From Cusco: Moray, Maras Salt Mines & Chinchero Weavers Half-Day
Description
This half-day excursion to Moray and Minas de Sal allows you to venture into a part of the Sacred Valley, on beautiful farmland outside Cusco and near the ancient Andean town of Chinchero. You will visit the following sites: Andean Textile Center in Chinchero, Moray, Maras village, and Salt mines.
Tour Options
Itinerary
We will pick you up from your hotel between 8:20 am and 8:40am and head to Chinchero located at 3,762 meters high.
We will appreciate the traditional market, where they practice bartering, we will visit the weaving workshop there the local people who still practice the QUECHUA tradition, they will show us how they get the colors from natural plants and you can take nice pictures dressed in Andean clothes (At this point you will only visit part of the town of Chinchero and an Andean textile center.)
We continue to MORAY located at (3,450m/11,318ft) where we find the agricultural terraces with their complex system of irrigation and terraces, different levels of terraces are carved into a huge bowl, part of which was further excavated by the Incas, it is thought they were used by the Incas to discover the optimal growing conditions for their crops, these terraces served as a natural green house to grow an extraordinary variety of crops at an altitude normally not conducive for the crops, the Incas were very advanced in the knowledge of creating specific sub-climates.
Then we are on our way to Salt Mines, on the way we will see Maras Village where its colonial architectural beauty is still preserved, you will see the buildings are of thin stone, then we move to Salineras, the salt mine consists of 3000 small pools, every three days, during the dry season, workers fill the pools with salt water that comes from natural hot spring, this place was work since pre-Inca time until nowadays, the salt is ground up, treated with iodine packaged and sent to various markets in the region.
Finally, you will head back to Cusco (Around 3:15 pm near to plaza de armas) in time to enjoy some lunch on your own.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
We will pick you up between 8:20 am to 8:50 am, it depends on the location of your accommodation. A day before we will coordinate the exact pick-up time, if you are out side pick up location we can pick you up at plaza de armas (main plaza of Cusco). Our staff will ask for you at reception.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(172)
An excellent tour that looks at three interesting areas. The textiles demonstration in Chichero was brilliant and a real surprise - the family working there were wonderful hosts and it was really interesting to see the traditional techniques used to spin, dye and weave. The visit to the salt mine was also really interesting. Only suggestion would be to include a lunch stop as it’s definitely more of a whole day rather than a half day trip, leaving at 8.30 and returning at 3.30
We had a fantastic tour today. Jonathan was full of knowledge and very interesting - he was also caring, kind and funny and made our whole day full of laughs! The traditional weaving experience was very interesting. From start to finish, a fantastic day!
We had a great experience with Apu Asangate Trek during our visit to Cusco. The tour was well organized, and everything went smoothly from start to finish. Our tour guide, Felipe, was excellent. He shared fascinating information about the Quechua community and culture, making the experience both educational and enjoyable. He also guided our group through Moray and the Maras Salt Mines, providing interesting historical and cultural insights at each location. We appreciate the company's organization and professionalism and would highly recommend Apu Asangate Trek to anyone planning a trip to Cusco. They helped make our visit a memorable one.
We had a very good time with our guides during our excursion. They gave very good explanations and enough time to properly visit each place. From beginning to end, everything went very well. I recommend this excursion with Apu Ausagate Trek!!
The tour was spectacular, the guide Hipólito was very charismatic and kind, he was always attentive to whatever you needed and was very interested in making sure you learned about the history. Very organized and everything on time, I would definitely recommend this tour.
Amazing tour with Hipo, very informative and funny, great day and lots included! Would highly recommend
Very good experience, the guide was super pleasant. 100% recommended
Very beautiful experience, our guide Yonatan was very good, he loves what he does and gives a lot of explanations. We loved it
Hipo did a fantastic job leading the tour. I loved the salt mines, agricultural site, and the weavers. If you’re interested in purchasing authentic Peruvian textiles keep in mind they accept credit card as well. Never felt rushed at all. Highly recommend this service to anyone as a day trip from Cusco (it says half day but it’s pretty much a full day).
It was a very pleasant tour and with a very interesting cultural experience.
