Himalayan salt crystal...
Where do salt stone lamps come from?
The region where the salt is mined is called Khewra. Kherwa, about 160 km from Islamabad, is a town in the foothills of the Himalayas in the Punjab region of Pakistan. The origin of the fossil salt corresponds to the evaporation of an inland sea 800 million years ago. The formation of the Himalayas raised the soils of the region and caused the salt rocks to outcrop near the surface.
According to legend, the mine was discovered by Alexander the Great's troops in the 4th century BC. His army's horses, tired after a battle, regained their strength after licking stones in caves, thus discovering the salt deposit. Commercial and artisanal mining began in the 13th century under the Mughals. In the 19th century, the British improved access to the mine by levelling the previously dangerous mountain road, upgrading and securing the drifts and building warehouses to allow industrial mining.
As of 2012, the Pakistan Mineral Development Corporation operates the mine, which has proven mineable reserves of at least 82 million tonnes.
Kherwa is also a major tourist destination, attracting over 40,000 visitors each year. The mine can be visited on foot or by small train pulled by an electric vehicle built in the 1930s. The salt caves are home to unusual sculptures and structures, such as a mosque built with luminous salt stones of different colours and a statue of the great poet Mohamed.
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