What's on in Uyuni, Bolivia through the year

Shoulder season — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Nature

  The mirror on the salar

  1 Jan – 31 Mar · usuallyHigh water

  A few centimetres of water sit on the salt through the wet months and the flat turns into a mirror of the sky. Tours only reach the edges of it, and the island in the middle is usually off the itinerary. Source ↗

Still on: Altiplanic winter (15 Dec – 15 Mar (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: The mirror on the salar (1 Jan – 31 Mar (usually)), Altiplanic winter (15 Dec – 15 Mar (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in March.

Still on: The mirror on the salar (1 Jan – 31 Mar (usually)), Altiplanic winter (15 Dec – 15 Mar (usually))

Shoulder season — an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in April.

Shoulder season — an ordinary month

• Season

  Dry crossing season

  1 May – 15 Nov · usuallyDry season

  Once the water has gone the salt dries into hexagons and vehicles cross the whole flat to the cactus island and the far shore. This is the version with the horizon trick photos, not the mirror.

Quiet — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

• Season

  The cold nights

  1 Jun – 31 AugExtreme cold

  Midwinter nights on the salt and at the lagoon refuges go far below freezing with no heating worth the name. Tour agencies hire out sleeping bags because their own blankets are not enough.

Still on: Dry crossing season (1 May – 15 Nov (usually))

Quiet — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in July.

Still on: Dry crossing season (1 May – 15 Nov (usually)), The cold nights (1 Jun – 31 Aug)

Quiet — one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Dry crossing season (1 May – 15 Nov (usually)), The cold nights (1 Jun – 31 Aug)

Shoulder season — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in September.

Still on: Dry crossing season (1 May – 15 Nov (usually))

Busy — one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in October.

Still on: Dry crossing season (1 May – 15 Nov (usually))

Busy — one of its best months for weather

• Nature

  Flamingos breeding

  1 Nov – 31 Dec · usuallyBirdlife season

  Three flamingo species nest on the salar and the lagoons around it from November, which is the one time of year the birds are the reason to come rather than a detail of the drive. Source ↗

Still on: Dry crossing season (1 May – 15 Nov (usually))

Busy — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

• Season

  Altiplanic winter

  15 Dec – 15 Mar · usuallyRiskClosures

  Storms build over the altiplano through the southern summer and the tracks south to the coloured lagoons and the geysers become a lottery. Operators cut the three-day loop short when they have to.

Still on: Flamingos breeding (1 Nov – 31 Dec (usually))