Uyuni, Bolivia

The town center of Uyuni, Bolivia
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Town_Centre_Uyuni_Bolivia.jpg
Author: Jialiang Gao


Uyuni is a city in southwestern Bolivia that serves as the gateway to Salar de Uyuni, the largest salt flats in the world. Located at the edge of a plain about 3,700 m (12,139 ft) above sea level, it has a population of around 21,000 people (2012 estimate)

Uyuni was founded in 1890 as a trading post. Due to the harsh climate with limited source of water, the town cannot support agriculture in a large scale. Since the late 20th century, the town has developed its tourism infrastructure due to the proximity of Salar de Uyuni. Today some 60,000 visitors come here every year just to experience the scenery of the salt flats.

One of the unique attractions of Uyuni, apart from the salt flats, is the antique train cemetery. Located about 3 km outside the town center, it has a collection of trains which were once used by the mining companies until the mid 20th century, when the industry collapsed when the ores were depleted. Today many of these trains are still well preserved.

Salt farming at Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Salar_de_Uyuni_salt_farming.jpg
Author: Phillie Casablanca

Visiting Uyuni

Uyuni has a small airport. There are flights from Cochabamba on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. You can also take a bus to Uyuni from La Paz, a journey of some 12-15 hours.

Places of Interest in Uyuni

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Hello and thanks for reading this page. My name is Timothy and my hobby is in describing places so that I can share the information with the general public. My website has become the go to site for a lot of people including students, teachers, journalists, etc. whenever they seek information on places, particularly those in Malaysia and Singapore. I have been doing this since 5 January 2003, for over twenty years already. You can read about me at Discover Timothy. By now I have compiled information on thousands of places, mostly in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, and I continue to add more almost every day. My goal is to describe every street in every town in Malaysia and Singapore.