Walking on the World’s Biggest Mirror: Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia

The world’s largest salt flats are only reflective when conditions are just right

Photo by alvaro ortiz on Unsplash

Before I dive into some downright impressive facts about this mind-blowing place, I’ll cut straight to one of its most “important” aspects as a tourist destination:

You can take really cool photos there.

When conditions are perfect and a thin layer of water covers the flats with minimal wind interference, a gigantic mirror is formed like no other on earth.

With little deviation in elevation, perspective can be played with in very amusing ways. This works just as well when the mirror effect isn’t performing at its peak grandeur, which was the case when I visited.

DOWNRIGHT IMPRESSIVE FACTS

• They’re the largest salt flats in the world, spanning 10,582 m² (4 086 mi²)
• They’re so dang flat that their elevation deviates less than one metre across the entire area
• A crust of salt, several metres thick, covers a pool of brine that holds 50–70% of the world’s known lithium stores
• All of it sits at an altitude of 3656 m (11995 ft) above sea level, which is enough to potentially cause severe…