Textile Chinchero Tour, Maras and Moray

Early in the morning, we will pick you up from your hotel to start this interesting excursion to the Sacred Valley of the Incas. Our first stop will be in the town of Chinchero, located 28 km from the city of Cusco. Here we will visit a local textile workshop, where we will appreciate how they use ancient techniques to make garments.

Then, we will visit the salt mines of Maras located on an open hill in Urubamba’s valley. This place has an impressive process created by Incas, where a subterranean stream evaporates salty water and it emerges at a spring. The flow is then directed into an intricate system of tiny channels constructed so that the water runs gradually down onto the several hundred ancient terraced ponds. The water, which is exposed to the sun, leaves salt on the land.

After visiting the salt mines near Maras, head to the Moray ruins, which are made up of three coliseums thought to have been used by the Incas as a sort of open air crop laboratory. The coliseums consist of several enormous terraced circular depressions, the largest of which is about 30 meters (98 feet) deep. Admire these terraces which are arranged in concentric circles and are reminiscent of an ancient Greek theater. The Sacred Valley of the Incas has extensive fertile lands perfect for cultivation, as well as impressive archaeological sites. This place will show us the lifestyle of the Inca Empire and its advanced construction techniques. After the tour you will return to Cusco at Plaza El Regocijo.