
Salar de Uyuni —
The largest salt flat in the world, Salar de Uyuni is a highlight of a multi-day landscape safari across Bolivia's high plains. But there are plenty more photo ops.

Harsh beauty —
Start the trip on the Chilean-Bolivian border (you can do it in reverse) and the startling Laguna Blanca is the first lagoon you encounter after entering the Eduardo Avaroa Andean Fauna National Reserve.

Big green world —
The product of arsenic and other minerals, Laguna Verde's green hue changes from turquoise to dark emerald as winds shift sediments.

Offroading, the Bolivian Way —
Almost the entire route between Bolivia's dusty town of Uyuni and San Pedro de Atacama, just over the border in Chile, is made up of dirt roads. Drivers often go off-roading through the desert.

High oasis —
In icy winds at more than 13,700 feet above sea level, the 96 F (35.5 C) Termas de Polques hot springs provide a warm refuge for dusty travelers.

Flamingo photo op —
The deep rust-red Laguna Colorado is a breeding ground for James's Flamingos. The mesmerizing birds are nonchalant about photographers standing feet away from them on shore.

Pastel beauties —
Bolivia's southwest altiplano is home to three species of flamingos, James's, Andean and Chilean. The flamingos get their pastel pink color from carotenoids in the crustaceans they eat in the salty water of the lagoons.

Rare wildlife —
There's little wildlife on the trip, though you do see lots of flamingos, the occasional flock of vicunas, lone Andean foxes and llamas decorated with colorful pieces of string near the area's few tiny settlements.

Dreamscape —
In the middle of the Salar de Uyuni, Isla Incahuasi pops up like something out of a dream. An island of giant cactus, it's the remains of a volcano that was submerged when the area was part of a prehistoric lake.

Licancabur —
One of the world's highest lakes sits at the summit of the active Licancabur volcano, which tops out at 17,717 feet above sea level.