Photo Tour: Bolivia's Red Lakes and Salt Flats

Bolivia's stark, striking salt flats are a wonder of nature without peer.
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by Andrew Marantz with photography by Adrian Gaut, Condé Nast Traveler

Bolivia's stark, striking salt flats are a wonder of nature without peer.

1. A perspective-altering view of the salt flats after a rainfall.

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Photo: Adrian Gaut

2. The road to Laguna Colorada.

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Photo: Adrian Gaut

3. The Salar de Uyuni is covered with a thick crust of salt in hexagonal patterns.

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Photo: Adrian Gaut

4. Folklore attributes the bright-red waters of Laguna Colorada to the gods' spilled blood; the scientific (though less poetic) explanation is algae.

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Photo: Adrian Gaut

5. An aerial view of the salar, where the salt forms in hexagons.

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Photo: Adrian Gaut

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