An intricate patchwork of salt ponds covers the slopes at Maras, in Peru’s Sacred Valley. Thousands of shallow, man-made pools—fed by a subterranean saline stream—form a geometric mosaic across the hillside, gleaming white and ochre under the sun. Used since pre-Inca times, these terraces are managed by local families who harvest precious salt through evaporation, creating a landscape that is both functional and mesmerizing in its rhythmic beauty.