Departure from Potosí city. If you want to visit the great Salt Flat of Uyuni the easiest way to discover the region is to start from the city of Potosí (altitude 3990). The Salar de Uyuni lies in the south west of Bolivia, and during the Potosí - Uyuni journey you will see the complete range of landscapes of the highland, oriental mountain range. Among the fauna typical of this region are camelids (llamas and vicuñas), deer, mountain cats and the Andean fox. The flora is typically Andean grass (Ichhu), yareta (a moss that is used as fuel) and thola (low shrubs that are also used as fuel). Our route will cross indigenous towns such as Tica Tica, Yura, and Pulacayo. The journey to Uyuni takes 4 hours in a 4x4 W.D. vehicle.

PULACAYO, 22 km before Uyuni, is a town seated in a very old volcano of the tertiary era. It is a significant town in Bolivian social history, for here the famous Tesis of Pulacayo was formulated. This was a manifesto concerning the rights of miners and defending the status of the mines as the property of the nation. The house is preserved where Esteban Arce, one of the heroes of Bolivia’s independence, was born, and one can also see also the first railway, built in 1890, that united Antofagasta in Chile with the Bolivian mining area of Huanchaca. There are also the remains of a train that was assaulted by the band of the North American gangsters, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

UYUNI, 220 km to the south west of Potosí, was in the past an important railway junction for communications between Bolivia, Chile and Argentina. At the end of the twentieth century the railroad had fallen into disuse and there remained only a minimal passenger service between Oruro, Uyuni, Tupiza and Villazón and a freight service for minerals. The city does not have a great many tourist attractions, but is a logical point from which to start a journey into the spectacular volcanic region of Lípez. A visit is to the Archaeological and Anthropological Museum is recommended, as is a visit to the cemetery of Trains, where you can see the remains of nineteenth and early 20th century steam locomotives and which is a good place to take artistic photographs. Uyuni has an altitude of 3665 m. Its name in Aymara means ‘the owner of a corral’ Uyuni. We shall stop to eat lunch in Uyuni.

COLCHANI, lies beside the Salar de Uyuni and is the home of the Cooperative Rosario – the main plant for the iodisation of salt. It is the best place to observe the methods of salt extraction from the Salar which is different to that employed to the north in the Salar de Coipasa. Here ovens are used to dry the salt, which is then formed into cakes. We will visit the salt refinery where you will witness the iodisation of salt for national consumption.

SALT FLATS OF UYUNI, We shall enter the Salar de Uyuni, the largest salt flat in the world, which has a surface area of more than 12.000 km². The crust of salt is astonishing and as perfect as the snow, or as a gigantic mirror in the rainy season. To venture into the salty desert of Uyuni is to experience a profound sense of freedom. The Salar is covered by dry salt or evaporite with a maximum thickness of about 121m. This is composed of Lithium, Boron, Potassium, Carbonates (borax) and Sulphates of Sodium. One very interesting mineral found here is ulexita or “stone television", this is transparent and has the power of refracting to the surface of the stone the image of what lies below it. In addition to salt, the Salar is also considered to have largest reserve in Lithium in the world, although it this is very difficult to extract due to lack of water. Lithium can form an energy substitute for Petroleum. Within the Salar there are groups of islands concentrated in different parts of the lake, on them clinging plants, bushes and columnar cacti grow. The most famous islands are those of Incahuasi (House of the Inca) and Isla Pescado (Fish Island). Isla Pescado is the goal of the expedition.

SALT HOTEL, This is an unusual construction, built completely of blocks of salt. We will also visit an artisanal market, the Salt Eyes, which are reputed to be good for rheumatism and arthritis and the salt miners.

FISH ISLAND located in the centre of the 102 km distant from Uyuni. This is a true oasis amid a complex of recovered islands of low elevation with formations of algae and fossils. , The most important for their size are Isla Pescado and Incahuasi (approximately 10 hectares) They are characterized mainly by their covering of thousands of giant columnar cacti, which can be more than a hundred years old, and grow to a height of more than 12 metres. This landscape with the Salar in the background horizon makes this place excellent for enthusiastic photographers. We can eat lunch there and later in the day make the return journey to Potosí.