Historic salt mines clinging to the slopes of a canyon and mysterious circular Inca ruins: delve deep into Peru's Sacred Valley on this tour of Moray and Maras from Cusco.
Moray Ruins & Maras Salt Mines Tour Itinerary
Having been picked up from your hotel at 8:20 am, you'll leave Cusco behind and head deep into the Sacred Valley of the Incas, a valley in the Peruvian Andes that is home to an astonishing number of Incan archaeological sites.
The first stop on your tour will be Maras, a picturesque town surrounded by stunning mountain landscapes, which has given its name to the salineras, or salt pans, that are located here. These salt mines are evaporation ponds that have been used to produce salt here since pre-Inca times, and the natural colour variation of the pools, staggered in terraces down the side of the canyon, make them a breathtakingly beautiful sight. You'll be able to see them in all their glory from the viewpoint.
You'll then be taken to Moray, where a mysterious Inca archaeological site is located. The ruins of the circular agricultural terraces, known as andenes, are thought to have been used by the Incas to create different microclimates in order to grow a variety of crops. You'll explore the area for an hour, enjoying their mythical history.
At the end of a fascinating Sacred Valley tour, you'll make the return journey to Cusco's historic centre, where you'll be dropped off near Plaza de Armas at 2:30 pm.
Cusco Tourist Card
If you want to get the entrance ticket to Moray before the day of the excursion, you can purchase the Cusco Tourist Card, which also includes access to the major tourist attractions of the city and the Sacred Valley of the Incas.
Hotel Pickup
This tour includes pickup from the following points in Cusco:
- Historical centre of Cusco (San Blas neighbourhood, Calle Nueva alta, Saphi, Ruins, Matara, San Pedro, Av. Sol, Tullumayu and Huascar).
- Santa Ana (only to the temple of Santa Ana).
- Recoleta (only up to the temple of Recoleta and the nearby streets).
- Zaguán del Cielo.
- Lucrepata.
- Wanchaq (the oval of Pachacuteq, Infancia, Estadio Garcilaso and Plaza Tupac Amaru).
- Santiago (Grau Bridge and Pasaje Esmeralda).
In case your hotel is located elsewhere, you'll be told the location of the exact meeting point, near the Plaza de Armas in Cusco.
