‘World Theme Travel – Bolivia? Bolivia!’ Part 2, ‘Salt Desert, Uyuni’, will be broadcast on EBS1 TV at 8:40 pm today (22nd).
A strange country, Bolivia? So, Bolivia is a country I’m even more curious about!
Average altitude above sea level is 4,000m! A story of a thousand colors unfolding in the country of the plateau. A time spent immersed in unrealistic scenery and the deep indigenous culture of South America, the land of the earth goddess ‘Pachamama’ who supports the sky and serves the earth.
A living tradition, encounter the spirit of Cholita La Paz, Yungas
In search of Uyuni’s two charming faces, Uyuni Salt Flats
Lake Titicaca, the birthplace of the Inca civilization, the Sea of the Incas
Potosi and Santa Cruz, where colorful tribal culture and history are alive
What does the Uyuni Salt Flats (Salar de Uyuni), loved by people around the world, look like during the dry season? After taking a night bus for ten hours, we arrived at Uyuni, the gateway city to the Uyuni Salt Flats. The Uyuni Salt Flat, located at an altitude of 3,650 meters above sea level, is the world’s largest salt flat, created long ago when a glacial lake in the Andes evaporated.
Admire the polygonal salt crystals that only appear during the dry season, and enjoy the dry season of the salt flat by taking life-changing photos using perspective on a vast salt field. However, something unique stands out among the salt flats. It’s a cactus! We also visit Isla Incahuasi, which is full of cacti that can only be found during the dry season when the desert dries out.
People also live in the Uyuni Salt Flats. Colchani village, where salt collected from the salt flats is processed. At the salt factory here, salt is ground and dried to make edible salt. There is so much salt in the air that even the air is salty. For the factory owner, who has worked at a salt factory for 60 years since he was 5 years old, the Uyuni Salt Flats are his home and lifelong workplace. We make edible salt together and go to Uyuni, not a tourist destination but a place where someone’s life unfolds.
I came to the Uyuni Desert during the dry season, but as if I was lucky, I was greeted by the cheerful sound of water. The salt flat with stagnant water becomes a second sky above the vast salt flats. I capture the ecstasy of the salt desert bathed in red sunset light and the night of the Milky Way with stars from all over the world pouring down into my memories.
Deep in the desert, you can find unrealistically colorful lakes. The mystery of nature unfolds on a lake of various colors, including green and red. We also meet wild Vicuña, a relative of the llama, and a flock of pink flamingos at Laguna Hedionda, a lake at 4,100 meters above sea level.
He receives an unexpected favor from a woman he meets by chance in the salt flats. When she asks me to take her to her mother who lives in the Altiplano Plateau, I happily accompany her. An encounter with the strong grandmother Cholita, who lives with about 50 llamas, overcoming the strong winds and harshness of the alpine region. The strength of Grandmother Cholita, who takes her llamas to the pasture three times a day at a fast pace even in the strong wind of the highlands! Llamas, which never waste their fur, meat, or fat, are like family to Bolivians. However, in order to raise a llama, you must live independently away from the village. Join the llamas in their daily routine and be invited to the grandmother’s house to taste dried llama meat called charqui. Let’s take a look into the vast and barren nature and the colorful landscape of life embraced by the Andes Mountains.
Economy Queen Reporter Park Yu-mi Photo provided by EBS World Theme Travel
.