Things to do in  Uyuni

Yes, it’s worth visiting Uyuni town. While it’s the nearby Salar de Uyuni that draws travelers from around the world, Uyuni is an essential stop for accommodations, information, and supplies. It’s also a great place to pick up local souvenirs, including handicrafts and salt produced in nearby communities.

You only need one day to tour the closest highlights of the Salar de Uyuni, such as Incahuasi Island and Train Cemetery (Cementerio de Trenes). Staying longer pays off, however: 2- or 3-day tours visit farther-flung places including Tunupa Volcano to Laguna Colorada—some even stay overnight on the Salar de Uyuni.

The December-April wet season turns the Salar de Uyuni into a giant mirror that reflects clouds and sky—it’s a dramatic effect and a popular time to visit. But Uyuni is a year-round destination, with its May–November dry season perfect for star-gazing and outdoor exploring under clear skies.

Uyuni’s backyard is the world’s largest salt flat, an expanse that stretches for more than 4,000 square miles (10,360 square kilometers). The Salar de Uyuni is considered one of the world’s most extreme environments, home to animals—from flamingoes to wild, llama-like vicuñas—that have adapted to very harsh conditions.

Yes, you can eat the salt from the Salar de Uyuni. Many adjacent communities harvest the salt as a sustainable cottage industry, and you can find bags of salt for sale throughout Uyuni town. Some seek out the salt because it’s mineral-rich, with high percentages of lithium, potassium, and magnesium.

While “salar” simply means “salt flat” in Spanish, Uyuni comes from the Indigenous Aymara language. The word “uyu” translates to “enclosure” or “pen,” while “ni” indicates ownership. Put them together, and Uyuni means “someone who has an enclosure or pen.” The precise reason for the name? No one really knows..