Moray Maras & Salt Mines Tour is one of the most preferred half day tours in Cusco. It takes you to Maras Moray, the two emblematic sites in the Sacred Valley of Incas. This is one of our signature tours. With the assistance of our English speaking local guides, you will get in-depth information of these two archaeological sites of Peru.
Maras Moray:
Maras or Salinas de Maras are salt flats. It exists since the pre Inca times and has been passed down from generation to generation. Locals here continue to practise the traditional salt farming method – Solar Evaporation Method.
They let in natural spring water into these geometric shaped puddles and wait for it to evaporate. When it does, they manually scrape the salt off.
Salt of Maras is pinkish in color and has a distinct taste.
The ruins of Moray on the contrary served more like an agricultural laboratory to Incas. It was here that they experimented with the growth conditions of different crops. Unlike most agricultural terraces, those in Moray are circular and are dug into the ground with different levels.
Each level has a different temperature. This helped the Incas to determine the best weather condition needed to grow any crop.
Moray Maras & Salt Mines Tour is one of our signature tours. We maintain high safety standards. Our main aim is to offer you a pleasant and a safe experience on any of our tours.
We operate the tour both in private and in small groups. We highly recommend experiencing this half day trip before your trip to Machu Picchu as it would give you an introduction to Incan culture.
Do take a moment to check out our reviews on TripAdvisor.
We will be picking you up from your hotel in Cusco. Then we will drive you for 20 minutes to Moray. On our way, you will be able to admire the natural beauty of the Peruvian highland farms and countryside.
Once at Moray, the tour guide will assist you in buying the entrance ticket. If you have already got your Tourist Ticket or Boleto Turistico, you can use it here. Here we will be giving you a detailed tour of the complex.
Moray houses three circular farming terraces each dug into the ground. Our guide will be explaining how it positively impacted the life of Incas then and the life today.
We will then be driving you to Maras salt flats. This is a unique sight. There are more than some 3000 salt pools carved on a hillside. To avoid contamination of the site, the authorities now restrict access closer to the salt pools.
You can however get a panoramic view from the view point.
After visiting these two prime sites of the Sacred Valley of Incas, we will be driving you back to Cusco. On our way back, we will have a brief stop in Chinchero.
It is home to Andean textile industry. Chinchero has the most fertile soil. The archaeological complex here houses a white washed church which once served as an Inca palace.
After the tour, we will be driving you back to Cusco city.
The Moray Maras & Salt Mines Tour was a captivating journey through the ancient marvels of the Sacred Valley, offering a glimpse into the ingenuity of Inca engineering and the natural wonders of the Peruvian highlands. Our day began with a prompt pick-up from my hotel in Cusco, followed by a scenic drive to Moray.
Arriving at Moray, we were greeted by the striking sight of circular farming terraces, each meticulously carved into the ground. Our knowledgeable guide provided fascinating insights into the agricultural innovations of the Incas, painting a vivid picture of how these terraces shaped both past and present life in the region.
