Salar de Pastos Grandes, Salt flat in Salta Province, Argentina

Salar de Pastos Grandes is a salt flat in a depression in the north-eastern Puna, in Los Andes department, Salta Province, Argentina. It lies 330 km by road from the city of Salta, reached via National Route 51 and a secondary road from La Poma toward Santa Rosa de los Pastos Grandes. The flat holds the highest borate concentrations of Argentina's salars, along with ulexite layers and lithium-bearing minerals in the surrounding Pleistocene formations.

Salar de Pastos Grandes lies in a depression of the north-eastern Puna, in Los Andes department, Salta Province. It is reached from the town of Salta by national route 51, leaving it at La Poma for a secondary road to Santa Rosa de los Pastos Grandes, or from the General Manuel Belgrano railway station at Salar de Pocitos via provincial route 129, about 60 kilometres.

The salt deposits here have shaped how people used and valued this remote landscape for centuries. Walking across the flats, you can sense how the mineral wealth influenced settlement patterns and trade connections across the region.

The location sits at high altitude and is only easily accessible during drier seasons, so planning ahead is important. Visitors need time to adjust to the elevation and should bring proper gear for extreme temperature swings and intense sun exposure.

The western ridge of the nearby mountains holds red-colored rocks containing fossilized remains of crocodiles, turtles, and mammals from an ancient sea. These fossils are roughly 37 million years old, revealing a time when tropical waters covered this area.