The Salar are known for being a major route through the Bolivian highlands, as well as a major breeding ground for pink flamingos.
But they are perhaps most famous for their amazing mirror like quality when it rains. The salt flats were formed when a giant prehistoric lake was lifted into the sky by the formation of the Andes. Cut off from water sources, the lake dried out and created the salt flats. Because they were formed by evaporation, they are almost perfectly flat, with less than a meter of variation in height over the whole area.
So, when it rains, the water sits in an incredibly thin, mirror like sheet over the whole surface of the Salar. It is said that when this happens, it is impossible to tell where the sky ends and the earth begins.
