Himalayan pink salt crystals for mills

Himalayan pink salt, also known as Kashmir pink diamond salt, is one of the purest salts you can find, along with Persian blue salt.

History of Himalayan pink salt :

Its origins date back several hundred million years, when evaporation from an inland sea created an enormous vein. When the Himalayan range was formed 40 million years ago, these salt cavities rose closer to the surface.

Today, salt is extracted from the Khewra mines at a depth of around 500m.

So it's in Pakistan's Punjab province that you should go to see the famous mines, just as Alexander the Great discovered them (by chance) in 326 B.C. when he camped there after the Battle of Hydaspe (see our second episode on the history of spices around the world).

We descend into the mine on a century-old train (now used only to show tourists around the mines), and head for miles of underground galleries. The site covers more than a hundred square kilometers and is packed with magnificent (or completely kitsch) salt sculptures, shops and a post office!