Uyuni, in southwestern Bolivia, is best known as the gateway to the world’s largest salt flat, Salar de Uyuni. Once a humble railway town, Uyuni has grown into a base for travelers drawn to this surreal landscape, where an ancient dried-up lake has left behind a vast expanse of glistening salt crust. At over 10,000 square kilometers, the salt flat is both otherworldly and mesmerizing, often described as one of the most unique natural wonders on Earth.

During the dry season, Salar de Uyuni stretches like a dazzling white desert under the Andean sky, while in the rainy season, a thin layer of water transforms it into a giant mirror that reflects clouds and sunsets with breathtaking perfection. The flats are dotted with cacti-covered islands such as Isla Incahuasi, and beneath the salt lies a significant reserve of lithium, a resource of global importance.

Uyuni itself has its own character, with the haunting Train Cemetery on its outskirts offering a glimpse into Bolivia’s industrial past, where rusting locomotives sit abandoned in the desert. From town, multi-day tours venture deep into the altiplano, passing colorful lagoons, geysers, and flamingo-filled wetlands.