The Hidden Journey of Seawater
From the Sea to the First Salt Crystals
When people think of the Sečovlje Salt Pans, they often picture gleaming white salt heaps, salt makers at work, and the iconic summer scene of harvesting salt by hand with a traditional wooden gavero from the crystallisation basins, known locally as kavedini. For centuries, this has been the defining image of traditional salt production and one of the most recognisable symbols of the Slovenian coast.
Yet these scenes are only the final chapter of a much longer story. Before the first salt crystals begin to form, seawater embarks on a remarkable journey through a carefully managed network of channels and ponds. Guided by the sun, the wind, and the experienced eye of the vodar—the salt pan water manager—it gradually transforms into brine, creating the conditions for salt to form.
To understand how traditional sea salt is born, we must first follow the journey of seawater—from the moment it enters the salt pans to the formation of the very first crystal on the petola.
This journey takes place across the evaporation ponds, an area that many visitors mistakenly regard as less important than the crystallisation ponds. In reality, they are the very heart of the salt pans. At the Sečovlje Salt Pans, more than six times as much of the active production area is devoted to the gradual concentration of seawater into brine than to the crystallisation of salt itself. Traditional salt production does not take place only where the salt crystals are harvested, but also where seawater patiently prepares for that moment.
As visitors enter the Sečovlje Salt Pans, they are greeted by a vast landscape of shallow ponds, channels and embankments stretching inland from the sea towards Sečovlje. Many expect this to be where salt is produced. Yet the white salt crystals appear only in a relatively small part of the Lera. Everywhere else, the story of salt is only just beginning – where seawater slowly transforms into brine, day after day.
Much of the art of traditional salt production unfolds where, at first glance, very little appears to happen.
Most of the Salt Pans
Are Not Used for Salt Crystallisation
Most of the active production area of the Sečovlje Salt Pans consists of shallow ponds, embankments and channels through which seawater slowly flows on its journey towards the crystallisation ponds. As there are no white salt crystals here and the landscape appears almost motionless at first glance, many visitors assume these are abandoned or less important parts of the salt pans. In reality, nothing could be further from the truth.
These are the evaporation ponds – a vital part of the traditional salt-making process. If the kavedini are where salt crystallises, the evaporation ponds are where the conditions for crystallisation are created. Here, under the combined influence of the sun and the wind, seawater is gradually transformed into brine.
It All Begins with the Sea
Seawater enters the salt pans through the main supply channel, where the vodar—the salt pan water manager—directs it into the enclosed network of ponds and channels. From that moment on, it is no longer governed by the natural rhythm of the tides. Instead, it becomes part of a carefully managed water system shaped by the close partnership between nature and human expertise.
Traditional salt production depends on far more than the sun and the wind. At its heart lies the precise management of water. Every channel, sluice gate and pond has a specific purpose, guiding seawater through successive stages of concentration and gradually transforming its properties along the way.
Seawater is never led directly to the crystallisation ponds. Instead, it first passes through the evaporation ponds, where the sun and the wind slowly increase its salinity. Only when it reaches the required concentration is it transferred to the next pond. Its journey is therefore gradual, carefully controlled and meticulously planned.
Salt is not formed in a single step, but through a series of carefully managed processes that together create the conditions for crystallisation.
The duration that seawater remains in each pond, when it is transferred to the next one, and the rate at which it moves through the system depend on several factors, including weather, wind, temperature, and evaporation rate. Managing the water regime in the salt pans is therefore a continuous process of adapting to natural conditions, requiring experience, precision and a thorough understanding of the entire system.
The seawater does not remain in any one pond indefinitely. Once it reaches the required level of concentration, the vodar directs it to the next section of the salt pans, where the process continues. In this way, the seawater gradually passes through successive stages of evaporation until it reaches the conditions necessary for crystallisation.
Channels
More Than Waterways
The movement of seawater through the different stages of evaporation is made possible by an extensive network of salt pan channels. These connect the various parts of the salt pans into a single water management system, allowing seawater to flow from one pond to the next. The channels make it possible to distribute the water, regulate water levels and continuously adapt the water regime to changing weather conditions.
Seawater is not transferred from one pond to another according to a fixed schedule. This is where the expertise of the vodar becomes essential. Their role extends far beyond simply opening and closing sluice gates. It requires the constant adjustment of the water regime to natural conditions, allowing the sun, the wind and time to do their work. This is why the work of the vodar has always been just as important as that of the salt makers.
Under strong sunshine and favourable winds, seawater evaporates much faster than it does during cloudy or rainy weather, making continuous adjustment essential. This is where one of the greatest skills of traditional salt making lies: understanding the sea and adapting to it, day after day.
Sluice gates and channels guide the journey of seawater through the salt pans.
As the Sea Matures
As evaporation continues, the volume of seawater gradually decreases while the concentration of dissolved salts increases. Day by day, the seawater becomes more concentrated, moving ever closer to the point at which it becomes brine. Each successive pond represents another stage in this gradual transformation.
This gradual preparation of seawater is one of the fundamental principles of traditional salt making. If seawater were directed straight to the crystallisation ponds, the conditions required to produce high-quality traditionally harvested sea salt could never be achieved.
Seawater and Brine
One could say that the sea slowly matures. Day after day, the sun and the wind remove water through evaporation, gradually increasing its salinity. With each transfer to the next pond, the seawater becomes more concentrated, moving ever closer to the point where it is no longer simply seawater, but brine – naturally concentrated seawater, ready for the final stage of its journey towards crystallisation.
Under favourable summer conditions, this transformation takes around eighteen days. It cannot be rushed, as each stage creates the conditions required for the next. Just like sea salt itself, brine is formed gradually – under the influence of the sun and the wind, but above all, through time.
Brine is naturally concentrated seawater with a high concentration of dissolved minerals. In traditional salt making, it is also known as the mother water (acqua madre), as it represents the final stage in the journey from the sea to salt. It is from this mineral-rich brine that the first sea salt crystals begin to form on the petola.
The role of brine does not end with salt production. In the Sečovlje Salt Pans, brine is an essential part of the traditional salt-making process. But its story does not end there. The mineral richness that develops on its journey from the sea to salt continues to inspire the natural cosmetics of Lepa Vida and the treatments at Thalasso Spa Lepa Vida. Lepa Vida Hydrating Body Gel with Brine and Honey combines the natural mineral richness of brine with the nourishing properties of honey in a lightweight formula for everyday skincare. Available with 20% off until the end of July.
How Do Salt Makers and Water Managers
Know When the Brine Is Ready?
Today, the vodarji monitor the concentration of seawater using a Baumé hydrometer (°Bé), which measures the density of the brine. Instruments of this kind were introduced to the Sečovlje Salt Pans only in the early twentieth century.
Before that, the concentration of the seawater was assessed through experience and simple practical methods. One of the best-known involved an unpeeled potato, which floats to the surface when the brine reaches approximately 14 °Bé. Based on these measurements, the saltpan workers determine when the brine is ready to be transferred to the next pond and when it has reached the conditions required for crystallisation.
Key Facts:
- Seawater entering the salt pans contains approximately 37–38 g of dissolved salts per litre.
- Its density is approximately 3.5 °Bé (degrees Baumé).
- Under average summer conditions, it takes around 18 days for seawater to become brine.
- By the end of the process, the brine contains approximately 250 g of dissolved salts per litre.
- At around 25 °Bé, the brine is ready to continue its journey to the crystallisation ponds.
- The preparation of brine takes place over an area more than six times larger than the crystallisation ponds themselves.
The Journey to the First Crystal
Only once seawater has become brine and reached the required concentration does its journey continue to the crystallisation ponds, where the first salt crystals begin to form on the petola. It is here that the long journey of seawater first takes on a tangible form.
Petola is a naturally formed biological layer, only a few millimetres thick, unique to the Sečovlje and Strunjan Salt Pans and one of the defining features of traditional salt making in the northern Adriatic. It enables the production of pure, white sea salt without sediment impurities. Recent scientific research has also shown that petola plays an important role in shaping the salt's distinctive flavour profile. Sea salt produced on petola has been found to contain higher levels of glutamic acid, opening up new questions about its role in the development of umami flavour.
Behind every crystal of sea salt lie weeks of patiently managing seawater and continuously adapting to the sun, the wind and changing natural conditions.
Next Time, Look a Little Further
The next time you visit the Sečovlje Salt Pans in summer, the first thing you will notice will probably be the gleaming white salt crystals and the salt makers at work. This is how traditional salt making has revealed itself to visitors for centuries.
Now you know that this is, in fact, only the final chapter of a much longer story. It begins not with the first sweep of the gavero, but weeks earlier, when seawater enters the salt pans and, under the influence of the sun, the wind and a carefully managed water regime, slowly becomes brine. Most of this process takes place in the evaporation ponds, where the conditions for the first salt crystals are created.
Traditional salt making is therefore far more than harvesting salt. It is about understanding the sea and patiently managing seawater while working with natural processes. Salt makers and vodarji do not try to outpace nature—they work in harmony with it.
So, the next time you visit the salt pans, take a moment to stop by the channels and the evaporation ponds. You may not see salt being formed there, but you will witness where its journey begins. Only then do the white salt crystals reveal their true meaning—not as the beginning of the story, but as the final destination of a journey that seawater has been making through the salt pans for weeks.
