BOLIVIA 2018-08 - The Stunning Siloli Desert

Siloli Desert in the southwest of Bolivia is part of the Atacama Desert in neighboring Chile.

The landscape continually changed the further we travelled. 

Snow on the desert. 

Travelling through this vast, vast expanse is truly awe inspiring. 

Increasing altitude. 

No roads


Viscachas, native to South America, looks similar to, but is not closely related to rabbits. 

Llareta plants look like moss but are in fact related to parsley.  They grow slowly and densely and feel almost as hard as a rock. 

Salvador Dalí Desert, so named because it’s landscapes are reminiscent of surrealist paintings by Salvador Dalí.

The Arbol de Piedra (Stone Tree) is a volcanic rock formation.  

Salvador Dalí Desert

A vicuña, a smaller cousin of the alpaca and lama and in fact, of the camel.  

Lloydnalex 

2018-08 BOLIVIA - Laguna Hedionda

Continuing our journey through the Bolivian altiplano deserts south of the salt plain at an altitude of 4150 metres and rising.  Laguna Hedionda (Spanish for “stinking lake”), is one of 9 saline lakes in the Andean Altiplano.  

Flamingos in the foreground, volcanoes in the background.  

Live volcano 

 

Lloydnalex 

2018-08 BOLIVIA - Salar

We started our 1000 km Altiplano 4 wheel drive journey at the Salar de Uyuni, the world's largest salt flat, over 10,000 square kilometres in Potosí in southwest Bolivia. 

No, it’s not ice, it’s salt. Salt, salt and more salt, as far as the eye can see. 

When you look at a map of South America, you can actually see the Salar or salt plain as a big white dot on Bolivia. I guess that’s better than having a black mark against ones name. 

According to Wikipedia; Salar de Uyuni, amid the Andes in southwest Bolivia, is the world’s largest salt flat. It’s the legacy of a prehistoric lake that went dry, leaving behind a desertlike, nearly 11,000-sq.-km. landscape of bright-white salt, rock formations and cacti-studded islands. Its otherworldly expanse can be observed from central Incahuasi Island. Though wildlife is rare in this unique ecosystem, it harbors many pink flamingos.


Altitude 3,654 meters above sea level. About 230 meters higher than our home in Cusco. 

At least there are no hills that go up. 


A monument to the famous Paris to Dakar Rally.  The Dakar is an annual rally. Most events since the inception in 1978 were from Paris, France, to Dakar, Senegal, but due to security threats in Mauritania, which led to the cancellation of the 2008 rally, races since 2009 have been held in South America.


Alpaca steaks for lunch. 

“Did anyone remember to bring salt?”

Baging salt at a small salt factory. 

Preloved jalopy. 

Our first sighting of a vicuña, a smaller, cuter cousin of the llama. 

A day or so before our arrival it has snowed which resulted in the 25 millimeters or 1 inch of water on the salt producing perfect reflections. 








Fun on the salt. 

Me and my knitted rabbit friend, Geena. 

Due to the complete lack of landmarks it felt like an eternity as we drove toward the island. 

Cactus island actually named Isla Incahuasi, or Inka Wasi in the middle of Salar de Uyuni (salt flat) was once an island in a lake. The lake dried up leaving the vast, completely lifeless salt flat with a kind of cactus oasis in the middle. Some of the enormous cacti are reportedly 1000 years old. 

Our first sighting of a viscacha.  Viscachas or vizcachas are rodents of two genera in the family Chinchillidae. They are native to South America and look similar to, but are not closely related to rabbits. Thank you Wikipedia

Back on the salt to watch the sunset. 


Cris, Chrissy Connie and us. 


No particular reason. 









End of a long day.