Canada, is a true sight. It was (or is) believed to be sacred due to the many miniral found in the water. The different pools are only seen during summertime, when most of the lake dries up. Every spot has a different shade of color. Have a look at the video!

Tunnel of Love, Ukraine

It looks like something out of a fairytale, but it’s real! This train rails was in use for many years but because the trees grew so free and beautiful, they decided to close it and let nature do its thing. It’s located in Ukraine and certainly worth visiting during summertime when all the leaves are green. 

So which one is your favourite?

Love,

Wander-Lust

27 Mar 2017
Sticky Post By Posted in Off the Beaten Track, South America With No Comments Permalink

The Salt Flats in Bolivia, A Must Visit!

Sticky Post By On March 27, 2017 With No Comments

Reflections, crystal-white salt, never ending views, ice scraped mountains, wildlife, and this all above 4000 km height.  Combine breath taking colorful lagoons with steamy volcanoes, geysers and warm hot-springs. This popular destination is without doubt an unforgettable and magical journey that you will never forget! Experience the world’s largest salt flats: Salar de Uyuni

Salt Flats

The view from the air is exquisite, you can already see the Salt Flats from here

How to get there:
I traveled from La Paz to Uyuni by plane and I paid 1350 Bolivianos for a return flight (this is around 190 euro). The flight only takes 50 minutes and it departs at 7am with Amazons airlines or at 8am with BOA airlines. The view from the air is exquisite, you can already see the Salt Flats from here.
From the airport you need to take a taxi that will bring you to the center of Uyuni for just 10 Bolivianos (1.40 euro).  You can also take a bus from La Paz to Uyuni, that will only costs you 30 euros for a return ticket and they will drop you in the center of Uyuni.  It takes around 8 or 9 hours one way (depending on the traffic).

SALT FLATS

TIP! Make sure you arrive in the center of Uyuni before 10am, so you will have enough time to arrange your tour. The tour starts around 11am.

Tours
The Salar de Uyuni tours range in length from one to four days. During a one day tour you will experience the salt flats as well as a few other sights in the surrounding area and you’ll do it by jeep. The three or four day tours will take you deeper into the desert where you will see steamy volcanoes, geysers, colorful lakes, warm hot-springs, unique wildlife and a lot more…..I definitely recommend a three or four day trip if you like a little adventure.

Salt Flats

Where To Buy Your Ticket
You can choose to book your ticket in La Paz (or another city), but we’d heard that it’s cheaper and also super easy to fix in Uyuni , so we decided to book it there. When you arrive in the center of Uyuni in the early morning you will find many local agencies who all want to sell a ticket to you. They will attack you and it’s hard to choose. For your info, they all offer the same tours, it’s just the price that diverse from the other. Eventually it’s cheaper to book your ticket in Uyuni. We paid 680 Bolivianos for 3 days, including food, drinks and 2 night’s stay.

TIP! Try to find at least 5 people and start to negotiate (every jeep will take a group of up to 6 people).

The Tour
Day 1: 

  • Arrive at the small village of Colchani where you will have the chance to buy some local souvenirs 
  • The original Salt Hotel 
  • Salar de Uyuni (Uyuni salt flats), where you get enough time to make pictures and see the sunset
  • Uyuni center where you will have dinner and spend the night

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Mirror mirror on the wall..

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The Sunset at the Salt Flats is something else..

salt-flats
Image by Nancy 

Day 2:

  • Wake up at 7am and leave at 8am
  • Breakfast in a small village on the way to the next stop (Bread with jam and coffee or tea)
  • Exploring the Cementerio de trenes 
  • Valle de Rocas where you get lunch (meat with salad and potatoes
  • Small desert of Chiguana on the south side of Salar de Uyuni where you stop at a lookout to view steamy volcanoes
  • Breathtaking colorful Lagoons: Hedionda, Onda with many flamingos , Lagoon Colorodo National park (protected where you need to pay 15o Bolivianos)
  • Eat and sleep in a hostel. You get a tea and coffee with cookies when you arrive and for dinner we got this nice vegetable soup and spaghetti with a bottle of red wine

TIP! Bring your own wine! Or…. If your wine is finito and you wish for more than you can buy it in the small village where you are staying (around the corner), that sells beers, wines, cookies, chips and more.

Salt Flats
Cementerio de trenes

Unusual places to visit before you die
Train tracks leading to…

Salt Flats
Valle de Rocas

Salar de Uyuni

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Lagoon Onda

Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia

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Lagoon Colorodo

Day 3:

  • Wake up at 6am, have breakfast (delicious pancakes for breakfast in the morning with tea and coffee) and leave at 7.30am
  • Visit the Sol de Mañana” geysers while the sun comes up
  • The natural hot-springs. The volcanic activity produces some thermal springs. Best way to get warm again. 
  • Laguna Verde – the green lake – only green in October and November due to the change in alga’s
  • Lunch on the way back – salad with tuna, vegetables and pasta with a beautiful view (6 hour ride back to Uyuni)
  • Last stop is the local market 1 hour before Uyuni. Time to go to the toilet and buy some drinks

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Sol de Mañana” geysers

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Sunset at the geysers

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The natural hot-springs 

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Laguna Verde

You can describe the Salt Flats tour in one word: Memorable! 

Love,

Sarah

Read more about Sarah’s adventure in Bolivia and the main reason she went there:

Bolivia