Laguna Colorada and Termas de Polques

Our final stops in the Eduardo Avaroa Andean Fauna National Reserve were Laguna Colorada and Termas de Polque. Both spots amazed us with their scenery and provided yet another opportunity to see wild flamingoes.

Both these locations provided excellent opportunities for flying the drone and getting some aerial images, although we did keep it quite high so we didn’t interfere with the wildlife.

Here are some images from both land and air of these two locations, our last stop in Bolivia before we headed to Chile’s Atacama Desert.

Lagoons at Eduardo Avaroa National Park

Besides the stunning wildlife, the Eduardo Avaroa Andean Fauna National Reserve is dotted with many spectacular lagoons. Following on from Laguna Hedionda, we made our way through several more, such as Laguna Charcota and Laguna Verde. Most lagoons provide the opportunity to spot flamingoes, as well as other local wildlife.

Sunrise with Flamingoes

During our trip through Bolivia we stayed at a small hotel on the edge of Laguna Hedionda, home to hundreds of wild flamingoes. We had planned to photograph the sunrise at this location but upon our arrival it seemed like that wasn’t going to happen: there was torrential rain and a thick cloud cover over the mountains. Luckily for us, the cloud cover brought fresh snow onto the mountains and then swiftly disappeared by the next morning. It was an extremely cold shoot at 5am, but definitely worth it!

Keep scrolling for some beautifully pink-tinted skies and similarly pink flamingoes.

Siloli Desert Highlights

The Siloli Desert is a wonderfully dramatic landscape. It seemed almost surreal to walk through its vast planes and occasionally encounter a completely new and colourful scenery. One of my favourite spots was the Sol de la Mañana Geyser, which is a magical sight from both the land and the air.

Here are some of my photos, featuring the Salvador Dalí Desert, the geyser, and the Montaña de Siete Colores (seven-coloured mountain).

Onto the Desert

The way from Uyuni to the Andes is a bumpy but magnificent one. It’s a long drive through the surreal landscapes of Camino de las Rocas until you reach the Siloli Desert in the Eduardo Abaroa Andean Fauna National Reserve. I will cover this scenery in a few separate blog posts over the next couple of weeks, as I came away with too many spectacular images to fit into a single post.

Here are some highlights from the road and Árbol de Piedra (stone tree) in the Siloli Desert.

There and Back Again: Hobbiton

The final stop on our North Island Roadtrip was Hobbiton, the movie set used in the Lord of the Rings trilogy (and subsequently in The Hobbit trilogy) directed by Peter Jackson.

As a huge Tolkien fan, this was something I was incredibly excited about. Walking through Hobbiton was a magical experience, taking me right back to the fantastical stories of Middle Earth. The tour (the only way to visit this location) was unfortunately very rushed and not particularly interesting (I didn't learn much), so I wish I could have visited of my own accord or at least had longer to walk through the scenery.

Even so, I did come out of it with some lovely photos.