Located 12,000 feet above sea level, the vast, alabaster-white landscape of the salt flats of Bolivia’s Salar de Uyuni looks like snow but it’s completely made up of salt, a whopping 4,000 square miles of it. When you’re looking for a place to stay in Salar de Uyuni, there’s no hotel more fitting than Palacio de Sal, a property entirely made of salt. Everything from the floors, walls, furniture, ceilings and sculptures is made of salt. Built in 1998 under the vision of hotelier Juan Quesada Valda, the construction of a hotel made entirely of salt raised a few eyebrows. People thought he was crazy and that no one would want to stay there. Today, however, Palacio de Sal is one of the most popular and luxurious resorts in the region, attracting guests from around the world year-round. Each room comes with a domed ceiling composed of salt bricks which often feature small stalactites – you can actually gently grab some salt for a taste when you touch them. However, no matter how much you like salt licking the walls is discouraged as this can tamper with the structure of the hotel. In general, the rainy season from November through April is cause for structural challenges, frequently sections of the hotel need to be replaced as they disintegrate from the moisture. Nightly rates start between $259 and $364, depending on the day of week, based on double occupancy.
