Don Juan’s Dream – The Palacio de Sal

On the shores of the majestic Uyuni Salt Flat — under an astonishing sky full of colors and stars — stands the incredible Palacio de Sal (Salt Palace).

Built with more than a million salt blocks, this historic hotel offers rooms crowned by imposing domes, a wide range of services and unforgettable experiences within the walls of the world’s first salt hotel.

To achieve something extraordinary you need two things: a crazy idea and a person courageous enough to push the outer edge of the envelope. Don Juan Quesada Valda was that person, a pioneer in the field of organized tourism in southern Bolivia who decided in 1998 that he wanted to create a hotel made not from bricks, steel or wood but from . . . salt.

Thanks to his unusual dream and a thousand experiments, the Palacio de Sal was born. The main leitmotiv was recreate an alternate reality where everything reflects beauty. And that remains its primary mission.

Juan is no longer with us. But his legacy endures in the yin and yang of his children, working every day to welcome visitors to the famous Salt Palace of the Bolivian desert.

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