3-day Uyuni Salt Flat and Eduardo Avaroa Park tour

Three days unveiling a new landscape each day across salt, volcanoes and geysers

A 3-day guided tour of the Uyuni Salt Flat and Eduardo Avaroa National Reserve in Bolivia, traveling by 4WD with an English or Spanish-speaking guide and staying in basic shared accommodation. The route crosses the salt flats to the Train Cemetery and Incahuasi Island on day one, reaches the flamingo lagoons and Siloli Desert on day two, and ends at the geysers and hot springs on day three. Pickup from the bus station is included. Park entry and hot spring access are available as an add-on.

Step-by-step itinerary

Day 1: Explore Uyuni Salt Flat and Island

• Meet group in Uyuni office
• Visit Uyuni train cemetery
• Explore Colchani salt miners' workshops
• See Ojos de Agua Salada and salt hotel museum
• Hike Incahuasi Island for cactus and coral
• Enjoy lunch
• Watch sunset over salt flats
• Arrive at hostel for dinner and rest

Day 2: Visit Lakes and Volcanoes

• Depart at 7:00 a.m. to Laguna Colorada
• Visit Chiguana desert and volcanoes
• See Cañapa, Hedionda, and Chiarcota lagoons with flamingos
• Enter Eduardo Avaroa National Reserve
• Visit Siloli Desert and rock tree formation
• Stop at Laguna Colorada viewpoint
• Overnight in shared accommodation in Huayllajara

Day 3: Geysers and Hot Springs

• Start at 5:00 a.m. to Sol de Mañana Geyser
• Walk near fumaroles and boiling mud craters
• Bath in open-air hot springs
• Visit Dali Desert and Green Lagoon
• Return to Uyuni with roadside picnic lunch
• Pass Rock Valley, Alota, and San Cristóbal town
• End expedition in Uyuni around 5:00 p.m.

The experience

The tour starts at 10:30 a.m. from the Uyuni office, heading first to the Train Cemetery where abandoned wagons sit half-buried in the desert after more than fifty years. From there you move through Colchani, where salt miners work and sell handicrafts, then to the salt hotel museum and Incahuasi Island, where tall cacti and petrified coral rock formations rise above the flats. You watch the sunset over the salt plains and sleep in a shared double room at a hostel that night.

Day two begins at 7:00 a.m. heading south toward Laguna Colorada, passing the active Ollagüe volcano at 5,840 meters. The route takes you through the Chiguana desert and stops at three lagoons (Cañapa, Hedionda and Chiarcota), where flamingos gather. You enter Eduardo Avaroa National Reserve and reach the Siloli Desert at 4,550 meters to photograph the "rock tree," a lava formation. The day ends at a viewpoint overlooking the red waters of Laguna Colorada before you sleep in a shared six-bed room in Huayllajara.

On the final day, you wake at 5:00 a.m. to reach the Sol de Mañana Geyser at 5,000 meters, where fumaroles and mud pots boil at 160–210 degrees Celsius. You bathe in an open-air hot spring at 32 degrees, then drive through the Dali Desert and past the Green Lagoon at the foot of the Licancabur volcano near the Bolivia-Chile border. The return to Uyuni takes the route through Rock Valley, the Alota settlement and San Cristóbal, with lunch at a roadside stop along the way. You arrive back in Uyuni around 5:00 p.m.

What’s included

• Local English or Spanish-speaking guide.
• pickup from the bus station to the meeting point.
• 4WD transport with rooftop luggage rack for the full three days.
• first night in a shared double room and second night in a shared six-bed room.
• all transportation between sites and lunch on day three at a roadside stop.

Before you book

Days and timesEvery dayDeparts at 08:00

AgesAdult (5 to 80 years) · Under 5: can't be booked

GroupUp to 6

Live guideEnglish and Spanish

Meeting point and pickupHotel pickup included.You can choose from 27 pickup points.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.

Prices and times updated 5 days ago

Good to know

Low physical effortPublic transport nearbyNot recommended during pregnancyNot recommended with back problems

Operated by Mega Expeditions

Is this one for you?Book this if you're ready for very early starts (5:00 a.m. on day three) and can manage high-altitude driving and walking. Choose the shared room option if you're traveling solo or in a small group and want to keep costs lower.

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Top questions

What languages is the tour guided in?

Live guide in English and Spanish.

What is the Train Cemetery and why is it on this tour?

The Train Cemetery is a site in the Uyuni desert where old wagons have sat abandoned for more than fifty years, creating an otherworldly landscape of rusted metal half-buried in salt and sand. It opens the tour because it is one of the most recognizable stops in the region and sets the tone for the remote, surreal terrain ahead.

Can I see flamingos on this tour?

Yes. On day two you stop at three lagoons (Cañapa, Hedionda and Chiarcota), where flamingos live, and you also visit a viewpoint overlooking Laguna Colorada, where pink flamingos gather in their natural habitat in large numbers.

What happens at the geysers and hot springs on day three?

You start before dawn to reach the Sol de Mañana Geyser at 5,000 meters, where you walk near fumaroles and steaming mud pots that reach 160–210 degrees Celsius. Afterward you bathe in an open-air hot spring with water at 32 degrees, a chance to soak in the high-altitude landscape before the drive back to Uyuni.

What kind of accommodation do I get on each night?

The first night you stay in a shared double room at a hostel in Uyuni. On the second night you sleep in a shared six-bed room in basic family accommodation in Huayllajara. Both are simple lodgings suited to the remote locations.

Does the tour include park entry and hot spring access?

Park entry to Eduardo Avaroa, island visits, hot springs, hot showers and towels are available as an add-on for $30 USD. Restroom stops along the way cost $3 USD each. The Incahuasi Island entrance fee is $6 USD.