From the Andes to the Sea of Salt: Our Unforgettable Journey from Sucre to Salar de Uyuni
Perhaps the most magical chapter of our journey across Latin America opened on the road from Sucre to Uyuni. As we left behind the white city of Sucre, the delicate textures of colonial architecture and its quiet streets, the engine of our Peugeot 408 challenged the heights and curves of the Andes, carrying us into a completely different world.
Sucre was already around 2,800 meters above sea level; but as the road continued, the altitude kept rising, the air became thinner and the scenery turned breathtaking. The sun touched the slopes of the mountains, and with the height, the silence became even deeper. The curiosity inside us grew a little more with every bend in the road.
Potosí: Catching Our Breath on the “Roof of the World”
When we reached Potosí under the golden light of evening, we could immediately feel the city’s former glory. This was the place of the famous Cerro Rico mine, which once fed the wealth of the Spanish Empire. For centuries, silver was extracted from the heart of this mountain and carried to Europe; Potosí became one of the cities where the heart of the empire once beat.
Today, one of the things that makes Potosí unforgettable, perhaps the most important one, is its incredible altitude of 4,067 meters. This height immediately began to test our bodies. Ozcan started to feel dizzy, breathing became harder, steps became heavier, and we felt as if we were breathing not air, but a thin sheet of glass. This was one of the strongest truths the Andes remind you of: you are above nature, but you are still only a guest.
We entered a pharmacy and bought medicine to reduce the effects of altitude. After a short while, feeling a little better, we walked through the central streets of Potosí. With its colonial buildings, narrow streets and the slight dizziness brought by the altitude, the city turned into a scene where time seemed to slow down. After a short rest, a few photos and taking in the city’s quiet pride, we set off again.
Arrival in Uyuni: On the Edge of Another World
The next morning, at the end of our journey with the Peugeot 408, we reached the town of Uyuni. At around 3,670 meters above sea level, this small town was the gateway to one of the most extraordinary natural formations in the world: Salar de Uyuni.
Our first task in Uyuni was to find out whether we could enter the salt flat with our own car. Everyone told us the same thing: “Absolutely do not enter. The salt flat does not forgive.” Beneath the salt surface, there were hidden holes, invisible cracks, water-filled areas and mud traps. Entering with our own vehicle would have been an irreversible risk. So we joined one of the region’s popular 4×4 tours and chose a route that would allow us to see the main beauties of the Salar, including Isla Incahuasi and sunset.
The crowded but warm group we traveled with in the same vehicle became our companions for most of the day. These people from different countries would be both our silent witnesses and cheerful partners throughout our long day in the Salar.
Cementerio de Trenes: Locomotives Forgotten by Time
The first stop of the tour was the famous Train Cemetery, or Cementerio de Trenes, located just outside Uyuni. This place forms the abandoned heart of the great railway project built in the late 19th century to connect Bolivia’s mining wealth with the world.
The steam locomotives that once carried silver and other minerals gradually became useless as mining declined and economic difficulties grew. Without maintenance, they were left to the mercy of the desert winds. Over the years, their metal bodies rusted, wooden parts decayed, some wagons collapsed, and others were partly buried in sand. Today, these trains wait silently among the dry winds of Uyuni, like frames from a film where time has stopped.
Walking along the tracks and among the rusty bodies, you find yourself suspended between history and melancholy. Steam boilers, decaying wagons, shadows left by metal in the desert… This place reminds you that even abandonment has a story. The graffiti on the trains, wagons turned into playgrounds for children and the cheerful laughter of tourists add a strange liveliness to this sad landscape.
The Entrance to the Salt Flat: A Gate of Colors Opening into White
Shortly after leaving the Train Cemetery, we reached the entrance of the salt flat, where hundreds of flags rose toward the sky. These colors waving across the empty white surface of the Salar looked like greetings extended to travelers from every corner of the world. The Andean wind moved the flags, and the colors seemed to fly in the middle of the whiteness.
Here, we met the hard texture of salt for the first time. When the sunlight hit the surface, a dazzling brightness appeared and the horizon almost disappeared. We had now stepped onto the largest salt flat in the world. Covering around 10,500 square kilometers, Salar de Uyuni stretched out like a giant white ocean. While walking on the hardened salt crust during the dry season, knowing that in the rainy season this surface becomes covered with a thin layer of water and turns the sky into a mirror made the magic of where we were even stronger.
The Salt Hotel: A Stop in the Middle of Whiteness
Around noon, we arrived at the salt hotel located in the middle of the Salar. Walls made entirely of salt blocks, columns carved from salt and the cool air inside showed that this was not an ordinary building. Outside, the brightness under the burning sun made us narrow our eyes; inside, it softened into a dim calm.
We sat at our tables and had lunch with the travel companions who were in the same vehicle with us. This table set in the middle of the vast Salar felt like a small break, almost like a small family meal. Outside was the infinity of salt; inside was the warmth shared by people. As the tiredness of the journey eased a little, we gathered new energy for the long day we would spend in the Salar.
Isla Incahuasi: An Oasis in the Middle of the Sea of Salt
Our next stop was Isla Incahuasi, rising in the middle of the salt flat. This island of around 12 square kilometers was once a reef on the ocean floor millions of years ago. Over time, the waters receded, leaving behind a vast salt-covered plain and, right in the middle, this island covered with cacti.
As we climbed the island’s barren rocks, there was desert silence on one side and the glitter of the salt sea on the other. The higher we climbed, the flat white surface of the Salar merged with the sky, and it felt as if we were not on Earth but on another planet. The cacti were so large that some exceeded 10 meters, carrying the weight of centuries on their spines.
Looking into the distance from Isla Incahuasi, we felt as if we were on a ship floating in the whiteness. Below, dozens of 4×4 vehicles parked side by side on the salt looked like tiny toys. Nature reminded us here both of how small we are and how lucky we were to witness such a miracle.
The Playful Side of the Salar: Perspective Photos
After leaving the island, we stopped in a wide and completely flat salt area. The ground, with its hexagonal patterns stretching to the horizon, looked like a giant mosaic. In this place where shadows were short and the horizon almost disappeared, the Salar turned into one of the best stages in the world for perspective games. Together with our travel companions, we let ourselves become part of the game.
Laughter, cheerful shouts and the rapid clicks of cameras briefly broke the silence of the Salar. But even that silence felt like a warm background accompanying the game.
The Magic of Sunset: The Moment When Sky and Earth Became One
The final stop of the day was the area where the Salar showed its most magical form: a section covered with a thin layer of water, the part that turns the sky into a mirror. As the sun approached the horizon, the water on the salt began to reflect the sky like a perfect mirror. Clouds, mountain silhouettes and the reddening face of the sun were reborn beneath our feet.
Time slowed down here. Silence fell. You did not want to speak. Beneath our feet was the sky, and above us was a second copy of the same sky. It was as if the clouds were floating on the water and we were walking among them. As the sun painted the horizon in fiery colors, our shadows accompanied us as trembling reflections in the water.
At the end of the day, we made a small ritual: we raised glasses of wine in the Salar. This journey, this lake, this day… All of it became one of the most special memories of our lives. When the sun disappeared completely, the first stars began to shine in the sky. This time, the water on the salt crust reflected the stars, turning the Salar into a celestial mirror.
Return to Uyuni: A Quiet Ending That Stayed Inside Us
As night fell, our 4×4 vehicle left the Salar and moved toward the lights of Uyuni. Our bodies were tired, but our souls were filled with an indescribable peace. This journey that began in Sucre had tested our breath in the cold and altitude of Potosí; confronted us with history at the Train Cemetery; and in the whiteness of the Salt Flat, taught us both silence and infinity.
Uyuni left us with more than a place. It left us with a feeling: the feeling of how huge and miracle-filled the world is. And that night, we knew that this journey was not only a route, but a memory that had settled deep inside us.
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