THE GUIDE - The Rough Guide to Bolivia - page 264

office at Laguna Colorada. Make sure you get a ticket when you pay; otherwise the money
is unlikely to end up funding wildlife protection, as is intended.
ACCOMMODATION AND EATING
Onthelessexpensivetripsaccommodationisinverybasic huts or refuges .Foodisusually
little more than adequate, so it's worth taking along some extra supplies. On the more ex-
pensive trips, by contrast, there are some very comfortable hotels with equally good res-
taurants.
CUSTOMIZE YOUR SALAR TOUR
While the classic three-day trip is very rewarding, there is a lot of scope for creating your
own tour. As well as reversing the three-day circuit (which allows you to see the Salar
in glorious morning light on the final day) you can add in a connection to San Pedro de
Atacama inChile or Tupiza . There are also some excellent hotels tostay at (see Organized
tours from Tupiza ). If you have the time and money, a four-day (or longer) trip gives you
more time to explore, the chance to escape other tour groups, and the opportunity to build
in extra activities: volcano climbing is increasing popular and several hikes are possible.
There are also other, less-touristed regions of the Salar to visit including, in the far south,
the Gruta de las Galaxias and the Cueva del Diablo : the former is filled with petrified
coral and algae, the latter has a pre-Inca cemetery. North of the Salar is another salt flat, the
Salar de Coipasa . There are several other lakes to visit, including the beautiful Laguna
Celeste , as well as the bizarre, haunting formations of the Valles de Rocas . The mining
town of San Cristóba l also makes an interesting stop-off.
Laguna Colorada
Soon after entering the Reserva Eduardo Avaroa the main track drops down to the extraordin-
ary blood-red waters of Laguna Colorada , the reserve's biggest lake. It owes its bizarre red
colour, which changes in intensity during the day, to the natural pigments of the algae that
live in its shallow, mineral-laden water. These algae are also a rich source of food for flamin-
gos, all three species of which nest here in large numbers - the lake is thought to be the single
biggest nesting site of the rare James flamingo in the world. The fringes of the lake are en-
crusted with bright white deposits of ice and borax, a mineral used in paint, acid and glass
manufacture. The park office is here, as well as several basic huts and refuges where many
tour groups spend the night. It gets bitterly cold, with temperatures often dropping below
-20°C.
Sol de Mañana geyser and Laguna Polques
You need to set off before dawn the next morning in sub-zero temperatures to enjoy the full
spectacle of the Sol de Mañana geyser . Set at an altitude of 5000m amid boiling pools of
mud and sulphur, the geyser's high-pressure jet of steam shoots out from the earth to a great