Cuzco to Maras Salt Mines & Morey Terraces Day Tour
Description
Explore the breathtaking wonders of the Sacred Valley on this half-day adventure from Cuzco. Your journey begins with a scenic drive to the spectacular Maras Salt Mines (often searched as the Masras or Mars salt pans). Here, you will witness over 3,000 terraced pools where local families still hand-harvest the famous pink salt. Next, we visit the surreal, circular agricultural ruins of Moray (sometimes spelled Morey or Muray). These ancient Inca terraces look like a giant amphitheater carved into the earth. Your expert, English-speaking guide will explain how the Incas used this site as a laboratory for crops. Whether you call them the Salineras de Maras, the Mares salt pools, or the Cuzco salt pans, this is a must-see Peruvian highlight. Book your seat today!
Tour Options
Itinerary
The salt are extracted in artisanal form, the Salt Mines are made up of about 3000 small wells which have been exploited since the Inca times and it was an economic exchange way.
Moray, during the Incan times was possibly one of the most important agricultural research center, where experiments were conducted at different heights crop, the arrangement of its platforms produces a variety of micro-climates taking the center of the concentric circular terraces higher temperature and decreasing gradually outward lower temperatures.
The village of Chinchero and visit the Tupac Inca Yupanqui Royal House where their original Inca walls are still well preserved. We will have the chance to meet the Chinchero women as well, in their beautiful and traditional dressing at the local market
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
We offer the pick up from most of Cusco hotels including Airbnb
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- A minimum of 2 people per booking is required (for goup tours)
Reviews(110)
This was an amazing experience! The private tour was guided by Louis who is very knowledgeable and shared insights on the history and culture. His driver, (also named Louis) was courteous and professional. We were able to see how fabric was made, purchase chocolate and souvenirs; however, the highlight of the trip was Moray! I highly recommend this experience.
I highly recommend this company. Both Luis the guide and Luis the driver were very professional. Our guide was very knowledgeable about each archeological site which heightened our experience. Louis also made recommendations for local cuisine and took us to an amazing restaurant.
An incredible tour of the beauty of the Sacred Valley of the Incas, accompanied by our excellent guide Luis. He has a lot of experience, he knows all the places we visit thoroughly and, besides, he is very friendly and friendly. On this day tour we visit Chinchero, Moray, the Salineras de Maras and finally Ollantaytambo. The itinerary was adjusted at our pace and, thanks to Luis’ organization and knowledge, we were able to enjoy a very complete lunch with typical Peruvian food and Cusco delicacies.
We had excellent weather for our trip. We first stopped in Chinchero for a demonstration of alpaca wool making and although our guide said no pressure to buy anything, it was hard to say no to the women! So we bought two beautiful sweaters and a blanket. Then we went to Moras, which is probably nicer to see during dry season when they are harvesting the salt, but it will still an impressive site. Then our last stop was at Moray, which was the real highlight. Gary provided us with a ton of great information about the history and the making of the terraces, and also explained their calculator system, which was fascinating. Don't forget your sunscreen!
Fun tour. Perfect for a wind down day after more challenging tours or to start your trip slowly. There’s a bit of walking, but the guide was sensitive to everyones different speeds. Wilbert was very knowledgeable and attentive. The driver Alberto was good. Overall a great day.
Gary was our guide, we had a wonderful day, he took our photos and knows the best spots for it. His knowledge of local history is very rich and we learned a lot from him. Definitely this tour is 5 stars.
Gary did a great job of personalizing and adding to our experience at each site, from demonstrating how different colors were made in traditional weavings to solving math sums on an Incan calculator. Fun, relaxing experience and learned a lot!
The places visited are beautiful and the explanations of our Fabrizio Guide were very complete, telling details that I did not know and always worried that we would get the best experience.
Great experience, thanks to our guide Fabrizio. We could see a lot of interesting things and Fabrizio pointed out aspects of the places that we didn't know.
We had a wonderful tour that turned out to be private! Alexis did an awesome job taking us to all the sites including the textile demonstration. He knew just where to stand to get the best views and even recommended a great family restaurant to have lunch when we returned to Cusco. Highly recommend this tour!
