Salinas Grandes, Salt pan in Jujuy and Salta provinces, Argentina

Salinas Grandes is a salt pan shared by the Jujuy and Salta provinces of northwestern Argentina, covering 212 square kilometres at an average altitude of 3,450 metres. Its surface is a dry crust of salt plates, on average 30 centimetres thick, split into irregular polygonal cracks and crossed by faint ridges; a low band of mountains runs along the horizon. National Route 52 crosses it 66 kilometres from Purmamarca.

Local groups discovered and worked the salt deposits here many centuries ago, developing techniques to harvest the mineral and trade it across mountain routes. The practice continued through shifts in regional control and the later arrival of new roads that opened the area to broader movement.

People in this region have built their livelihoods around the salt harvest for generations, passing down knowledge of how to shape shallow basins and time their work with the sun and weather. Walking across the surface reveals clusters of low walls that mark family plots where workers scoop the dried crystals by hand and stack them into rough piles before transport.

The salt surface sits along National Route 52, which links Argentina to Chile and is most accessible during spring through autumn. Visitors should bring sun protection because the elevation and reflective ground intensify light and temperatures can shift quickly throughout the day.

The crust displays a pattern of hexagonal cells that form when briny water moves beneath the surface and hardens as it meets the air. This network of cracks and ridges repeats for long distances and becomes clearest when the sun sits low and casts shadows across the ground.