Salinas Valley

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V!VA User‘s Description

Just 30 kilometers from Ibarra, Salinas gets its name from the high concentration of mineral salts in its soils. Up until fairly recently, people were still extracting mineral salt by traditional methods. You can visit one of the salt mines and see for yourself how this was done. Ask in the village for more information. Although the valley is now mostly dedicated to the cultivation of sugar cane, it once was a meeting point and market area for indigenous groups from all different directions. In Northern Ecuador, this valley holds the easiest passage from the coast, across the two Andes ranges and down to the Amazon. Therefore, it has been a location of strategic importance throughout history.