Moray Terraces and Maras Salt Pools Half-Day Tour from Cusco
Description
This is a fantastic, shared, half-day tour to explore part of the Sacred Valley of the Incas in Cusco City. You will see amazing views of the Urubamba Mountains, the Veronica Mountain, and the green valleys of farms. On this trip with a professional guide, you will be able to learn about agriculture, textiles, and the history of the Incas, and see local people customs.
Tour Options
Itinerary
We will start the tour picking up from your hotel in cusco
Moray is made up of three amphitheater-like terraces made by the Incas. These terraces, which are carved deep into the earth in a bowl shape, are thought to have been used as an agricultural laboratory to determine the optimal conditions for growing crops.
On this tour you will travel to Peru’s historic Urubamba Valley. Located between Cusco and Machu Picchu, the Urubamba Valley is known for its lush scenery, picturesque colonial towns, and magnificent Incan fortresses.
You will head to the salt mines of Maras, which are just 2 miles away. Dating back to colonial times, Maras was considered a salt-producing center. Carved into the mountain side are over 3000 salt pools, which are filled daily by a little stream of water. Once the water evaporates, it leaves behind a glistening patchwork of salt. The salt mines are a great spot to take pictures and capture the amazing beauty of both the Andes and the spectacular Salineras.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
we pick up only from the historical center in cusco
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Entrance fees: you must have the tourist ticket to enter Moray. The tourist ticket is currently 22 USD or 70 soles for a 1-day ticket, or 47 USD or 130 soles for a 10-day ticket. This ticket will give you access to many other attractions in the Sacred Valley of the Incas, and some museums and places of interest in Cusco. Maras is a separate ticket of 3.50 USD or 10 soles
- Meals: there are no meals served during this tour but you can buy snacks along the way. You should be back in Cusco in time to enjoy lunch on your own
Reviews(15)
This tour was great. Well organized and ran as scheduled. Pick up and drop off as well as communication with the tour operator was spot on.
Great way to see Moray and Maras salt mines. Our tour guide Juan Carlos was passionate and provides lots of good information about the places we visited.
Great tour - knowledgable guide and good opportunities to buy stuff on the way round. Highly Recommended.
The Moray Terraces and Maras Salt Pools half-day tour from Cusco exactly matched the description. Hotel pickup worked without any problems. First we went to the Sacred Valley in Moray, where our tour guide gave very good explanations. We were even able to walk a full lap around the terraces, while other groups were only on the upper path. So we had an excellent overview of the plant. Afterwards we drove to lunch. The buffet was excellent, with a wide range of food. Afterwards we stopped at the salt pools of Maras, where you could enjoy the view from a terrace. There was plenty of time for photos and some more explanations. The return journey to the hotel went smoothly. Conclusion: Very good value for money. If you already have a combo ticket, you don't have to pay admission to Moray, and the 20 pesos for the salt mine are cheap. Overall a well organized, informative and worthwhile tour.
Dear traveller, vielen Dank, dass Sie sich die Zeit genommen haben, eine so ausführliche und hilfreiche Bewertung zu schreiben. Es freut uns sehr zu hören, dass die gesamte Tour – vom reibungslosen Abholen am Hotel über die informativen Erklärungen in Moray, das köstliche Mittagsbuffet bis hin zum Besuch der Maras-Salzbecken – genau Ihren Erwartungen entsprochen hat. Besonders schön ist es zu wissen, dass Sie die komplette Runde in Moray genießen konnten und genügend Zeit für Fotos sowie Erklärungen hatten. Auch Ihr Hinweis zum Preis-Leistungs-Verhältnis ist für zukünftige Reisende sehr wertvoll. Wir danken Ihnen herzlich für Ihr Vertrauen und freuen uns, Sie eines Tages wieder auf einer unserer Touren begrüßen zu dürfen! Best regards, Willka Travel Team
The Morsy Terraces and Maras Salt Pools were amazing to see. The genius of the Inca Civilization was on full display. We also saw an interesting demonstration of women cleaning and weaving Alpaca fibers. And a similar event in a shop selling Peruvian chocolate. The driver, Carmel, did a great job transporting us from place to place safely and quickly. Our guide, JZ, was very enthusiastic and each place. He provided lots of helpful insights. It was a lot of your for the price.
Paul was a knowledgable and friendly tour guide, conducting the tour in English and Spanish. We met him at the pick up spot, meaning we didn’t have to wait for everyone to be picked up from their hotels as that had already happened by the time the mini bus had arrived. Journey was broken up nicely with various stops so never felt like you were sitting for too long unlike other tours from Cusco. Although you visited a couple of shops on route I felt no pressure to buy anything (although I did end up with a lovely jumper and some salted chocolate). Enjoyed the tour of Moray and Maras and felt we saw a lot without having to wake up at 4am. Thank you!
If viewing first hand the amazing engineering and building prowess of the ancient Inka is of interest to you then a tour of the iconic circular Moray terraces is a must. Our tour guide Jessica, was very knowledgeable about how the design of the terraces improved the agricultural purpose behind them. The stop at the Maras salt mines was also worthwhile. It was interesting to see how the local people have harnessed a salt spring to provide a long term source of income for local families.
Emil was a great tour guide, giving everyone lots of information and even accommodating different languages. He gave us plenty of time to take pictures too.
Jimmy was an excellent guide! Quite knowledgeable on the sites and even gave us a bonus stop in Chinchero! Would 100% recommend.
I loved this half day trip, can’t recommend enough! JC was an amazing tour guide and provided a lot of information on the tour. I particularly loved the visit to a local women’s collective that show you how they make textiles by hand (from collecting the wool, cleaning it, spinning it into thread, dying it with different local plants, and weaving it into blankets, sweaters, etc. that takes days/weeks!). The prices reflect the authenticity of the work (in the big cities in Peru, all the “alpaca” items are made of synthetic materials and chemically dyed!) so this is where I bought all my souvenirs and beautiful blankets that will last a lifetime! Just keep in mind it did not include lunch and we got back to Cusco at 2:30 so brings snacks or buy some along the way. Enjoy!
