Cementerio de Trenes
Uyuni has two tourist attractions.
On the outskirts of Uyuni.
If you look one way you see the mountains I came from. Turn 180 degrees and you are looking at flat desert. Another great place to film a western--mountains, desert, no telephone wires. And add
to that--
The train cemetery.
Like most countries, Bolivia once had a more extensive rail network. The trains were kept busy hauling minerals from the mines in the mountains. There were a number of reasons why it declined in this region about seventy years ago. Some of these I got from reading and some from sitting near a tour group that had an English-speaking guide. (Travel tip: don't be shy about hanging around the edges of tour groups.)
The indigenous Andeans didn't like the railway.
The trains were fueled by charcoal, and they ran out of trees to make it from.
The minerals ran out.
After the Chaco War in the 1930's there was a severe labour shortage because so many men were killed in the war.
Probably all these figured into it. So when the trains were no longer of use, they were gathered here. Despite the years of rusting and scavenging, there are still a lot of relics here.
The indigenous Andeans didn't like the railway.
The trains were fueled by charcoal, and they ran out of trees to make it from.
The minerals ran out.
After the Chaco War in the 1930's there was a severe labour shortage because so many men were killed in the war.
Probably all these figured into it. So when the trains were no longer of use, they were gathered here. Despite the years of rusting and scavenging, there are still a lot of relics here.
Much of the equipment has been stripped for other uses--boilers, pipes, wiring, wood.
Those cars are mostly micros that carry tour groups.
One place I didn't get to was the village of Pulacayo, a UNESCO World Heritage site maybe ten km. from Uyuni. It is a village of about 700, and had the second largest silver mine in the world (after Potosí).
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid lived and died in this end of Bolivia. In Pulacayo there is still a train they robbed, complete with bullet holes.
It's on my list for my next trip to Bolivia.
One place I didn't get to was the village of Pulacayo, a UNESCO World Heritage site maybe ten km. from Uyuni. It is a village of about 700, and had the second largest silver mine in the world (after Potosí).
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid lived and died in this end of Bolivia. In Pulacayo there is still a train they robbed, complete with bullet holes.
It's on my list for my next trip to Bolivia.