Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
pasa is extremely poor and the salt is thin so it's easy to get stuck, especially during the
rainy season. If you go, make sure the vehicle and the driver are reliable. The salt-mining
village of Coipasa, which (not surprisingly) is constructed mainly of salt, occupies an is-
land in the middle of the
salar
. You can also reach the Salar de Coipasa from Oruro de-
partment.
LÍPEZ LAKES
The blue lake of
Laguna Celeste
or, more romantically, 'heaven lake,' is still very much a
peripheral trip for most Uyuni agencies, but it's gaining popularity with adventurous trav-
elers as a one-day detour. A local legend suggests the presence of a submerged ruin, pos-
sibly a
chullpa,
in the lake. Behind the lake, a road winds its way up
Volcán Uturuncu
(6020m) to the
Uturuncu sulfur mine
, in a 5900m pass between the mountain's twin
cones. That means it's more than 200m higher than the road over the Khardung La in
Ladakh, India, making it quite possibly the highest motorable pass in the world.
In the vast eastern reaches of Sud Lípez are numerous other fascinating mineral-rich
lakes that are informally named for their odd coloration and have so far escaped much at-
tention. Various milky-looking lakes are known as
Laguna Blanca
(White Lake), sulfur-
colored lakes are
Laguna Amarilla
(Yellow Lake) and wine-colored ones are known as
Laguna Guinda
(Cherry Lake).
Laguna Cañapa
and
Laguna Hedionda
are also part of
some circuits. You can negotiate to add any of these to a tailored circuit.
QUETENA CHICO & AROUND
About 120km northeast of Laguna Verde and 30km southwest of Laguna Celeste is the
small mining settlement of Quetena Chico, which has a few basic services and supplies, a
military post and a couple of simple
albergues
(hostels). It also has the
Centro de Ecolo-
gía Ch'aska
, where you can see an exhibition about the geology and biology of the Los
Lípez region, and the lives of the local llama herders.
Just 6km southeast from here is the picturesque abandoned village of
Barrancas
, which
nestles against a craggy cliff.
To the northeast, and well off the standard circuit (although visited by some of the tours
from Tupiza), the village of
San Pablo de Lípez
offers the latest Tayka Hoteles (
Click
here
)
property,
Hotel Tayka de Los Volcanes
(
7202-0069;
www.taykahoteles.com
;
s/d US$100/110)
, a high-end option near the Argentinian border.
Heading back toward Uyuni, the village of
Villa Mar
has an interesting
mercado artes-
anal
(craft market) that's worth a visit. Stretch your legs by strolling the 4km to some of
the area's most spectacular
pinturas rupestres
(rock paintings), with impressive human
figures wearing headdresses, and incised animals. There are several simple
albergues
in
