Train Grave Yard, Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia: Where trains go to die..The Train Cemetery is a site of abandoned trains on the edge of the Salar de Uyuni salt flats in Bolivia. It is located southwest of the city of Uyuni, a few kilometers from the city center, and is said to be the largest railway cemetery in the world.
The Milky Way makes an appearance over the largest mirror in the world "the Salar de Uyuni" in Bolivia.
The Milky Way is estimated to contain between 100 and 400 billion stars, although the exact number is hard to confirm. Recent studies suggest that the Milky Way could also be home to billions of planets, including potentially habitable Earth-like worlds.
The Salar de Uyuni, the world largest salt pan. Located in the southwestern corner of Bolivia at an elevation of 12,000 feet and a size of 4000 square miles.
Flamingos high in the Bolivian Andes at Salar de Uyuni, the world's largest salt pan ranging over 10,000km² (3,900 sq mi) in area at an elevation of 3,656 m (11,995 ft) above sea level.
Photo: 高砂淳二 Junji Takasago (2023) :: [Robert Scott Horton]
* * * * *
"The Truth is the Truth whether anyone believes it or not. Though a million people may believe a lie, it is still a lie. You must have great courage to live according to the Truth."
- Thich Nhat Hanh, Old Path White Clouds
Chilean flamingos preen under the Andean sky in Salar de Uyuni, the world’s largest salt flat. To get the shot, the photographer had to fight back altitude sickness in the dry landscape, which is nearly 12,000 feet above sea level.
Several species of flamingos come to breed in this region – which is also one of Bolivia’s largest lithium mines, a threat to the birds’ future.
Of all the places I went in 2022, the Bolivian desert was my favorite. Words and photos can't properly represent the vastness of this place. And there's no internet in the desert, so you are truly present. Here are a few photos from April 2022.
My top 3 tips:
Get a visa ahead of time (if you need one). At the very least, bring a photo copy of your passport with you. It will save time from having to wait for an airport staffer to take your passport to make a copy. (Side note on the Yellow Fever vaccine: They didn't check for mine. I flew in to La Paz from a big city, so that could be a factor.)
Pay for a tour. You cannot navigate this place alone. It's desolate and you can get lost and die.
Do everything. Wake up at 3am to go stargazing (with your guide). Do the 3-day tour instead of 1-day. Swim in a hot spring. I skipped the Atacama Desert because I've already been, but it's right there. So, do that too. This is a hard place to get to, so pack it all in.