Photos show villagers in Peru’s Andes carrying out centuries-old work of salt mining
CUSCO, Peru (AP) — When Uriel plans his work schedule late in summer near his village in the Peruvian mountains, his first decision is usually which friend’s salt pond he will work that day. In keeping with “ayni,” an ancient Quechua word that means mutual aid, villagers take turns helping each other collect their salt once a month during dry season.
“Today we worked on my ponds, and tomorrow we will work on my friends’ ponds,” said Uriel, whose family has been in the salt mining business for four generations.
Uriel, who preferred to give only his first name, is among locals from the villages of Maras and Pichingoto who own and operate a co-op to market and sell the salt they pull from ponds that date back five centuries or more.
Salineras de Maras, the Maras salt mines, are mined by families who have owned the ponds for generations in the Sacred Valley, near Cusco, Peru on Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Alie Skowronski)
Salineras de Maras, the Maras salt mines, are mined by families who have owned the ponds for generations in the Sacred Valley, near Cusco, Peru on Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Alie Skowronski)
A family mines the salt by scooping it into a pan to put in a pile to dry on the sides of the ponds at Salineras de Maras, Maras salt mines, in the Sacred Valley, near Cusco, Peru on Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Alie Skowronski)
A family mines the salt by scooping it into a pan to put in a pile to dry on the sides of the ponds at Salineras de Maras, Maras salt mines, in the Sacred Valley, near Cusco, Peru on Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Alie Skowronski)
History of salt mining near Cusco
Many millions of years ago, a section of ocean was isolated in what would become the Andes. When it eventually receded, it left rich salt deposits. That salt gets picked up by groundwater that’s discharged at a spring in the mountains surrounding Maras, according to Roseanne Chambers, a geologist and author of “The Monumental Andes.”
A man walks out to his family ponds at Salineras de Maras, Maras salt mines, in the Sacred Valley, near Cusco, Peru on Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Alie Skowronski)
A man walks out to his family ponds at Salineras de Maras, Maras salt mines, in the Sacred Valley, near Cusco, Peru on Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Alie Skowronski)
Uriel inspects the salt from one of his family’s salt ponds at Salineras de Maras, Maras salt mines, in the Sacred Valley, near Cusco, Peru on Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Alie Skowronski)
Uriel inspects the salt from one of his family’s salt ponds at Salineras de Maras, Maras salt mines, in the Sacred Valley, near Cusco, Peru on Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Alie Skowronski)
A family mines the salt by scooping it into a pan to put in a pile to dry on the sides of the ponds at Salineras de Maras, Maras salt mines, in the Sacred Valley, near Cusco, Peru on Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Alie Skowronski)
A family mines the salt by scooping it into a pan to put in a pile to dry on the sides of the ponds at Salineras de Maras, Maras salt mines, in the Sacred Valley, near Cusco, Peru on Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Alie Skowronski)
The site has been mined for salt since before the Incas reigned in the region in the 1400s and 1500s, according to Peru’s Ministry of Culture. Today, the ponds, or salt wells, appear as a patchwork of terraces descending the hillside, mottled in varying shades of white, tan and brown.
The ponds have passed from family to family for many generations. In the wake of a military coup in 1968, Peru’s government in 1969 took control of salt extraction and commercialization nationwide and created a public salt company. The families working the Maras mine said they were paid to maintain their ponds. But they pressed the government to return the territory for them to manage.
Bags of salt that have been weighed sit in a pile at Salineras de Maras, Maras salt mines, in the Sacred Valley, near Cusco, Peru on Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025. Each bag weighs about 50kg. (AP Photo/Alie Skowronski)
Bags of salt that have been weighed sit in a pile at Salineras de Maras, Maras salt mines, in the Sacred Valley, near Cusco, Peru on Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025. Each bag weighs about 50kg. (AP Photo/Alie Skowronski)
Florencio, second from the right, ties up a bag of salt after weighing it at Salineras de Maras, Maras salt mines, in the Sacred Valley, near Cusco, Peru on Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025. Each bag weighs about 50kg. (AP Photo/Alie Skowronski)
Florencio, second from the right, ties up a bag of salt after weighing it at Salineras de Maras, Maras salt mines, in the Sacred Valley, near Cusco, Peru on Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025. Each bag weighs about 50kg. (AP Photo/Alie Skowronski)
How the salt is gathered
Villagers dig small channels from the salty stream that comes into the valley to fill their ponds. As the water slowly evaporates, the salt left behind gets scooped up, rinsed and laid out to dry. Farmers haul 50-kilogram bags (about 110 pounds) up the side of the mountain to a weigh station, then take it to the co-op, known as Marasal, for processing unless they choose to export it themselves.
The harvest happens monthly during dry season — May through October. Each pond produces between 150 and 250 kilograms (about 330 to 440 pounds) per month, according to the Ministry of Culture. Production is much more difficult during rainy season, when the rain dilutes the salt water and also makes it more difficult to dry out the ponds.
A family packs bags of dried salt weighing about 50kgs at Salineras de Maras, Maras salt mines, in the Sacred Valley, near Cusco, Peru on Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Alie Skowronski)
A family packs bags of dried salt weighing about 50kgs at Salineras de Maras, Maras salt mines, in the Sacred Valley, near Cusco, Peru on Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Alie Skowronski)
Salt accumulates on the rocks separating two of the salt ponds at Salineras de Maras, Maras salt mines, in the Sacred Valley, near Cusco, Peru on Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Alie Skowronski)
Salt accumulates on the rocks separating two of the salt ponds at Salineras de Maras, Maras salt mines, in the Sacred Valley, near Cusco, Peru on Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Alie Skowronski)
Florencio, another local salt pond owner who also gave only his first name, says his family has been mining salt for at least seven generations. He said if a family wishes to sell their pond, it must be sold to another resident of Maras or Pichingoto, the two small villages surrounding the Maras mines. This way, salt production is passed from generation to generation.
For rural Peruvians, it’s more important to leave work on the land for future generations instead of maximizing wealth, said Juan Carlos Palomino, who leads tours of the area. He said it’s one of the many ways they connect and give back to nature.
People walk down the street, one with a pack made of textiles over their shoulder, in the Chincheros region of the Sacred Valley, Peru, on Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Alie Skowronski)
People walk down the street, one with a pack made of textiles over their shoulder, in the Chincheros region of the Sacred Valley, Peru, on Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Alie Skowronski)
Donkeys rest outside of a home on the mountainside in the Mishiniy region, not far from Salineras de Maras, the Maras salt mines, in the Sacred Valley, near Cusco, Peru on Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Alie Skowronski)
Donkeys rest outside of a home on the mountainside in the Mishiniy region, not far from Salineras de Maras, the Maras salt mines, in the Sacred Valley, near Cusco, Peru on Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Alie Skowronski)
Ilda, a resident of Pichingoto who also gave only her first name, runs a shop to sell the mined salt outside of her home. Some of the salt is pure; some is mixed with herbs or spices to give it different flavors. She also offers textiles and other items for tourists who pass by after visiting the salt mining.
Ilda, shop owner, left, hugs her daughter, Gabbi, at the shop in Pichingoto, a village outside of Salineras de Maras, Maras salt mines, in the Sacred Valley of Peru, on Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Alie Skowronski)
Ilda, shop owner, left, hugs her daughter, Gabbi, at the shop in Pichingoto, a village outside of Salineras de Maras, Maras salt mines, in the Sacred Valley of Peru, on Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Alie Skowronski)
Her daughter helps her keep the shop clean and orderly — or as orderly as a shop carved out of the rock in the bottom of a mountainside home can be.
“The shops have to be run by residents of these towns,” Ilda said.
Salineras de Maras, the Maras salt mines, are mined by families who have owned the ponds for generations in the Sacred Valley, near Cusco, Peru on Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Alie Skowronski)
Salineras de Maras, the Maras salt mines, are mined by families who have owned the ponds for generations in the Sacred Valley, near Cusco, Peru on Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Alie Skowronski)
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