Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Wara Wara offers a cheaper service and leaves Uyuni Tuesday and Friday at 1:45am for
Oruro (1st/coach/normal B$95/44/32); it heads south to Atocha, Tupiza and Villazón on
Thursday and Monday at 2:50am.
A train for Avaroa on the Chilean border departs on Monday at 3am (B$32, five hours).
From here you cross to Ollagüe and may have to wait a few hours to clear Chilean cus-
toms. Another train then continues to Calama (B$91 from Uyuni, six hours from Ollagüe).
The whole trip can take up to 24 hours but it's a spectacular, if uncomfortable, journey.
Taking a bus to Calama is more reliable.
BOLIVIA: SET TO BECOME THE SAUDI ARABIA
OF LITHIUM?
Bolivia holds the key to an environmentally sustainable future - 50% of the world's lithium deposits, a mineral
essential for hybrid and electric vehicles, is found in the salt flats of Uyuni.
Several major players in the global auto industry have their eyes set on this untapped potential. And while
Bolivia's previous governments would have happily sold off its lithium reserves to foreign companies, it's not go-
ing to happen under Evo Morales. Faithful to his anti-capitalist rhetoric, he has continually rejected bids from in-
ternational mining companies and, so far, successfully warded off outside involvement in this precious mineral.
With an investment of US$6 million, Comibol, the state agency that oversees mining projects, is currently con-
structing a pilot plant in the salt flats. The project has seen numerous setbacks, but continues slowly forward.
Car manufacturers predict that the world will need 500 kilotonnes per year to service a niche market, with that
figure to rise if electric cars become the norm. If the demand for eco-vehicles does rise, the world's existing sup-
ply of lithium will be outstripped by 2015. Critics claim that Bolivia doesn't have the technology to extract lithi-
um quickly and efficiently enough, which may thwart its plans to become the Saudi Arabia of lithium.
Salar de Uyuni
An evocative and eerie sight, the world's largest salt flat (12,106 sq km) sits at 3653m
(11,984ft). When the surface is dry, the
salar
is a pure white expanse of the greatest noth-
ing imaginable - just blue sky, white ground and you. When there's a little water, the sur-
face perfectly reflects the clouds and the blue Altiplano sky, and the horizon disappears. If
you're driving across the surface at such times, the effect is positively surreal, and it's
hard to believe that you're not actually flying through the clouds.
The Salar de Uyuni is now a center of salt extraction and processing, particularly
around the settlement of Colchani (
Click here
)
. The estimated annual output of the Col-
