A red, shallow salt lagoon at about 4,280 m, dotted with white borax islands and flamingos.
About Laguna Colorada
Laguna Colorada, the “Red Lagoon”, is a shallow, hypersaline lake at about 4,278 m in Bolivia’s Eduardo Avaroa reserve. Red sediments and salt-loving algae give the water colours from soft pink to deep crimson, changing with light and temperature, and white islands of borax break the surface. It is a key breeding ground for Andean, Chilean and James’s flamingos, which feed on the plankton that keeps them pink. Vicuñas, Andean foxes and llamas live on the dry plateau around it. The lagoon has been a Ramsar wetland since 1990.
Getting there
- Best months
- Not stated
- Nearest airport / gateway
- Uyuni Airport (UYU), with flights from La Paz and Cochabamba. The lagoon is visited on multi-day jeep tours from Uyuni.
- Permits & fees
- Eduardo Avaroa reserve entry: Bs 150 for foreigners, paid on site.
- Sources
- en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Uyuni
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laguna_Colorada
Photos of Laguna Colorada
