San Pedro de Atacama to Uyuni: How the Crossing Works

The Hito Cajón Pass

The border crossing is at Portezuelo del Cajón, better known as Hito Cajón. It sits at 4,480 m (14,700 ft) on the lower southeast flank of Juriques volcano, close to Licancabur, inside the Eduardo Avaroa reserve near Laguna Verde and Laguna Blanca. Bolivian customs are processed right at the pass summit.

The geography of the crossing is unusual in one important way. Chilean customs formalities are completed in San Pedro de Atacama town itself, about 45 km (28 mi) from the pass. So the exit stamp happens before you leave town, and the border post at the pass handles the Bolivian side. Tour operators build this into day one: paperwork in San Pedro in the morning, then the drive up to the pass.

Tour jeep versus public bus

Almost everyone crosses on a jeep tour, because the route between the border and Uyuni passes through the lagoons and deserts of the reserve, and that is the point of the trip. A direct public bus does exist in the other direction, from Uyuni to San Pedro de Atacama, but it is a long haul rather than a sightseeing trip. Details are in the bus section below.

Note that there is no bus that crosses at Hito Cajón itself. The public bus route crosses at Avaroa-Ollagüe instead, a completely different border, so the bus is a transport option only and skips the reserve entirely. If you want the lagoons and the salt flat, you need the tour. For what the lagoon route contains stop by stop, see our Laguna Colorada and southwest lagoons guide.

San Pedro to Uyuni, 4 days

The 4-day round trip from San Pedro de Atacama is the option for travelers who want to start and finish in Chile. The San Pedro de Atacama: 4-Day Uyuni Salt Flats Tour costs $332, lasts 4 days and 3 nights, and returns to San Pedro at the end. It runs Laguna Blanca, Laguna Verde, the Salvador Dalí Desert, the Polques hot springs, the Sol de Mañana geysers, Laguna Colorada and then the salt flat and Incahuasi Island.

Because it loops back into Chile, you cross the border twice and you keep your onward flights and buses in Chile intact.

Uyuni to San Pedro, 3 days

The classic route runs from Uyuni across to the Chilean border. The 3-day tour ending in San Pedro de Atacama costs $450 and includes the transfer into Chile in the listed price, with meals and 2 nights of accommodation. It covers the salt flat, the Siloli Desert, the reserve, the geysers, the hot springs and the Green Lagoon, and drops you in San Pedro. This suits travelers continuing south into Chile or Argentina.

Most 3-day tours from Uyuni, however, end back in Uyuni and treat San Pedro as a paid extra. The 3-day salt flat and colored lagoons tour lists at $290 and finishes in Uyuni or San Pedro, but the border transfer is not included. The 3-day Laguna Colorada tour lists at $309.90 and names the onward bus to San Pedro as an optional $25 extra. Check that line before booking, because it changes the real cost of the crossing by more than the price gap between tours suggests. Read our Uyuni tour cost breakdown for the full picture.

Fees paid in cash

Foreign visitors pay 150 Bs (about $13) to enter the Eduardo Avaroa reserve, in cash, and this fee is usually not included in tour packages. Isla Incahuasi adds around 30 Bs (about $3) per person, paid at a booth at the island's base. The Termas de Polques hot springs charge around 5 Bs for the changing room, and the pool itself has no separate admission. The Andes Salt Expeditions and Tours Transandino 3-day listings both exclude the sleeping bag, so budget for a rental there.

The 4-day tour from San Pedro does not list park entrance fees among its confirmed inclusions, even though a line in its Includes text mentions them, and its listing suggests carrying 300 Bolivianos in cash for entrances and purchases. That honesty matters: budget the cash before you go, and note there are no ATMs near the salt flat. Our packing list for Uyuni covers the cash question in full.

Cash totals also depend on where you change money. The dollar figures on this page use a market rate of 1 USD = 11.24 Bs. Bolivia's central bank published an official rate of Bs 11.52 per US dollar, and a higher parallel street rate also exists that is not an official quotation.

Leaving Chile: customs and the SAG declaration

Chilean customs are completed in San Pedro de Atacama town, before the jeep departs for the pass. Anyone entering Chile, which on the return leg means you, must make a sworn declaration to SAG, Chile's agricultural service, covering any plant or animal-origin goods, byproducts, handicrafts made from them, agricultural chemicals, veterinary pharmaceuticals or animal feed. Failure to declare risks fines and confiscation.

The categories commonly barred from entry without prior authorization include milk, butter, cream and cheese, fresh fruit and vegetables, meats and cured meats, seeds, grains and dried fruit, and ornamental plants or parts of them. Practically, the cheese, fruit and cured-meat snacks bought in Bolivia cannot come back into Chile in your daypack. Coca leaf is legal in Bolivia but becomes an illegal narcotic under international law once carried out of the coca-producing countries. Finish or leave these before the Chilean checkpoint.

Entering Bolivia: visas and registration

For US citizens the visa rule changed at the end of 2025. Bolivia ended the visa requirement for US tourists and business travelers, who can now enter visa-free for tourism for up to 90 days. The US Embassy in Bolivia announced the change publicly, a couple of weeks after a message saying visas were still required. The sources used here cover only the US change, so other nationalities should confirm their own rules with a Bolivian consulate.

Separately from any visa, Bolivia runs a mandatory online immigration registration called SIGEMIG at the official portal migracion.gob.bo. All foreign travelers, including minors, must register individually before or on arrival, providing lodging details for the full stay. Non-compliance is fined on exit. That is worth knowing if you plan to continue from Uyuni to La Paz or onward, which our La Paz to Uyuni guide covers separately.

How high you go and how fast

The border pass itself sits at 4,480 m, and the Eduardo Avaroa reserve through which day one runs spans 4,200 m to 5,400 m. The salar far to the north lies at about 3,663 m. So a traveler who spends a few comfortable days in San Pedro and then joins a tour is above 4,400 m on day one. The 4-day tour sleeps that first night at a hostel in Quetena Chico, and no elevation for Quetena Chico is published in the sources used here.

CDC guidance warns against jumping directly from below 1,200 m to a sleeping altitude above 2,750 m in a single day, and recommends moving sleeping altitude by no more than about 500 m per night above 3,000 m. The crossing breaks that rule by design. Both crossing listings also rule out pregnant travelers and people with back problems, and the 3-day tour ending in San Pedro rules out children under 3. Coca tea is legal in Bolivia and offered as a traditional remedy, but no clinical trial evidence supports it. Read our Uyuni altitude sickness guide for symptoms, oxygen and when to turn back, and consider acclimatizing in La Paz or Uyuni first if you are starting from the Bolivian side instead.

Uyuni to San Pedro by bus

Cruz del Norte runs a direct semi lie-flat bus departing Uyuni at 6:15 AM and arriving in San Pedro de Atacama about 6:15 PM, roughly 12 hours over 522 km, for a fare of about $47. The buses have no onboard bathroom, and border formalities are handled at Avaroa-Ollagüe, a different crossing from the Hito Cajón pass the tours use.

A second routing breaks the trip in two: a bus from Uyuni to Calama taking 9 to 11 hours, then a separate onward bus or transfer from Calama to San Pedro de Atacama, about 1.5 hours over roughly 100 km. For the reverse journey, San Pedro to Uyuni, the sources used here list no public bus route, so the tour jeeps are effectively the only scheduled option in that direction. If you take the bus, remember you skip the reserve and the lagoons entirely, and you will need a separate day tour from Uyuni to see the salt flat.