Maras Moray Day Trip
Description
Though they may not make the list of big-hitter Incan sites in Peru, the ruins at Moray and pre-Inca salt mines of Salineras are no less fascinating than their more famous counterparts. Discover these off-the-beaten track ruins on this day tour from Cusco, which also includes a visit to the quiet colonial town of Maras. A guided tour makes it easy to explore less-frequented locales and includes informative commentary and round-trip transportation from Cusco.
Tour Options
Itinerary
We will be leaving from our office to Maras. Maras is home to over 3600 Salt Wells. Strategically dug into the mountainside, thousands of shallow pools filled with salt water eventually evaporate and leave behind the crystallised salt, a process that has been practiced for more than 500 years. It’s believed that the salt pans were originally constructed by the Wari civilisation, which predates the Inca. However, the Inca saw the economic opportunity in harvesting the salt of Maras and expanded the salt pans further up the mountainside. We will then be visiting the iconic, Moray agricultural terraces. Moray is 4.5 miles from the town of Maras and 39 miles from Cusco. The main feature that impresses travellers is its system of circular agricultural terraces, which are up to 330 feet deep. They are build using retaining walls connected by an irrigation system. Moray can be considered a crop lab– they used the terraces to create micro-climates and grow various products.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(13)
We learned so much on this tour! Alpaca wool preparation, natural dyes, Incan agriculture, salt mining and more. Our guide Josie was awesome! Very knowledgeable and personable!
Marasal and Moray tour with Julio as guide was great. Pick up at hotel but went by taxi to the pick up spot. The bus was full and the driver great. Comfortable bus. Drove to Chinchero to see local weaving and the archeological site from afar. Good views. On to Moray. The drive was through dirt road part way but the views were enthralling. Moray with its unique circular terraces definitely worth the effort. Good explanation by Julio who was more than happy to show us the best view points and help to take photos. On to Marasal to see the terraced salt flats another great site with spectacular views. We returned by 315pm slightly later than expected. Overall crammed but great tour. Please bring your tourist ticket if you have one or you can buy a Sacred valley sited ticket for S/70
Thank you for traveling with Heidi Travel The Gad Blessing you Heidi
The Moray archeological site and the Maras salt mines are a must see if you have a spare day or half day in Cusco. This tour company had a very good bilingual guide who made sure that as the only English speakers in a group of ~14 people, that we were looked after. Comfortable bus ride, plenty of explanations and interesting observations from the guide, and the sites themselves are stunning. Note: Maras is best visited in dry season (when the salt is more visible) but still very impressive in the wet season (just pick a dry day!)
Indeed if you come to Cusco you can not miss the Salineras de Maras and the terraces of Moray is an incredible tour. Thank you for your comment, it is nice to know that you enjoyed the tour.
Perfect day nice to be picked up and returned to your hotel! Carlos was a great guide as very knowledgeable and spoke excellent English. The driver was great too and got us everywhere we needed to go that day. Thanks for a great tour. Gayle and Mike
Hi, We are pleased to know that you enjoyed the experience during your visit to Maras Moray, thanks for your recommendations
These sites, maras and Moray are simply out of the world. Very unique sites. We had a very good guide which was an icing on the cake as we got to know many things from him about these sites. This was a flawless trip.
We love knowing that you enjoyed the experience of meeting Maras and Moray. We are grateful for your comment and hope you can come back soon and enjoy our City. Regards.
Thanks to our guide Joel for giving us an unforgettable trip to maras and Moray. This half day trip was very informative and fun filled. We decided in the last minute and it was totally worth it. Heidi Travels did a remarkable job in arranging this tour exceptionally well.
Hi, thanks for trusting our company. We hope you can come back and learn more about our Cusco.
Beautiful places to visit. Pro for this tour operator - 1. Punctual pick up and strict on everyone being on time after their free time 2. Knowledgeable of the places 3. Visit to the village was educational.
We love knowing that you met a little of our city. We hope you can come back soon.
We had a fantastic time on this half day trip of the two inconic sites of the Sacred Valley. We came across many pictures on the internet of the Moray agricultual site and were keen on visiting it. This was a perfect trip. The guide gave us a very good and sensible explanation about each sites we visited and was very accommodating too. Well worth the time and money spent.
Hello, good to know that you could know our Moray Archaeological Park. We hope you can come back and enjoy the Wonders of our beautiful City.
Our trip to Maras and Moray was a very fun experience. We went in a nice, comfortable van that seats about 15. The guide was very good and did a good job of explaining things in both English and Spanish. We did make 2 vender stops: one at a local market where ladies did a demonstration on how they cleaned and died alpaca yarn and another at a shop where you could purchase products from the Mara salt mines. Both were actually entertaining and the sites themselves are pretty spectacular. I would recommend this tour for a fun day trip.
Hi, thanks for visiting. See you soon.
EVERYTHING was a splendid excursion to MARAS MORAY with my family, it is worth it, I just marveled at this place, the agency staff fulfilled everything.
Hola! Que alegría saber que les ha gustado el tour. Heidi Travel E.I.R.L les espera para brindarles el mejor servicio en la Ciudad de Cusco.
