Full Day - Maras Moray & Ccorcco Community

Highlights

Inclusions

Itinerary

1. Our first stop is Maras, from which, we can get to the salt mines. The salt mines display a bizarre spectacle of beauty. Located on a wide-open hill above the Urubamba Valley, a natural salt water stream runs underground. In pre-Incan times, they have been evaporating the salty water from this stream in order to obtain the salt that gets left behind. How it works: The highly salty water emerges at a spring, a natural outlet of the underground stream. The flow is 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. Viewed from the peak, the myriad of rectangles looks like an enormous painting designed by nature.

   1 h

2. After visiting the salt mines near Maras, we continue on a short distance to the Moray ruins. The ruins are composed of three coliseums, which are 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 30m/98ft deep. The purpose of these depressions is still uncertain but their depth and orientation with respect to wind and sun creates a temperature difference of as much as 15 °C/27 °F between the top and bottom. This large temperature difference was possibly used by the Incas to study the effects of different climatic conditions on crops. The terraces are arranged in concentric circles and are reminiscent of an ancient Greek theatre.

   1 h

3. Afterward, visit the village of Ccorcco (Chincheros) to the northwest of Cusco. This picturesque village was an important Inca center and is known for the traditional Andean weaving techniques still used by its people. After this fantastic visit, we will drive back to Cusco.

   1 h

Cancellation

Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.

Reviews

Ratings come from 3 reviews collected by our booking partner. They are travellers' own words, in the order they were written — never reordered to flatter the experience.

Know before you go

How it compares in Cusco

• Its from-price is 80% above the median of the 1358 day trips we list in Cusco.
• It is shorter than most of them.
• By number of reviews it ranks 599 of 1358.
• The operator lists free cancellation on it.

About Cusco

Cusco, the old Inca capital high in the Peruvian Andes, blends massive stone walls with colonial churches and is the gateway to Machu Picchu.

The Plaza de Armas is the heart of the city, framed by the cathedral and the Jesuit church of La Compañía. Inca stonework survives throughout the centre, most famously at the Qorikancha, the sun temple on which the Spanish built a monastery, and in the twelve-angled stone on Hatun Rumiyoc street. San Blas, the artisans' quarter, climbs steeply with workshops and cafés.

Top-ranked sights in Cusco: Aguas Calientes, Machu Picchu, Ollantaytambo Ruins.

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