Incan salt

SYNOPSIS

Report observed salt miners in the Peruvian Mountains. This documentary portrays the harsh day-to-day lives of the 'Salineros' as they work in a stunningly beautiful South American mountain landscape. The salt mines of Maras are situated in the highlands of the Peruvian Andes at an altitude of about 3.000 meters. They form a vast manmade labyrinth of salt wells. A thousand terraced wells collect the warm salty waters from the mountain. When the water evaporates under the strong sun, on the edges and bottom of the waterholes a precious white crust is left. This is Maras-Salt. To this very day, the descendants of the Incas harvest their "White Gold of the Andes" using this traditional method.