The most interesting and unusual lake in the world is different from everyone else. It amazes the imagination with absolutely fantastic landscapes - tons of salt after heavy rains turn into a flat, almost mirror-like surface in which the heavens are reflected, and it seems that the sky was inexplicably found on the surface of the earth.
Desert white sea
The Uyuni solonchak, located in Bolivia near the city of Uyuni, is world famous. Its inner part is covered with hard salt deposits up to 10 meters thick, which during the day can change their color due to the bright sun or pink dawn rays. From a distance, the desert looks like an endless white sea, the cracked tiles of which seem to extend beyond the horizon.
Amazed tourists are fearlessly allowed into the largest salt extraction site (approximately 25 thousand tons per year), not afraid for spoiling a useful mineral, because they say that it will last for several million more years. Uyuni (salt marsh) is of great importance for the development of the country's economy, and not only salt is the reason for this. Here, lithium is used industrially for battery production. Earlier, the United States invested a lot of money precisely in this production, but the society was ambiguous about such an investment. Many advocated that all proceeds from lithium mining remain inside Bolivia, and the local government has long been concerned about the construction of its plant.
Geological history
More than 40 thousand years ago, this desert was part of the huge ancient reservoir Minchin, which when dried left 2 lakes and 2 salt marshes, separated by hills. In the center of the largest salt desert are peculiar islets - extant volcanoes that have survived to our time.
In prehistoric times, they were completely immersed in the water of Minchin, and now the peering islands are covered with various fragile fossils. There is a version that the oldest lake went underground, as it is known that the Uyuni solonchak stores a deep pool under its surface, filled with thick salt blocks. An amazing corner is surrounded by mountains, and all the salt remains at the very bottom of the lake, the water of which contains magnesium chloride and lithium chloride.
Poor flora and fauna
The Uyuni solonchak (Bolivia) is devoid of any flora. If we talk about plants, then only giant cacti make their way through the thickness of salt deposits. Growing to a height of 12 meters on a flat desert, they are a truly fantastic sight. At the end of the year (this is summer for Bolivia) pink flamingos fly here, surprisingly beautiful, walking along the hard surface of a snow-white lake. Researchers know about 80 species of birds that live on the salt marsh. A poor wildlife is represented by rodent colonies.
Amazing Salt Hotels
Now, next to the place where the Uyuni salt marsh is located, unusual hotels are located that cannot be seen in other parts of our planet. Salt-built hotels built in the early 90s offered all travelers who traveled a long way to relax in their rooms. Having learned about such an interesting innovation, tourists rushed to stay in unique hotels. True, they were later dismantled due to sanitary problems, but soon Uyuni (salt marsh) was replenished with a new modern hotel, erected on its outskirts in compliance with building standards and hygiene standards.
So the salt in Bolivia is not only an enhancer of the taste of food, but also an excellent building material, from which all the blocks of hotels for tourists are made, furniture in the rooms and even watches with sculptures. When placing in hotels with affordable prices for the night, all travelers are strictly warned: do not taste anything. However, so far few have resisted such a temptation. True, all those who spent the night in such a room note that salt remains literally everywhere: on clothing, hair and skin. Therefore, many prefer traditional hotels to exotic vacations.
The locals of the village
Of magical beauty, the Uyuni salt-marsh lake is amazingly landscapes only for foreigners, and local residents, who have been accustomed to unusual species since childhood, have to work daily on the desert surface, extracting tons of salt. They are folded in neat little piles, which helps the water evaporate quickly, and subsequently such mounds are easy to transport. Many try to survive due to numerous tourist excursions, selling souvenirs (all kinds of crafts), which simply amazes the imagination of tourists with a variety.
By the way, next to the salt marsh there is a small local museum where amazing figures from salt are presented. And the houses of residents located on the outskirts of the village are built of this solid mineral. Tourists freeze on the spot from the amazing view of the boiling white streets and houses on the background of the same snow-white boundless field.
Uyuni salt flats: how to get there?
An amazing corner is located at an altitude of approximately 3.6 thousand meters above the ground, which prevents many curious people from reaching their destination. But this even benefits the lost place, because its remoteness from civilization maintains a stable ecological situation.
To get to a unique point on the globe, you need to get to the eponymous town of Uyuni by train, plane or regular bus. In a small settlement there is a huge number of travel agencies offering their services. If someone does not want to join the organized excursion in jeeps, he can make an individual trip by car with a driver who will quickly take you to the desert.
The phenomenon of the sky under your feet
The rain season here runs from November to March, and the temperature is kept at 22 degrees Celsius. On days of heavy rainfall, excursions to the lake are suspended, as salt water can cause car corrosion. Despite the fact that it is rather cool in winter, the period June-August is the season for tourists from all over the globe. The most beautiful phenomenon is when the amazing Uyuni solonchak is filled with water after a few centimeters of water. The photo of the mirror surface with running clouds reflected on it causes genuine amazement for everyone who encounters this phenomenal landscape for the first time.
The space seems to expand, and a visual illusion arises, in which it seems as if not the earth underfoot, but the sky itself is thrown down. The visible boundaries in this place disappear, forcing to admire the natural sights of all who personally see the world inside out. The Uyuni solonchak, protected by mountains, is a quiet and peaceful place with a complete absence of winds. For the sake of the spectacle of a shiny surface, travelers from around the globe rush to visit the enchantingly beautiful place.
True, many who arrived here experience an unpleasant state of dizziness and shortness of breath associated with acclimatization. And several days must pass before the body is completely accustomed to being so high above sea level.
Abandoned Train Cemetery
However, before getting to the salt marsh, all travelers visit another attraction of a small city, which once was the center of the country with railways running here. The economic situation, which was not developing in the best way, led to a decrease in mining revenues.
Abandoned wagons and locomotives in the salt desert, which has become a real train cemetery, now remind of the railway in the city. Local authorities have repeatedly raised the question of creating a museum on this site, since many copies left to their own devices are more than 100 years old, and they are all now in a destroyed and rusted state. Unfortunately, no one is still engaged in an open-air cemetery, and the question of preserving the heritage remains open for a long time.
Travel Tips
All those traveling on a long journey need to take certain things with them so that a trip to the Uyuni salt flats (Bolivia) brings only positive emotions.
- Moisturizer for permanently drying skin.
- Sunglasses. The light is so bright here that it hurts the eyes.
- Warm clothes, because even in the summer in the desert always cool evenings.
- A sleeping bag for those who want to meet the dawn by the lake.
- Rubber boots.
- National flag. There is a special area in front of the salt hotel, inside which tourists leave a symbol of the country as a keepsake.
