From Cusco: Moray, Maras Salt Mines & Chinchero Weavers Half-Day
Description
This half-day excursion to Moray and Minas de Sal allows you to venture into a part of the Sacred Valley, on beautiful farmland outside Cusco and near the ancient Andean town of Chinchero. You will visit the following sites: Andean Textile Center in Chinchero, Moray, Maras village, and Salt mines.
Tour Options
Itinerary
We will pick you up from your hotel between 8:20 am and 8:40am and head to Chinchero located at 3,762 meters high.
We will appreciate the traditional market, where they practice bartering, we will visit the weaving workshop there the local people who still practice the QUECHUA tradition, they will show us how they get the colors from natural plants and you can take nice pictures dressed in Andean clothes (At this point you will only visit part of the town of Chinchero and an Andean textile center.)
We continue to MORAY located at (3,450m/11,318ft) where we find the agricultural terraces with their complex system of irrigation and terraces, different levels of terraces are carved into a huge bowl, part of which was further excavated by the Incas, it is thought they were used by the Incas to discover the optimal growing conditions for their crops, these terraces served as a natural green house to grow an extraordinary variety of crops at an altitude normally not conducive for the crops, the Incas were very advanced in the knowledge of creating specific sub-climates.
Then we are on our way to Salt Mines, on the way we will see Maras Village where its colonial architectural beauty is still preserved, you will see the buildings are of thin stone, then we move to Salineras, the salt mine consists of 3000 small pools, every three days, during the dry season, workers fill the pools with salt water that comes from natural hot spring, this place was work since pre-Inca time until nowadays, the salt is ground up, treated with iodine packaged and sent to various markets in the region.
Finally, you will head back to Cusco (Around 3:15 pm near to plaza de armas) in time to enjoy some lunch on your own.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
We will pick you up between 8:20 am to 8:50 am, it depends on the location of your accommodation. A day before we will coordinate the exact pick-up time, if you are out side pick up location we can pick you up at plaza de armas (main plaza of Cusco). Our staff will ask for you at reception.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(161)
Great value for money. We sawvtwo very important and unique sites (the salt "mines" and the circular terracing), both of which lived up to expectations. The stop at the weaver's was entertaining even though we had seen some of that before. There was no pressure to buy (though we did....) Hipo was an excellent guide. He kept us on track but at the same time gave lots of time so we never felt rushed. He also made sure that we all had the banos when we needed it......a must for a guide. I would pack a snack because it is a long tour without a lunch break. We used our Cusco 10-day passes for the big entry fee.
This half day tour is well organized, go to important site only. Very relax, no rush. I highly recommend to take this tour. Other tour is full day 12 hour and will be exhausted.
An excellent experience to learn about Inca culture; a prepared and knowledgeable guide is what makes the experience, taking you to the magic of this wealthy culture and leaving you with a desire to learn more about the ancestors.
Excellent tour, although it's more than a half day, it's really a full day tour, we did not get back to Cusco until nearly 4pm. But great guide, very interesting stops and excellent value for money for what was included.
The tour was great, the guide Manoel always very attentive and explaining everything very well! We visited beautiful places and gave peaceful time to see everything! We love it!
The description undersold the experience. Llamas, alpacas, chocolate tasting, holding live guinea pigs, dancing, was great
We had so much fun today. We appreciate that the tour guide was well informed about the archeological sites and gave us the opportunity to be part of cultural activities. Thank you so much. Jhon was the best!!
Excellent tour in the company of Felipe and Jaimito. The explanations provided were very good, and we learned a lot more about the history of the places visited. Highly recommended!
They are on time, stops are worthwhile, guide is knowledgeable and helpful. Most importantly, the cost is the cheapest among all similar tours.
Good organization of the tour. The guide was punctual and spoke English as stated. The tour itself was also very interesting. Indeed, one can buy really good souvenirs in Chinchero and at the shop by the salt mines of Maras; it is not overpriced. The driver drove well; there were no reckless maneuvers. Communication with the agency was very good via WhatsApp.
