The Maras Moray and Chinchero tour is a fantastic half day tour to explore and enjoy the different landscapes around Cusco as you prepare for the long journey to Machu Picchu. We start to visit the circular terraces in Moray, visit the picturesque town of Maras, count the thousands of salt pools in the salt pans and visit Chinchero for a textile demonstration and visit the archaeological site.
Highlight of the Maras Moray and Chinchero Tour
- Book with confidence and flexibility
- Visit important Inca sites of Chinchero and Moray
- Explore the Salineras and see the more than 3,000 salt pools
- Learn the techniques of Andean weavers, women descended from the Incas.
- Visit the city of Portraits, Maras, former salt producers.
Price per person
To reserve the Maras Moray Tour, you must make an initial payment of 20 USD per person, the remaining balance can be paid online, in installments or in Cusco with any credit card without any reservation fee
Full description of the tour
After being picked up from your hotel in Cusco at 8:00 am, you will drive to Moray, winding through lush fields of potatoes, wheat, and high Andean villages. Moray is located at (3,450m/11,318ft), where we can find four impressive Inca ruins, with beautiful terraced circular depressions used as an agricultural laboratory by the Incas. Next, you will pass through the city of Maras, a colonial city built during the Spanish invasion to exploit the salt mines located near the town. In the city, you can see the old roads and a beautiful church built in 1650.
When you finish exploring Maras, you will continue driving for 20 more minutes to Salineras and explore the more than 3000 salt ponds where the villagers of Maras have been collecting salt for centuries, even before the Incas. We then continue our journey to Chinchero, a small rustic town dedicated to agriculture, textiles and famous for the colorful market. The women will show you how they wash, dye, spin and weave their traditional costumes. After visiting the market, shopping, you will return to Cusco and arrive only for lunch around 1:00 p.m.
Places to visit on this tour:
CHINCHERO (Land of great weavers), Located at 3760 meters above sea level, is famous for its local market, colonial church and farming terraces. The inhabitants are dedicated to agriculture, mainly growing potatoes and textiles, producing the best fabrics in the region using Andean designs, natural colors and ancestral traditional tools.
MORAYGreenhouses, Located at 3,500 meters, This impressive archaeological site is made up of 4 circular terraces type Roman amphitheater, located in huge holes in the ground, the deepest is 30 meters. Although the purpose of these terraces is unknown, it is believed that the terraces were used for agricultural experimentation, an adaptation of different crops.
SALT MINES(salt mines). Located near the city of Maras, with more than 3000 salt lagoons, Salineras has been in this place since pre-Inca times. The villagers of Maras collect the salt using the evaporation system, irrigating the ponds every day for up to a month. Once the ribbon is thick enough, about 10 cm, they will be harvested and
delivered to local markets. Each member of the Maras village owns a certain number of ponds, and together they form a local company calledMARASAL .
Included in Maras Moray Tour
- Hotel pick up and drop off.
- Private and comfortable transportation (round trip)
- professional tour guide
Covid-19 measures to keep you safe while traveling
- Temperature checks for all travelers are mandatory.
- Face masks required for travelers and staff in public areas.
- Hand sanitizer available to travelers and staff at all times.
- High-traffic locations and equipment are regularly sanitized between uses.
- Maximum 12 people per group to reduce crowds during this pandemic.
- The capacity of transport and tourist sites will be reduced to 50%
- Printed material such as maps or vouchers will be avoided.
- 100% online payments with no booking fees at all.
- Flexible reservations during the COVID – 19 pandemic
Important to know before booking
- A minimum of two people is needed to start a tour.
- Shopping available, take some cash
- Half day tour only
- Cancellation policy
- You can cancel this tour for up to 48 hours and you will get a full refund
