3-day Uyuni Salt Flats tour: Flamingos and geysers

The geysers start before dawn at high altitude, and the mud pots boil at intense heat.

A 3-day tour of Salar de Uyuni departing from Uyuni town in a 4WD vehicle with an English-speaking guide covers the salt flats, Isla Incahuasi, the Red Lagoon with flamingos, Eduardo Avaroa National Reserve, and Sol de Mañana geysers with hot springs. You travel with the same group throughout, stay in shared hostels, and the guide handles the route and timing across three full days on the Altiplano.

Step-by-step itinerary

Day 1: Uyuni Salt Flats exploration

• Leave Uyuni town at 10:30 a.m.
• Visit Uyuni’s train graveyard
• Visit Colchani salt miners' workshops
• See salt handicrafts and textile art
• Visit Ojos de Agua Salada and salt hotel museum
• Hike to Isla Incahuasi to see giant cacti
• Have lunch
• Watch sunset over salt flats
• Arrive at Ajencha town for dinner and overnight

Day 2: Andean Lagoons and National Reserve

• Have breakfast at 7:00 a.m.
• Visit Ollagüe lookout point
• Drive along El Pasito Tuntun road
• Visit Cañapa, Hedionda, and Chiarcota Lagoons
• Enter Eduardo Avaroa National Reserve
• Visit Desert of Siloli and Rock tree
• Stop at Red Lagoon to see flamingos
• Overnight at Huayllajara hostel

Day 3: Geysers, Hot Springs, and Lagoons

• Start early at 5:00 a.m.
• Visit Sol de Mañana Geyser and fumaroles
• Bath in open air hot springs
• Visit Dali Desert
• Visit Green Lagoon at Licancabur volcano
• Drive back to Uyuni with picnic lunch
• Pass Rock Valley and San Cristobal Village
• Arrive in Uyuni city around 6:30 p.m.

The experience

The tour leaves Uyuni at 10:30 a.m. on day one and heads straight into the salt flats. You'll see the train graveyard first, then move through Colchani where salt miners work and artisans sell textiles made from llama and alpaca wool. A salt hotel (built entirely from salt blocks and now a museum) comes next, followed by a short hike up Isla Incahuasi to walk among giant cacti and petrified coral formations. Lunch happens on the flats, and you'll watch the sunset before heading to Ajencha for the night in a shared hostel room.

Day two starts at 7 a.m. with breakfast and a drive toward the high lagoons. You pass the active Ollagüe volcano, visible from a lookout point, then follow the rocky road called El Pasito Tuntun to reach Cañapa, Hedionda, and Chiarcota lagoons where flamingos gather. The afternoon takes you into Eduardo Avaroa National Reserve, the national park itself, to cross the Siloli Desert (the highest and driest in the world) and photograph the Rock Tree, a lava formation that looks sculpted. Before nightfall in Huayllajara, you stop at the Red Lagoon overlook to see pink flamingos against the intense red water.

Day three departs at 5 a.m. to reach Sol de Mañana geysers while the fumaroles are most active. You walk among steaming craters and boiling mud pots at 150 to 200 degrees Celsius, then soak in an open-air hot spring at 35 degrees. The Dali Desert (named for its resemblance to Salvador Dalí's paintings) comes next, followed by the Green Lagoon at the foot of Licancabur volcano near the Bolivia-Chile border. The drive back to Uyuni passes through Rock Valley and San Cristobal Village, arriving around 6:30 p.m. The 4WD vehicle has a rooftop luggage rack, and your guide manages all stops and timing.

What’s included

• English-speaking guide throughout the three days.
• transportation in a 4WD vehicle with rooftop luggage rack.
• shared accommodation for two nights in basic hostels with private toilets.
• lunch on day one and a picnic lunch on day three.

Before you book

Days and timesEvery dayDeparts at 07:00

Book up to18h before

AgesAdult (5 to 60 years) · Under 5: can't be included in the booking

GroupUp to 5

Live guideEnglish and Spanish

Meeting point and pickupNo hotel pickup: you go to the meeting point. Ends back at the starting point.

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

Prices and times updated 9 days ago

Good to know

Easy physical levelNot for pregnant travelersNot for heart conditionsNot for back problems

Operated by Uyuni Salt Flats

Is this one for you?Choose this if you're joining a small group staying together throughout. You'll share a 4x4 and hostel rooms with the same companions for three days, and the pre-dawn starts on days two and three position you at the geysers and lagoons during peak light and wildlife activity.

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Top questions

What languages is the guide in?

Live guide in English and Spanish.

What is Isla Incahuasi and why do we hike there?

Isla Incahuasi is an island in the middle of the salt flats covered in giant cacti and rock formations made of petrified coral. The short hike lets you stand on solid ground in the middle of the flats and see the landscape from above.

Will I see flamingos on this tour?

Yes. The Red Lagoon on day two is home to thousands of pink flamingos in their natural habitat, and flamingos also gather at the Cañapa, Hedionda, and Chiarcota lagoons you visit earlier that day.

What happens at Sol de Mañana geysers?

Sol de Mañana sits at 5,000 meters and features active fumaroles and steaming craters with boiling mud pots reaching 150 to 200 degrees Celsius. You walk among them and then bathe in an open-air hot spring with water at 35 degrees.

Do I share a room with other travelers?

Yes. You stay in shared hostel rooms with the same group traveling in your 4WD vehicle: six-bed rooms on the first two nights in Ajencha and Huayllajara, with private toilets at each hostel.

What is the Dali Desert?

The Dali Desert is a high-altitude landscape scattered with boulders and rock formations that inspired the surrealist painter Salvador Dalí. You drive through it on day three between the geysers and the Green Lagoon.

Are entrance fees included in the tour price?

No. Entrance fees for Isla Incahuasi, Eduardo Avaroa National Reserve, the hot springs, and other sites are paid separately at each location.