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Salar de Uyuni

Countries in the atlas · Latin America

Bolivia

The Uyuni salt flat, coloured lagoons with flamingos and a city where cable cars do the job of a metro.

Russian passport: visa-free · 90 daysprices about the same as in Russia

Photo: Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Salar de Uyuni
Photo: Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Potosí, Bolivia · World’s best

Salar de Uyuni

Access 3/5 · needs planningJFMAMJJASOND

Salar de Uyuni is a dried-up prehistoric lake of more than 10,000 square kilometres at about 3,650 metres. In the dry season it is white hexagons of salt; in the wet season, a thin layer of water reflecting the sky.

In the middle of the salt flat is Incahuasi Island with its giant cacti. Next to the town of Uyuni is a graveyard of old steam locomotives.

Getting there
Fly from La Paz to Uyuni (about an hour) or take the night bus; on the salt flat, only by jeep with a driver.
Why it’s hard
Altitude, cold nights and no roads: only jeep tours cross the salt flat. The mirror appears only in the rainy season, from January to March.
Sources (3)
La Paz
Photo: Pavel Špindler · CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Bolivia

La Paz

Access 2/5 · fairly easyJFMAMJJASOND

La Paz lies in a bowl of mountains beneath snow-capped Illimani. Its public transport is the Mi Teleférico cable car network, one of the largest in the world.

Nearby are the Valley of the Moon with its stone spires and the ruins of Tiwanaku, an ancient city near Lake Titicaca.

Getting there
Fly to El Alto (with a connection), then 30 minutes down into the city.
Sources (3)
Eduardo Avaroa Lagoons
Photo: Havardtl · CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Potosí, Bolivia

Eduardo Avaroa Lagoons

Access 4/5 · hardJFMAMJJASOND

The Eduardo Avaroa National Reserve in south-western Bolivia is a land of coloured lagoons: the red Laguna Colorada with thousands of flamingos and the emerald Laguna Verde below the Licancabur volcano.

Along the way are the Sol de Mañana geysers and the Polques hot springs. Most people come on a three-day tour from Uyuni.

Getting there
Three-day jeep tours from Uyuni (or from San Pedro de Atacama in Chile).
Why it’s hard
Altitudes of up to 5,000 metres, nights in basic unheated refuges, sub-zero cold and hundreds of kilometres of rough tracks.
Sources (4)

Before you go

Bolivia: entry, safety, money, flights, laws and budget — with sources.

Entry

Russian citizens: visa-free for up to 90 days in every 180 days (2016 agreement). Your passport needs at least 6 months of validity; at the border you fill in immigration, customs and health forms. Some areas require a yellow fever vaccination.

Rules for any passport

Checked 2 November 2026. These are the rules for a Russian citizen with an international passport on a tourist trip. For other passports and purposes, see the official website — the button above.

Sources (2)

Safety

No Russian Foreign Ministry advice to refrain from travel (as of 02.11.2026). The Ministry strongly advises against the rural areas of Chapare and warns of frequent road blockades.

Sources (2)

Money and cards

The Mir card does not work. Bring dollars in cash — new notes without tears.

Sources (2)

Flights

There are no direct flights. Connections are via Istanbul, Dubai, Doha and other hubs.

Sources (1)

Laws and bans

  • Drugs: long prison terms.
  • Coca leaf is legal in Bolivia, but in Russia it is on List I of narcotic drugs — bringing it in is prohibited.
  • Historical and archaeological objects may be taken out only with a permit.
Sources (3)

Budget

prices about the same as in Russia · price level 0.39 (US = 1), 2025

Prices are about the same as in Russia. The fees for the Uyuni and Eduardo Avaroa reserves could not be officially confirmed — they are usually included in the tour.

The price level is the ratio of purchasing power parity for household consumption to the market exchange rate (World Bank). These are national averages: resorts and capitals cost more, the countryside less. Flights are not included.

Sources (1)