- Location: Sur Lípez Province, Potosí Department, Bolivia
- Location altitude: 4800 - 5000 m above sea level
- Area: 10 square meters. km
If you have already seen the formidable Cordilleras in Bolivia , admire the waters of the high-altitude lake of Titicaca , imbued with local traditions and color and examine all the architectural monuments here - it's time to diversify your leisure with another interesting corner of this state. However, the concept of "angle" is unlikely to fit, because it is a great geothermal valley of Sol de Magnane, a unique natural phenomenon that captures and repels simultaneously.
Unusual Valley
In the south-west of Bolivia, in the province of Sur Lipes, at an altitude of 4800 m above sea level is an amazing phenomenon. Here on an area of about 10 square meters. km with volcanic activity occurs with an enviable regularity. But scientists unanimously assert that these are not geysers, but a geothermal zone. What is its peculiarity? Let's find out!
Salt de Manyana is distinguished by a huge number of pools with boiling mud. Such mud boilers, in which everything is actively bubbling and hissing, alternate with sulfur fields and jets of burning hot gas. Here you need to be extremely careful, because one awkward step - and you can fall through the fragile crust of soil in the boiling swamp. Moreover, hot gas jets are also capable of causing significant damage to your health.
However, if you are brave enough and adventurous people, and strive after the thrill, then know: to visit Sol de Magnane is best in the morning. In this period, the highest thermal activity is noted, and everything is bubbling, boiling and hissing. Adds the entourage of the pre-dawn sky, and the landscape begins to seem completely surreal or even alien. For this feature, this valley and got its name, because Sol de Magna in Spanish means "morning sun".
In total, the geothermal zone has slightly more than 50 basins with boiling mud. They vary in color and smell - this is due to the different composition of salts, minerals and oxides of metals. For the same reason, the color varies - in Sol-de-Magnão you can find pools of gray, white, yellow, red and even black.
In the late 1980s, the natural resources of the geothermal valley were intended to be channeled into industrial production. However, it subsequently turned out that such an activity does not pay off, and the project was closed. In memory of an unsuccessful attempt, only a few artificial apertures remained, through which a pair of high-steam streams emerged.
How to get to Sol de Magnane?
To get to the geothermal valley is most convenient on a rented car. To do this, from Potosi, you need to drive through the city of Uyuni along the route RN 5, then turn to route No. 701 to Alot, and then move along the dirt roads, checking with the signposts.
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