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Salts of the World · Pakistan

Himalayan pink salt

Pink rock salt mined in Pakistan's Salt Range, south of the Himalayas. Pretty, but nutritionally almost the same as table salt.

Khewra salt

By The Salt AlmanacUpdated November 8, 2026

Illustration of Himalayan pink salt
Illustration: The Salt Almanac · photo below

At a glance

OriginKhewra, Salt Range, Punjab, Pakistan
TypeRock and spring salt
How it's madeMined as rock salt, mainly at the Khewra mine in the foothills of the Salt Range, then crushed or cut into blocks.
Colour and textureOff-white to deep pink or red, from trace minerals such as iron. Sold as grains, coarse crystals, blocks and slabs.
Best forEveryday cooking like any rock salt; salt blocks for cooking or serving.
Swap withAny rock or sea salt, measure for measure by weight.
Health claimsIt is 96–99% sodium chloride. There is no scientific basis for its claimed health benefits, including those made for salt lamps.
Coarse pink crystals of Himalayan rock salt
Himalayan rock salt crystals. The pink comes from trace minerals.Photo: Lordtct. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons · Image source

The story

Local legend says Alexander the Great's army found the deposit; the first recorded mining is by the Janjua clan in the 1200s. Nearly 2,000 years ago, Pliny the Elder wrote of a salt mountain in India that was quarried in blocks and earned its kings more than their gold and pearls.

Label check

What the labels claim

These health claims appear on packaging and in wellness media. We include them so you can recognise them; none is supported by good evidence.

“Rich in minerals; contains dozens of trace minerals”UnverifiedWhat the evidence says: It is 96–99% sodium chloride. The trace minerals add up to well under 1%, far too little to matter in the amounts anyone eats.
“Supports hydration and balances electrolytes”UnverifiedWhat the evidence says: Like any salt, it supplies sodium. There is no evidence it hydrates better than ordinary table salt.
“Salt lamps purify the air and release healthy ions”UnverifiedWhat the evidence says: There is no scientific support for these claims.

Salt words on this page

Rock saltHaliteSodium chloride (NaCl)

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Cite this page

For school projects and reports. Teachers often prefer the original sources too: see the list below.

The Salt Almanac. (2026, November 8). Himalayan pink salt. https://saltalmanac.com/salts/himalayan-pink-salt

Original sources

  1. Wikipedia. Himalayan salt. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Himalayan_salt
  2. Pliny the Elder. Natural History, Book 31, ch. 39 (Bostock & Riley translation, 1855). http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0137:book=31:chapter=39