San Pedro de Atacama – Laguna de Colores – Uyuni Desert Expedition: 4 Days of Surreal Landscapes

Your adventure begins early in the morning with a pick-up from your hotel in San Pedro de Atacama. After completing border formalities at Hito Cajón, enter Bolivia and switch to a 4x4 off-road vehicle to begin the journey through the Eduardo Avaroa National Park.

The first stop is the Sol de Mañana Geysers, a geothermal area at 4,850 meters (15,912 feet), where boiling mud pools and steam jets create an otherworldly scene. Next, take a relaxing dip in the Polques Hot Springs, where you can soak in warm thermal waters surrounded by high-altitude landscapes.

Continue towards the Lagunas de Colores, stopping at Laguna Blanca (White Lagoon) and Laguna Verde (Green Lagoon), set against the stunning backdrop of Licancabur Volcano. These lakes change color due to mineral deposits and shifting sunlight.

After lunch, cross the Siloli Desert, where you’ll see the famous Árbol de Piedra (Stone Tree), a unique rock formation sculpted by wind erosion. The day ends at the breathtaking Laguna Colorada, a deep-red lagoon filled with thousands of pink flamingos.

After breakfast, continue your journey through Bolivia’s Altiplano, stopping at stunning lagoons filled with flamingos, including Laguna Cañapa, Laguna Hedionda, and Laguna Chiarcota. These high-altitude lakes are surrounded by dramatic volcanic landscapes.

Drive through the Chiguana Salt Flat, a lesser-known but equally impressive salt desert, with views of Ollagüe Volcano, an active volcano at the Chilean border.

Arrive in San Juan, a small village near the Uyuni Salt Flats, where you’ll spend the night in a unique salt hotel, built entirely from salt blocks.

Start the day early to experience sunrise over the Uyuni Salt Flats, an unforgettable moment as the sun illuminates the vast white landscape. Explore the seemingly endless salt desert, stopping at the Ojos del Salar, where bubbling water emerges from beneath the salt crust.

Visit Incahuasi Island, a rocky outcrop covered in giant cacti, offering panoramic views of the salt flats. Enjoy a scenic lunch in the middle of the salt flats, a surreal dining experience.

In the afternoon, visit the Salt Museum and Colchani, a small village where locals produce and sell salt-based handicrafts.

End the day at the Train Cemetery, an eerie site filled with abandoned 19th-century locomotives, before arriving in Uyuni town.

After breakfast, begin the journey back to San Pedro de Atacama, retracing the route through the stunning landscapes of Eduardo Avaroa National Park.

Enjoy a final glimpse of the volcanoes, deserts, and lagoons, before crossing the Bolivia-Chile border and returning to San Pedro de Atacama in the afternoon.