What is Laguna Colorada and why is it red?

Laguna Colorada is a relatively shallow salt lake in the Eduardo Avaroa Reserve, and it’s famous for waters that look blood red to the eye. People say the deep tone shows up because of red sediments, plus the pigmentation coming from a couple of specific algae, Dunaliella salina, which do well in mineral-rich water.

This lake becomes one of the best moments on the 3-day Uyuni tour. The red algae acts as the main food supply for James’s, Chilean, and Andean flamingos, so they gather at the water, and their plumage gets that pinkish cast. When you see the red surface next to the pale borax islands, and then the blue sky above, it ends up as one of those Bolivian landscapes that gets photographed again and again.