Uyuni, Transportation hub in Potosí Department, Bolivia.
Uyuni is a small town in southwestern Bolivia that serves as a starting point for tours to the nearby salt flat. Streets run in a grid pattern, low buildings with flat roofs line the roads, and corrugated metal shacks stand beside dusty tracks at the town edge.
The town was founded in 1889 when railway lines were built through this region to carry minerals from mines in the Andes to Pacific ports. Mining declined in the 20th century, leading to the closure of many tracks.
The name comes from a war hero, Avelino Aramayo, also called Colonel, whose family worked in mining. Travelers today see quinoa fields near town and watch llamas used as pack animals in the dry surroundings.
The place sits at 3700 meters (12,140 feet) elevation, so visitors should take time to adjust to the thin air. Accommodations and restaurants are found in the town center, where tour agencies organize trips to the surrounding area.
Outside the town lies a graveyard of old steam locomotives that were simply left standing on the tracks after mining declined. Some still carry signs showing their original destinations, while the wind slowly scours paint from the metal.
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