Roadtrip on another planet

Name: Codi
Price range: $

Salar de Uyuni in southwest Bolivia is the world’s largest salt flats. What used to be a prehistoric lake has long since dried up, and now stretches out for 11,000 square kilometers as a salty desert. In the rainy season the whole desert fills up with a thin layer of water, creating an otherworldly view.

The year is 2018, and my best friend and I are travelling around South America with our backpacks. We’re 19 years old and keen for adventures. Our main mode of transport across the continent is buses, with a few hitchhikes here and there. We’ve just stepped of yet another long and bumpy bus ride, and arrived in a small town called Uyuni. From here we’re going to drive for three days until we get to San Pedro de Atacama, a desert town in northern Chile.

In Uyuni we meet our guide for the trip, and pack into the car together with a few other travellers. Shortly after we’ve left the small town of Uyuni we drive onto the salt flats, and it’s like we’ve entered another planet.

Salar de Uyuni 0946 Tilde Bergstrom — Salar de Uyuni

The thin layer of water on the salt flats creates a mirror effect that stretches along as far as the eye can see. There’s no way to distinguish between the land and the sky, and it feels like we’re just floating in this blissful existence of blue and salt.

Salar de Uyuni 0926 Tilde Bergstrom — Salar de Uyuni

The undistinctable horizon allows for plenty of opportunities to play around with photos and perception of depth.

Arbol de piedra 1130 Tilde Bergstrom — Arbol de Piedra

The next morning we leave the salt flats behind and enter a new desert landscape, with dry ground, mountains and incredible rock formations. The jewel is “Arbol de Piedra” - "the stone tree", rising up five metres tall as a lone figure in a vast empty stretch of land, shaped after millions of years of erosion from wind.

Laguna Canapa 1110 Tilde Bergstrom — Laguna Cañapa

We continue on through landscapes like nothing else we’ve ever seen, lagoons of all different colours, full of pink flamingos. Snowcovered volcanic peaks loom up behind the lagoons, and we keep asking ourselves, are we really still on planet earth?

Laguna Colorada 1161 Tilde Bergstrom — Laguna Colorada

The famous Red Lagoon gets its colour from algae which provides important nutrients for the flamingos who come here to breed every year.

Sol de Manana Geysers 1207 Tilde Bergstrom — Sol de Mañana Geysers

The last stop before we reach our end destination are the Sol de Mañana Geysers, and perhaps it's here that the feeling of exploring another planet reaches its peak. It's not hard to imagine one self in a space suit, exploring the rugged landscape of a new planet.

Sol de Manana Geysers 1223 Tilde Bergstrom — Sol de Mañana Geysers

The geysers are aptly named, lighting up as the morning sun shines on the steam rising from the ground.

Sol de Manana Geysers 1187 Tilde Bergstrom — Sol de Mañana Geysers

When we arrive at our destination, this otherworldly experience cements something within me. Why dream of exploring space and visiting other planets, when our own planet is so incredibly diverse, fascinating and beautiful? The natural world here is more than enough for a lifetime of exploration, and I’m continuously in awe of the incredible diversity it holds. All we need to do is make sure we protect it.

All pictures by Tilde Bergström