Located nearly 12,000 feet above sea level near the crest of the Andes Mountains, Salar de Uyuni is the largest salt flat on Earth.

This remarkable nature wonder came about when a prehistoric lake ran dry and left behind an enormous landscape of salt, rock formations, and otherworldly cactus-covered islands.

Under the extensive salt crust there is a saline lake, which is extremely rich in lithium and several other minerals.

Although wildlife is scarce in this harsh and inhospitable landscape, the saline lake is extremely popular with flamingoes and almost 80 other species of migratory birds. This remote spectacle deserves a place on everyone’s wish-list and is most often accessed via Uyuni in Bolivia or Atacama in Chile.

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