Bolivia's sureal rainbow landscape

[Highlander]

The Salar de Uyuni salt flat is on many people's bucket list, but most do not know that the area surrounding this monochromatic scene is bursting with colour.




The largest salt flat on Earth
Stretching across more than 10,500 sq km in the Andean Plateau at an altitude of 3,656m, Salar de Uyuni is the largest salt flat in the world and by far Bolivia’s most popular tourist destination. Visitors come here from across the globe to explore this one-of-a-kind monochromatic landscape. (Credit: Juan Martinez)

[Highlander]

Black dots in the middle of nothingness
Volcanic outcrops look like islands in the middle of the salt flat, forming black dots on the colourless landscape. The most famous of these is known as 'the house of the Inca', or 'Incahuasi' in Quechua, and was used by the Inca as a temporary refuge when travelling across the salt flat.

As I walked around the outcrop, which rises 40m, rare coral-like structures and seashell fossils were visible. These are the last remains of a giant prehistoric lake, Lake Minchin, which dried up between 20,000 and 40,000 years ago. (Credit: Juan Martinez)

[Highlander]

An ecosystem of giant cacti
Across Incahausi, thousands of giant cacti (Trichocereus pasacana) slowly reach toward the sky. These exotic plants, which grow just 1cm to 2cm a year, can reach heights of more than 10m and ages of up to 300 years. (Credit: Juan Martinez)

[Highlander]

Where sky and Earth meet
Since the salt flat does not vary more than 1m in height from any single point to another, rain or water overflow from the nearby lakes can transform the area into a giant lake. For that reason, the most beautiful time for visiting Salar de Uyuni is right after the rainy season (December to March or April). During this period, a very thin layer of water converts the salt flat into a vast mirror that reflects the movements of clouds in the sky. (Credit: Juan Martinez)

[Highlander]

From a colourless landscape to a multi-coloured world
According to experts at Bolivia’s National Service of Protected Areas (SERNAP), the powerful underground forces that shaped the Salar de Uyuni have affected much of south-western Bolivia. Less than 300km south of Salar de Uyuni, the Eduardo Avaroa National Andean Wildlife Reserve encompasses numerous colourful geothermal features such as the Sol de Mañana (Morning Sun) geyser basin, home to one of the most diverse landscapes in the country. (Credit: Juan Martinez)

[Highlander]

A geyser best seen in the morning
The Sol de Manaña is peppered with geysers, fumaroles and mudpots continuously allowing bubbling water and sulphur gas to escape the Earth's crust.

Right after sunrise, caravans of vehicles arrive in Sol de Mañana to view the solfataras (natural hot springs). Mornings here can be extremely cold, and with large temperature differences between air and the underground gases, geothermic activity is most visible at this time, with eruptions reaching heights of up to 100m. (Credit: Juan Martinez)

[Highlander]

A lagoon as red as bloodJust 45km from Sol de Mañana within the wildlife reserve, at an altitude of nearly 4,300m, is the Laguna Colorada (Red Lagoon). This shallow salt lake is less than 1m deep and is mostly known for the vibrant red colour of its water.

The lake's hue is caused by several underground hot springs that raise the temperature of the mineral-rich water, allowing the growth of the algae Dunaliella salina. The red pigments of these algae, along with the sediments of zooplankton and phytoplankton, are responsible for this unique colouration. (Credit: Juan Martinez)

[Highlander]

A paradise for flamingos
The Laguna Colorada’s waters provide the perfect environment for nesting flamingos, as its waters have a large supply of plankton and the rocky, muddy shores deter predators. Out of the world’s six species of flamingo, three can be found in this lagoon: Andean, Chilean, and James’s. In fact, the James’s flamingo was rediscovered here in 1957 after it was thought to be extinct for several decades. (Credit: Juan Martinez)

[Highlander]

A surreal spectacle of nature
What makes Laguna Colorada so picturesque is the perfect balance between the natural elements and their vivid colours. White borax deposits and green and yellow moss contrast the fiery red of the water to create a kaleidoscopic scene.

Unfortunately, this multi-coloured environment could drastically change soon. In early 2019, the Ministry of Economy and Finance approved a project to construct a geothermal plant only 40km away from Laguna Colorada – a project that the late biologist Eliana Flores strongly opposed as the extraction of the thermal waters would disrupt the natural dynamics of the aquifer. "Continuing with the construction of the geothermal plant represents the extinction of the James's flamingo, as well the destruction of this fragile ecosystem," she wrote in 2012 for the Bolivian newspaper La Razon. (Credit: Juan Martinez)

[Highlander]

Lagoons with different types of minerals
The Laguna Colorada is not the only colourful lake in the region. Near the south-western corner of the Eduardo Avaroa National Andean Wildlife Reserve, the Laguna Verde (Green Lagoon) and the Laguna Blanca (White Lagoon) coexist just metres away from each other. The Laguna Verde has a mint colour due the large amounts of arsenic and copper, while the milky hues of the Laguna Blanca are caused by borax in the water.

"Sometimes we have seismic activity and we can’t see the true colours of the lagoon," said Mauro Berna, a tour guide who accompanied me around the region. However, other theories imply the colouration of the waters depends on the temperature, time of the day and wind. (Credit: Juan Martinez)

[Highlander]

A scene from an alien planet
Maybe it was the icy morning temperatures or the borax dust blowing across the water’s surface, but being in that location and time was like wandering around an abandoned alien planet. (Credit: Juan Martinez)

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