Bolivia’s unusual cemetery of abandoned trains

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – In the heart of the high desert in southwest Bolivia is one of the most striking, fascinating and even spooky places in the altiplano. Three kilometers from the Bolivian city of Uyuni, at the gates of the world’s largest salt flat, dozens of trains from the past century lie corroded in the open.

The Train Cemetery is home to old freight cars and locomotives that have been abandoned for over half a century in the middle of the desert. These railroads, rusted by the passage of time, climatic conditions and victims of looting, are witnesses and a reflection of the area’s history. Until the beginning of the pandemic, they hosted hundreds of tourists every day, as it is usually the first stop for excursions that go into the Uyuni salt flat.

The place where the old locomotives are located is not a museum as such, with its proper care, it is a dump of iron and metal, victims of the passage of time and dismantling by opportunists looking to sell parts. Notwithstanding, the trains still retain their original shape, making the locomotives an unforgettable tribute to a bygone era.
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