There are many amazing places hidden on Earth, which can, without any doubt, be called natural wonders. The Uyuni Salt Lake is one of these wonders. It is located in Bolivia, but just looking at this place, you want to attribute an unearthly origin to it. Uyuni is the world’s largest salt marsh, located at an altitude of more than three kilometers and covering an area of more than 10,000 square kilometers. Technically, it is difficult to call it a lake, but rather a desert – an endless white desert of salt. The layer of salt in some areas is up to 8 meters. Just think, there are 10 billion tons of this essential mineral!
Such an unusual surface, and even with the cone-shaped salt mounds, looks like the land of distant planets. But the most interesting thing happens here during the rainy season. The lake is covered with the thinnest layer of water and becomes a solid reflecting surface. The sky, reflecting in Uyuni, seems to merge here with the land, and it is impossible to draw a line between them. By the way, man has used this natural phenomenon to his advantage. Calibration of orbital satellites takes place here, and it becomes several times more accurate as compared to the calibration on the ocean surface.
The graveyard of steam locomotives
As if supporting the theme of lifeless desert, here is … a cemetery of steam locomotives of the mid-20th century. The fact is that three kilometers from the town of Uyuni there were railroad tracks. Once it was a busy thoroughfare, but over time, mining operations at the local mines declined, and the steam locomotives remained abandoned. Their rusty iron hulks against the snow-white salt look like Salvador Dali’s paintings.
The Bolivians do what they can to make sure that as many tourists as possible visit the site. In addition to souvenirs made of salt, locals make whole houses of salt blocks, the same material are made of beds, tables and chairs. Everyone can spend the night in the “salt hotel”.
Geysers and Flamingos
In addition to the salt marsh, the town of Uyuni becomes a base for tourists who come to see the local geysers. In the geyser valley of Sol de Macan the height of water columns can reach 100m! There are craters of boiling mud all around. Another pride of the locals are colonies of graceful flamingos, the pink, red-brown James flamingos.
A trip to Latin America is already a significant event, and if you combine it with a visit to such a unique place as the Uyuni salt marsh, the trip becomes simply magical. Just imagine driving a jeep on the mirror-like surface of the lake, seeing the world from a high mountain plateau, spending the night in a hotel made entirely of salt, and all this will give you the mysterious Bolivia.
