10 reasons you should visit the surreally beautiful Uyuni Salt Flat in Bolivia

Photo courtesy of Dave Stamboulis

Tiny Bolivia often gets a quick pass-through on gap year trips through South America, but the landlocked high-altitude nation is home to some incredible sights. At the top of the list is the captivating Salar de Uyuni, which is the world's largest salt flat, taking up almost 4,000 square miles of high-altitude desert. It's home to an array of astounding and diverse scenery, from giant cactuses and colorful lakes to abundant wildlife, volcanic hot springs and much more.

If it isn't already on your must-visit list, get ready to put it there. Here are 10 reasons why the Salar de Uyuni is well worth a visit.

Photo courtesy of Dave Stamboulis

The Milky Way and a million stars above the Salar de Uyuni

Set above 10,000 feet, the vast salt flat is best visited after rain, when the salt is covered by a sheen and reflects everything around it. As there are no large cities anywhere around here and little human habitation, there is almost no light pollution, making Salar de Uyuni a fantastic place to watch the constellations and stars, as well as a prime draw for astral photography tours.

Night tours leave from Uyuni, where they provide you with rubber boots for standing in the saline water. Plus, the jeeps themselves make for great foreground placement, with the seemingly infinite salt flat behind and sky above.

Photo courtesy of Dave Stamboulis

The world's largest mirror, reflection on the salt flat

乌龙尼盐湖ha也是一个神奇的地方ve photographic fun, and is possibly the most Instagramable spot on the planet. Combine the reflections everywhere, the vast open space, the endless horizon and the perspectives you get from far and near, and you can pretty much set up your own fun photo shoot. Common themes include putting toy dinosaurs in front of real life humans (so that the dinosaurs tower over them) or standing 100 feet behind a tire with one's arms spread (so it appears that one is inside the tire). The visuals out here are just endless.

Photo courtesy of Dave Stamboulis

James's flamingos, Eduardo Avaroa National Reserve

While the Salar de Uyuni is mostly devoid of wildlife, it does feature plenty of large lakes and reserves, which attract over 80 bird species, the most popular of which are the three species of South American flamingos (James's, Chilean and Andean). You'll also see Andean foxes and plenty of cuterabbit-like vizcachas, as well as vicuñas, a wild Andean camelid. The birds flock here for the mineral-rich water found in the highaltitude lakes.

Photo courtesy of Dave Stamboulis

Nothing but salt, cactuses and high-altitude desert for miles

Isla Incahuasi, an island set at 12,000 feet, sits in the middle of the salt flat and is home to fossils, ancient algae and enormous cardón cactuses, one of the largest in the world. growing around 30 feet tall. The name "Incahuasi" means "house of the Inca," and you can see for miles from up on top of the islands. It all looks very sci-fi-ish from here, with these bizarre giant plants growing in the middle of all the expanse of salt. It's no wonder that films like "Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi" used this area as part of their locations for filming.

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Photo courtesy of Dave Stamboulis

Enjoying the Aguas Termales de Polques at dawn

Mornings can be freezing-cold on the Salar de Uyuni due to the high elevation, with temperatures getting into the teens, and most tours get early starts. Fortunately, there are some lovely hot springs here like the Polques Springs, created by nearby volcanic activity. The springs heat up to about 95-98 degrees Fahrenheit and offer a great place to warm up and watch the sunrise before heading out for a day of touring the salt flat.

Most of the tour groups stop here at the same time early in the morning, but you can talk your own group/tour company into either an evening dip or coming here just after the big groups roll through, and you'll then have this magical spot all to yourself.

Photo courtesy of Dave Stamboulis

Salt flat sunsets are unrivaled

You go all day on the salt flat. That's because there is so much to see covering such large distances. You'll start off with smoking fumaroles and volcanic areas in the morning, take a hot spring bath, head to colorful lakes to watch the flamingos and then do some photography in the middle of the salt. As the sunsets are so magical here, you're sure to be out then, too. The horizon is completely flat and endless, everything is reflected as the salt flat acts as a giant mirror and the salt deposits floating on puddled water look like ice on a northern fjord or lagoon.

Photo courtesy of Dave Stamboulis

A flamboyance of flamingos on Laguna Colorada

Laguna Colorada, the Red Lagoon, is another one of the highlights on any tour of Salar de Uyuni. It's a beautiful wetland famed for the rare James's flamingos which flock here in abundance, and the lake is part of the Eduardo Avaroa Andean Fauna National Reserve. It's at close to 14,000 feet and home to volcanoes, fumaroles and saltwater lagoons. It's somewhat similar to what you might find in Yellowstone National Park. Most tours stop here for an hour or two, so you can walk along the shoreline or climb up higher for photos of this pristine gem.

Photo courtesy of Dave Stamboulis

Palette of colors in the Salvador Dalí Desert

There are also extraordinary natural colors to be found as you drive around the salt flat. Heading into the far southwest corner of Bolivia, near the Chilean border, you'll come across the Salvador Dalí Desert, aptly named due to the landscape resembling the surrealist masterpieces created by the renowned Spanish artist. You can also enter or leave Bolivia from near this area (coming from or going to Chile), as the tour companies can set things up, making for one unique way of crossing the border in this amazing part of the world.

Photo courtesy of Dave Stamboulis

Sol de Mañana geysers steaming at dawn

This part of the salt flat most resembles Yellowstone, with hissing steam vents, fumaroles, sulfur springs and boiling mud steam pools – all set at over 15,000 feet, one of the highest reaches of the region. This large geothermal area is quite active and very impressive at dawn, when the smoke and steam eerily ascend into the rising sun. Unlike Yellowstone, this area is not really roped off, and travel is at your own risk. Local guides warn their clients to be careful, as several tourists have been badly burned over the past years while trying to get too close for their selfies.

Photo courtesy of Dave Stamboulis

Árbol de la Piedra, Bolivia's stone tree

Árbol de la Piedra is yet another famous natural monument along the Salar de Uyuni tour route. Meaning "stone tree" in Spanish, this lone rock sticks up out of the surrounding high desert sand dunes, and its sandstone has been eroded over time by winds sweeping along the Altiplano. The Siloli Desert stands in vast contrast to the white salt flat, and the Árbol de la Piedra is one of South America's most iconic images. Part of the top of the stone has fallen off, but the tree still stands, with a solid quartz base and an iron top which is stronger against the howling winds.

You won't find such a radically diverse range of landscapes all in one place – all of them surreal, immense and hauntingly majestic – anywhere else.