a pinch of the surreal

Nope, that’s not snow juxtaposed with cacti—it’s the world’s largest salt flat, near Uyuni, Bolivia. And smack dab in the middle of the 10,500-square-kilometre expanse is Isla Incahuasi, a dormant volcano implausibly peppered with towering succulents that grow at a rate of just one centimetre a year. Mind-blowing is an understatement. After my salt safari, I looked up the piquant landscape in my copy of 501 Must-Visit

Natural Wonders and was stunned to find that it’s not included. Definitely time for a new edition. christina reynolds