Fragile, gigantic and unique

Situated in the middle of the worlds largest salt flat in the Bolivian desert, Salar de Uyuni, lies the lonesome island of Incahuasi. Made up of dead coral, as much of the surrounding landscape, lies this rocky outcrop bathed in the scorching Bolivian sun on its own. Inhabited by the towering gigantic cacti (Trichocereus pasacana) and the Black-Hooded Sierra-Finch is the coral island the biggest landmark in the otherwise flat, unending white horizon, flourishing with life.

The unique and fragile ecosystem of this ancient coral island is one of the biggest attractions for the public who vists the hexagonal salt flats, providing an important source of income for the surrounding communities. The fragil coral composition of the island is a testament to gigantic lake that submerged the flats some 40,000 years ago. The photographs here was captured in 2017 as a part of larger trip across South America, where I spent a week documenting the otherworldly landscape of the Andean Highlands.

Incahuasi, derived from the native language of Quechua, which means “house of the Inca” underlines the island’s importance to the native Incas. Prior to technological advances and ease of travel with car, served the island as an important shelter for the incas who crossed the salt flats of Uyuni.

The towering gigantic cacti covering the island is several houndreds of years old, and grows only around 1 cm a year. Some of the cacti are as high as 10 meters, whilst the rest tower at around 2 meters in hight.