The Salar de Uyuni is the world's largest salt flat at 4,086 sq. mi. and is a major tourist destination in the South American country of Bolivia. The Salar is virtually devoid of any wildlife or vegetation, but is home to an estimated 10 billion tons of salt.
But what is no less incredible, is where people who visit this amazing place stay, and how does one build something in the middle of the vast emptiness. The answer is quite remarkable.
Anyone arriving to visit this exotic part of the world is in for a real treat and a stay in one of the world's most unique hotel experiences. Due to a lack of conventional construction materials in this area, many of the hotels here are built entirely with salt blocks cut from the Salar itself. The most famous one is called Palacio de Sal, Spanish for "Palace of salt".
That is NOT water! The salt flats are shiny and reflective!
The hotel is made of about 1 million 14-inch salt blocks, which were used for the floor, walls, ceiling, and furniture, including the beds, tables, chairs and sculptures. The hotel even has a dry sauna and a steam room, a salt-water pool and whirlpool baths in which guests can relax and fully enjoy this unreal place.
Imagine what it feels like, sleeping on salt beds, sitting on salt chairs and even eating at salt tables.
And while no one can deny how beautiful everything in this hotel is, that beauty is nothing compared to the view.
The salt flats are so white and clear they often show a perfect reflection of the sky and the objects above them. In fact, because the Salar is so flat and has such a strong reflection, similar to that of ice-sheets, it is used for calibrating the distance measurement equipment of satellites in space!
The white, endless flats also offer visitors a unique opportunity to take some truly mind-bending pictures. With no other objects in sights, the human eye loses its ability to establish a proper field of depth. The results are some of the most creative and bizarre pictures you will ever see.
Thanks Randy
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