Aerial Maras Salt Ponds in the Andes

An aerial, hyper-realistic drone view over the Maras salt ponds in Urubamba, Peru, high in the Andes. A vast network of thousands of small, shallow, polygonal salt pans clings to a terraced mountainside, fed by a natural saline spring. The ponds shimmer in turquoise, blue-green, and chalk-white hues, separated by thin stone embankments. In the foreground, traditional salt workers in Andean clothing (ponchos, wide-brim hats) manually harvest salt with wooden rakes and shovels, gathering crystals into burlap sacks. Narrow channels weave between ponds, guiding brine flow. In the background, rugged Andean peaks, a deep valley, and a clear blue sky. Golden-hour light casts long shadows, highlighting the texture of stone walls, salt crusts, and reflective water in a cinematic, drone-shot composition that celebrates artisanal, traditional salt mining techniques.