Adventure, Bolivia

One of Bolivia’s most well-known experiences is the Southwest Circuit, a route that includes the wild terrain of the Eduardo Alvaroa National Park in the southwest corner of the country. In Spanish…… Reserva Nacional de Fauna Andina Eduardo Avaroa. It extends over an area of 714,745 hectares (1,766,170 acres).

The last time I had seen this place was watching the Long Way Up.  A British television series documenting a motorcycle journey undertaken in 2019 by Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman.  They travelled from Ushuaia in Argentina through South and Central America ending in Los Angeles.  Their trip through the national park, while beautiful, was a bit fraught as they were on electric bikes, supported by electric vehicles. I didn’t see any EV charging stations during my recent visit!!!  Nor petrol for that matter, we carried an extra jerry of petrol which we definitely needed!

Heading out from Uyuni, although we had some tips from some overlanding friends, we really had no idea what the trip would be like.  I travelled this part of Bolivia with a friend Robin, and was grateful to have her along as it was a pretty remote part of the country!

Day 1 – Flamingos

Heading out from Uyuni we targeted Laguna Honda where we had been encouraged to camp the first night.  We didn’t make it!  The road was corrugated with lots of large rocks slowing our progress down.  There was also nil signage or internet so we had to rely totally on offline Maps.me, having to retrace our steps a few times.

Just before dusk we made it to Laguna Hedionda.  Our first sighting of flamingos on the trip!  Did you know there are six species of flamingos in the world and THREE of them reside in this national park?? Here you will find Chilean, Andean and James flamingo species.

Much of this trip was at altitudes over 4,000 metres.  While we did no physical climbing up mountains, the altitudes in the park range between 4,200 m (13,800 ft) and 5,400 m (17,700 ft). Luckily, we were fairly acclimatised as I had already been in Bolivia a few weeks and the main issue I experienced was breathlessness.  Robin had a few headaches but I think we both did pretty well considering.

At Laguna Hedionda there was a small deserted hotel on one side of the lake and we decided to camp on the other side.

This was a camp with a view to be sure! Rita parked on the laguna.

And the sunset was beautiful as it changed colours……

We had camped on the great salt flat, Salar de Uyuni, the previous night so were aware it was going to be cold.  We didn’t realise how cold!  The car temperature gauge showed -16C.  We woke up to ice on top of the tent, inside the tent, and on the outside of the car windows.  Thankfully the engine started first thing so we warmed our painful fingers and toes up with Rita’s heating system.

An icy start to the day!

Day Two – Laguna Colorada

The next day we saw plenty of wide open spaces. Our goal was Laguna Colorada.  A big day of driving with mixed condition roads continuing.   As the tour 4×4’s just charge off wherever they thought, there were many roads to follow.  We kept switching depending on how hard they got to drive.

Wide open spaces.

Occasionally, we saw a 4×4 in the distance but didn’t really meet up with people until we made it to Termas de Polques – the thermal baths.  As this is a destination on the organised tours, there were plenty of people eating lunch in the ‘restaurant’.  As the air temperature didn’t feel much more than about 5c, I declined a swim in the thermal pools but Robin enjoyed the warmth and stellar view.

We found an abandoned salt mine in the afternoon and took some fabulous photos in and around it. Salt mining is happening less and less today as return is not as good as other options e.g. lithium, silver and lead mining.  Apparently, the government has granted 61 mining permits within and around the park.  Between mining, overgrazing by domestic animals (mostly llamas) and tourism, there are plenty of threats to this fragile ecosystem.

Snaps of the abandoned salt mine

Just as the sun was beginning to sink we made it to Laguna Colorada.  As we knew we were up for another freezing night, we thought we would try sleeping in the car to see if that was any warmer……….it wasn’t!!!

Day Three – An Icy Start and a Rude Rejection

Sleeping in extremely cold temperatures is tough – so we were feeling a little sleep deprived when starting the day.  This is what Rita looked like – both inside and out!!!

Another cold start to the day!!!!

But things rapidly got better……Laguna Colorada is pink!  The algae and minerals in the lake turn the water a lovely shade of rose. The pink birds against the pink water seemed almost unreal. The lake is very shallow, less than 1 m (3 ft 3 in) deep, and supports some 40 bird species.  We were most interested in the flamingos!

Huge numbers of flamingos flock to this lake.

Our goal was to cross into Chile, and spend the night at a warm hotel in San Pedro de Atacama in Northern Chile.  I was looking forward to a Pisco Sour – a drink I fell in love with when I discovered it in Chile.

Mount Licancabur – a dormant volcano on the Bolivian/Chilean border

Sadly, on arriving at the border just before sunset, Robin was denied entry due to the new rules introduced during Covid.  Australians now need a visa prior and we were both unaware.  Rita and I had no problem, as I was travelling on my Kiwi passport (yes I know Chilean’s don’t like us Aussies for some reason!). So we sadly turned around and went back through the Bolivian border.  The Bolivian Aduana seemed happy to see us!!!

The border/customs team (and a crazy French cyclist in red)

As it was fast getting dark, the thought of another night camping in sub zero temperatures after the vision of the Chilean hotel being rudely taken away from us, was tough.  However, we found a refugio on the Bolivian border where the tour guides stay picking up tourists who cross from Chile.  It had no heating or running water – but it had beds with many blankets and Robin was able to fill our hot water bottles with welcome warmth.  So it was actually a pretty good night sleep.

Day 3 – Making it Back to Uyuni

Robin had sourced info. from a tour guide who suggested it would take us 3 hours to get back to Uyuni.  We learnt that you should never trust their estimates as it actually took nine!!!!!

We started our drive back with a visit to Laguna Verde.  It has suspensions of arsenic and other minerals which creates vibrant green colour in the water. Its color varies from turquoise to dark emerald depending on the disturbance caused to sediments in the lake by winds. The photos I had seen of this lake were amazing with the vibrant green – but the day we were there it wasn’t much to speak of.

There is also a Laguna Blanca – you guessed it – because it is white!!!

Posing at Laguna Blanca

Later that day we crossed the Dali Desert, so named because the surreal colours of the mountains are similar to those used by the famous painter, Salvador Dali.

The mountains of Desierto Dali

The volcanic rocks poking out also gave it a weird lunar landscape feel.

One unusual natural feature is an isolated rock formation sticking out of the sand dunes called Arbol de Piedra or the “Stone Tree”.   It is in the shape of a stunted tree, which is formed as a thin rock due to strong winds in the area.

Arbol de Piedra

We saw plenty of llama during the trip.  Having eaten llama it is quite lean and prepared in a tasty way either as a steak, skewer or stew. A Bolivian delicacy I was initially a little worried about – but after trying, it really was good.

As our very long drive continued we came out of the desert and started to see a little green.

Finally some green!

With three hours to go, the corrugated roads got the best of Rita and one of her battery terminals dislodged and we could not reconnect.  We were stuck!!!  Luckily, and even though we had seen very few cars, a tour guide came along and helped us get back on the road.

So, so thankful! The thought of another cold night was not pleasant!  Arriving back in Uyuni after dark, it was nice we knew this place so found our lodgings quickly.  Hot shower and sleep were very much needed!!!!

Driving the Southwest Circuit is not easy due to the road quality, lack of signage and the cold!!!  It is pretty cold all year around apparently.  We drove some 896km to do the circuit which was epic in the conditions.  However, the reward was well worth it!