The southern altiplano is Bolivia at its most surreal — the blinding white expanse of the Salar de Uyuni, the world's largest salt flat, giving way to a high desert of red and green lagoons, steaming geysers and flamingo colonies at over 4,000 m. It is one of the planet's great overland journeys, and the historic silver city of Potosí sits on its edge.
The salt flat and the lagoons
Multi-day 4x4 expeditions across the Salar de Uyuni and through the Eduardo Avaroa reserve — the Laguna Colorada, the Sol de Mañana geysers and the Dalí desert — in Potosí.
Silver-mine history
Tours of the working silver mines of Cerro Rico above Potosí, once the richest city in the Americas, add a sobering human dimension to the high-desert scenery. Open the Book here tab for dates.
