The amazing natural phenomenon is created during the rainy season. Clouds and blue sky are reflected in the few inches of clear water and the light contact with wet surface gives you the feeling as you walk in the clouds. Seems impossible to distinguish where the land ends and the sky begins. In the dry season (April - October) the paradise becomes a salt desert.
40,000 years ago, the place was covered by the waters of Lake Minchin, a giant prehistoric lake. When it has dried, it left behind two small salt lakes, Uru Uru and Poopo, and two plates saline: Salar de Coipasa and endless Salar de Uyuni. Every year are harvested 25,000 tons of salt which is exported all over the world.
Salar Uyuni is possible to be the most visited tour destination in the country. Over 60,000 tourists arrive here each year. The Uyuni salt desert attracts some strange wildlife too. Most amazing is the fact that thousands of flamingos spend several months here, arriving near the month of November each year. This is very unusual, since normally flamingos are considered a tropical bird and the Bolivian highlands are arid, cold and windy. Other than the flamingos, you'll see little else other than rodents, insects and a few other birds.
The vegetation is dominated by giant cacti ( Echinopsis atacamensis pasacana , Echinopsis tarijensis , etc.). They grow at a rate of about 1 centimeter per year to a height of about 12 meters. Other shrubs include Pilaya and Thola ( Baccharis dracunculifolia ), which is burned as a fuel. Also present are quinoa plants and quenua bushes. Despite the lack of plant life and wildlife, Uyuni is a beautiful area.
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