Discover Maras & Moray: Ancient Innovation in the Sacred Valley

Overview

Among the many wonders to visit across the Sacred Valley, few places illustrate the Inca’s resourcefulness as Maras & Moray do. Located close from Ollantaytambo, these two sites ilustrate the inventiveness and development of the Andean peoples from before the Incas. Their farming technologies proof of an advanced economy and society. One was dedicated to the production of salt through natural evaporation, the other to advanced agricultural experimentation. Together, they tell a story of adaptation, sustainability, and the deep connection and understanding Andean people had with their environment.

Visiting Maras and Moray is witnessing how ancient cultures mastered the best usage of the resources they had around them.

Maras & Moray: History, Costs, and Visiting Details

How to Get There from Ollantaytambo (with Andenes del Inca Tour):

• You are picked up from Ollantaytambo in the morning, driven to Moray first, then to Maras, before returning.
• The tour lasts 5 hours.
• The cost for this tour ranges from USD 30-50 per person for group service (private tours cost extra).

Now more detail for each site:

Maras (Salineras de Maras): History, Purpose & Current Situation

History & Purpose

• Pre-Inca / Inca usage: The salt mines date from before the Incas, but the Incas formalized the systems of channels, ownership, and how salt was harvested.
• How it works: Water is collected from a spring that comes from up the ravine. The water is then channeled into evaporation pools. After some weeks, the water will be mostly evaporated and the salt is ready to be harvested.
• Community‐run tradition: The whole production is run by the same families that have historically been working there for generations. This is a rich tradition that has developed into a semi-industrialized process that respects the environment and the income distribution for its members.

Current Situation

• It’s a working site: salt is still harvested using traditional methods, and the product is marketed locally and abroad under their own brand Marasal S.A.
• As a tourist site, due to its relevance it has become a must for visitors. Income from tourists is their 2nd most important revenue.

Prices & Entrance

• Entrance fee: 20 Peruvian soles.
• The Salineras de Maras are not included in the standard Cusco Tourist Ticket (BTC / Boleto Turístico).
• Hours: 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Duration of Visit

Time at Maras: 1 hour is enough to walk around the viewpoints, see the pools, and do some souvenir shopping.

Moray: History, Purpose & Current Situation

History & Purpose

• Moray is an archaeological site composed of concentric circular agricultural terraces carved into depressions in the ground. The largest depression is 30 meters deep.
• These circular terraces are believed to have been used by the Incas as an agricultural experimentation center. The design creates a gradient of microclimates: from warm at the top terraces to cooler at the lower ones. This was used to test crops in conditions that simulate different ecological zones.
• Advanced engineering: attention to drainage, soil composition, irrigation, and exact placement relative to sun & wind helped the Incas maximize growing potential and possibly acclimatize plants coming from different parts of the Empire.

Current Situation

• Since the 1970s Moray is preserved as an archaeological site, accessible to tourists. Guided tours often explain the microclimates, the engineering, and agriculture adaptations.

Prices & Entrance

• To enter Moray, you need the Cusco Tourist Ticket (“Boleto Turístico”).
• The cost of the Ticket is:
  • Partial ticket: S/ 70 (foreigners).
  • Full / General ticket: S/ 130 soles (foreigners).
• Hours: Open daily from 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.  

Duration of Visit

• Time at Moray: you will need about 1 to 1.5 hours exploring the terraces, walking around the rings, reading signage and taking photos.
• If combined Maras & Moray in a tour, the total for both sites + transport is about 5 hours.

If you are going to Cusco next, 69 Explorer has a great deal for a City Tour to discover the Imperial City.