Uyuni saline: the largest mirror in the world and hotels asking not to lick the walls

Walls, floors, pillars for the ceiling, bar counters, chairs, tables, sofas in the hall and beds - everything in these hotels is carved from salt blocks or made of salt bricks.

It is interesting that Uyuni is the largest solonchak of the planet in terms of area. It is located on the site of a dried lake of the same name at an altitude of more than 3,600 meters in the Andes, and its area is almost 10.6 thousand square meters. km.

The main minerals from which local rocks are formed are gypsum, halite, and also common salt, which here produces about 25 thousand tons per year. In addition, there are colossal reserves of lithium chloride, a valuable raw material for the extraction of metal, but they are not yet being developed. According to experts, the Uyuni solonchak contains from 50 to 70% of the world's lithium reserves, which is mainly used for the production of batteries.

It turns out that the Uyuni solonchak is used not only for salt extraction and tourism. Due to its size, he found an unusual application in the space industry. In the rainy season, from November to March, the dried-up lake is covered with a thin layer of water and becomes the world's largest natural mirror. Such a surface has a very high albedo - reflectivity. This property of the Uyuni solonchak is used for setting up instruments for remote sensing of the planet installed on artificial earth satellites. It is interesting that water flows into the solonchak from the famous Lake Titicaca, located north of Uyuni. The excess water flows into Lake Poopo and further along the rivers to the plain of Altiplano, where the dried lake is located.

In autumn, three closely related flamingo species that live in the tropical regions of South America arrive in this amazing place for reproduction. Many travelers come here from October to December especially to admire these graceful birds.

Another attraction of local places, which is often visited by tourists, is the so-called "cemetery of locomotives". This is a few out of order locomotives left here in the 40-50's of the last century, after the mines developed by foreign companies were abandoned.

Staying in such places where the air is saturated with salt vapors is very useful for people with respiratory diseases. Local residents build from the Uyuni salt unusual hotels and mini-hotels for tourists. Architectural masterpieces from salt here already a little, and each of them we will not repeat. Prices vary from 2000 to 10 000 rubles for a double room. The owners of the original hotels ask visitors not to lick the walls and neatly treats the interior items. Along with SPA procedures, salt saunas and baths, in one of the hotels you will be offered to attend golf courses. Several holes are made on the surface of the solonchak, and from April to November here you can play at the most unusual golf course in the world.

Among other things, Uyuni's salt landscapes are an ideal place for fans of interesting photo compositions.