Salar de Uyuni: Salt Flat & Train Cemetery with Sunset

Driving across the world's largest salt flat at sunset, with 100-year-old locomotives behind you

You travel by 4x4 across the Salar de Uyuni with an English-speaking guide, stopping at the Train Cemetery, a salt village, the Eyes of Water, and Incahuasi Island (seasonal). Lunch with wine and perspective photos are included. You choose your meal type when you book. The full day runs about 10 hours, and transport, guide, and food are all arranged. You only bring yourself and a camera.

Step-by-step itinerary

Stops and time spent at each

1. Train Cemetery1h · entry included
2. Salar de Uyuni4h · entry included

Full day Salar de Uyuni tour

• Visit Train Cemetery
• Explore salt extraction town
• Tour Salar de Uyuni salt flat
• Lunch at salt flat museum
• Photo shoot at perspective spots
• Visit Incahuasi Island and cacti
• Watch sunset reflections

The experience

You're rolling out of Uyuni in a 4x4 before the morning light flattens, heading first to the Train Cemetery: an abandoned railway graveyard a few kilometers southwest of the city where around 100 locomotives and carriages sit rusting in the high desert. Some date back to the late 19th century. The air is thin and dry up here on the Altiplano, and the metal frames catch the light in ways that make you understand why photographers come back. Your guide (English-speaking, trained on this landscape) walks you through, pointing out the oldest engines, the detail work on the carriages. You shoot. Everyone shoots.

Then you drive toward the salt village, a town built on the edge of the Salar de Uyuni where people still extract salt in blocks and carve handicrafts from it. Houses made of salt brick line the main street. You stop to watch the salt-cutting process, see the craft stands, maybe pick up something small. After that, the road opens up and you're on the Salar itself: the salt flat that covers roughly 10,000 square kilometers and was named South America's best natural attraction by the World Travel Awards in 2019. It's a different planet. Flat. White. Endless. Your guide takes you to the Eyes of Water, where underground rivers push mineral-rich water up through the salt crust in bubbles; to the Dakar Rally monument built from salt blocks; to Flag Square, where tourists have planted flags from every country that's visited. Lunch happens here, and you can choose meat, vegetarian, or vegan. They bring it with wine. The perspective photos come next, the famous ones where you're tiny in someone's hand, or standing on a grain of salt that looks like a mountain.

If you're traveling outside the rainy season, the route includes Incahuasi Island, a rocky outcrop in the center of the flat covered in giant cacti up to 10 meters high. There's a trail, well-marked and easy to walk, that takes you through them and opens onto views of the salt flat spreading in every direction, the sky cobalt blue. An entrance fee of 30 Bs goes to the local municipalities. The sunset happens somewhere on the way back: the light turns the white salt pink, then orange, then gold. By the time you're rolling back into Uyuni, you've been moving across this landscape for around 10 hours, and your phone is full of images that don't quite capture it.

What’s included

• 4x4 vehicle transport for the full day.
• English or Spanish-speaking guide.
• lunch with wine and your choice of meat, vegetarian, or vegan meal.
• access to the Train Cemetery, salt village, Salar de Uyuni with Eyes of Water and Dakar Rally monument, Flag Square, and the first salt-block hotel (now a museum and dining room).
• perspective photo opportunities.
• Incahuasi Island with its 10-meter cacti and sunset views (available April to November only). Entrance fee to Incahuasi Island (30 Bs) is paid separately if visited.

Before you book

Days and timesEvery dayDeparts at 10:30

Book up to1d before

AgesAdult (19 to 55 years) · Senior (56 and older) · Youth (11 to 18 years) · Child (3 to 10 years) · Infant (under 3): free

GroupUp to 20

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.It may be canceled due to bad weather. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund.

Prices and times updated yesterday

Good to know

Low physical effortInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Bolivian Travel Adventurs

Is this one for you?Book this if you want the main Salar de Uyuni experience in one day without arranging a 4x4, guide, or meals yourself: the fixed itinerary and included transport are what fit all four stops and a sunset into a single departure.

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Top questions

What languages is the tour guided in?

Live guide in English and Spanish.

Can children come?

Yes. Ticket types: Youth (11 to 18 years); Child (3 to 10 years); Infant (under 3): free.

What happens if it rains?

It may be canceled due to bad weather. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund. Free cancellation up to 24 h before the start.

What's the best time to visit Salar de Uyuni?

The rainy season (December to March) turns the salt flat into a mirror that reflects the sky, which is why the tour is marketed for sunset reflections during that time. The dry season (April to November) offers different light and includes access to Incahuasi Island, which closes during rains.

Is Incahuasi Island included in every tour?

No. Incahuasi Island is not available during the rainy season, so it's only included on tours running from April to November.

How long is the full day tour?

Around 10 hours, including all stops, lunch, and the drive back to Uyuni.

What's included in the price?

4x4 transport, an English or Spanish-speaking guide, lunch with wine, and access to all sites. Entrance fees to Incahuasi Island (30 Bs) are separate if the island is visited.

Can I choose what I eat?

Yes. You can request vegetarian, vegan, or meat options when you book.

Do I need to be fit for this tour?

The tour is suitable for all physical fitness levels. Most time is spent in the vehicle or on easy, flat walking trails.

What should I bring?

Sunscreen, a hat, water, and a camera. The altitude is high (around 3,656 meters in Uyuni) and the sun reflects off the salt, so protection is essential.