Salar de Uyuni and Southern Bolivia

To make the trip from Chile to Bolivia I booked a 4x4 trip across the Atacama desert and then across the Salar de Uyuni, the worlds largest salt flat. The trip was in a Landcruser with space for 6 people, although luckily our group was only 4 people so we had loads of space.

The whole journey to Uyuni in southern Bolivia took 3 days. Each day saw a completely different landscape

Day one we began by visiting several laguna´s, each a different colour, high in the volcano strewn mountain ranges dividing Chile and Bolivia. We also stopped at a hot spring situated at an altitude of 4200m and the incredible Sol de Manana Geyser Basin at 4950m! We finished the day at visiting the surreal Laguna Colorada. A laguna that's water is a bright red colour as a result of algae growing within. It is also home to hundred's of flamingos making a spectacular sight!

Day two began with a trip to a collection of desert rock formations cause by erosion of the different density volcanic rock. This was followed by several more laguna´s including the aquamarine coloured Laguna Verde at 5000m altitude. In the afternoon we visited the basin of one of the (long dormant) volcano's to see the bizarre lava formations. We finished the day arriving at a hostel made of salt on the edge of the Salar de Uyuni

Day three began with an early start to watch the sun rise on the otherworldly sight that is the Salar de Uyuni salt flat. This was followed by a visit to a volcanic cacti strewn island in the middle of the salt flat itself. The next few hours were spent viewing the salt flat from various different angles before we arrived at the edge of the town of Uyuni. The last sight of the trip was the railway graveyard, a collection of rusting steam trains and carriages that used be used to transport minerals from the region before prices made the extraction uneconomical.

The trip complete I stopped in Uyuni for two nights to wait for the train to Oruro, my next stop on the way to La Paz. Although I´d been told there was nothing to do in Uyuni I made the most of it. First up on arriving I found a bar where I could watch the Champions League final. That done I explored the entertainment options Uyuni had to offer. First up was the best pizza I´ve had since travelling at Minuteman Pizza, a restaurant run by an American. Next up was a few beers with some friends I made along the way before bed.

My full day in Uyuni I visited the local museum and predictably went to a local football match! The train journey was a pleasant overnight one to the city of Oruro .

Oruro is not really on the standard traveller route through Bolivia but I decided to stay overnight, I was glad I did. although Oruro wasn´t much to look at it had a nice central square, a great market and in the evening I had really good fun having a few beers in a local bar.

La Paz was only 3 hours by bus so the next nooning I headed to the bus station top catch one of the regular buses...

(Apologies for the lack of pictures and updates, I´ve been having technical difficulties also known as a dead iPhone)

San Pedro de Atacama

After an amazing trip through the Andes mountain range I arrived in San Pedro de Atacama (Chile), a oasis town in the centre of the Atacama desert.

My primary reason for stoping here was to arrange a 4x4 trip across the Salar de Uyuni salt flats into Bolivia, but I decided to spend a couple of days to explore the Atacama desert.

First up was a trip to the Moon Valley to watch the sun setting on the distant Andes. A really pleasant couple of hours trip which highlighted the unique features of the Atacama desert landscape.

Secondly was a stargazing trip in the desert. This was one of the highlights of my trip so far!

A two hour trip, during the first hour the expert astronomers explained the southern sky. The naked eye view was incredible I had never seen anything like it. Several distant galaxies were visible, along with Saturn and a huge part of the Milky Way.
The second hour we were able to make use of 9 telescopes set up to view the best the sky had to offer and we were shown how to take pictures of the night sky however cheap your camera is.

The next day I visited a pre colonial fort built by indigenous tribes in the mountains surrounding San Pedro, before going for a small trek to visit a recommended valley nearby.

Although San Pedro was a place geared up entirely to tourists I enjoyed my couple of days stop.

Salta

After the beauty of Iguizu I was a bit apprehensive over what to expect in Salta. I needn't have worried!

Salta is the capital of a huge state of northern Argentina bordering Bolivia to the north, Paraguay to the east and Chile to the west.

I arrived after an uneventful luxury 24 hour bus journey and immediately found my hostel. A pleasant place about 5 blocks from the centre of town. I was in a dorm but was lucky enough to be on my own for my entire stay which was a touch!

Salta is a great base for two reasons, first it is a picturesque city with colonial architecture and a great nightlife. Secondly it is a great starting point for exploring the surrounding countryside.

I decided to stop here for a week and quickly began planning my activities. The three outings I settled on were a trip to Cafayate through a fantastic gorge. The train to the clouds and some more whitewater rafting...

Once all these trips were booked up I hit the town, taking a cable car up the nearby mountain (1500 meters) for a great view over the town and then visiting a few of the local museums. The High Altitude Archaeology Museum, featuring a complete 3000 year old mummy was a particular highlight. That evening I hit the town to sample Salta's famous nightlife. It was a similar experience to Buenos Aires in that nothing started until gone midnight, something I'm still struggling to get used to.

Trip to Cafayate:

I was up early for this organised trip (6.30 ouch). It was a bus trip stopping off at several fascinating gorges and other rock formations

The afternoon involved a trip to a wine distillery and a trip to the town of Cafayate itself, a really nice trip overall.

Train to the clouds:

This was an 16 hour train ride up into the mountains that border Argentina and Bolivia. Initially built for mining use the train now runs four times weekly as a tourist attraction. On the 8 hour journey up you really get to see what a magnificent feat of engineering this was at the time it was built. The tide finishes at an aqueduct at 4200 meters before the long trip back down!

Whitewater rafting:

A really pleasant days rafting down through the green valleys south of Salta. Pictures here: https://picasaweb.google.com/tumbridge/RaftingInSalta#

Next up is a trip across to Chile on route to Bolivia...