On the high plateau between Cusco and the Sacred Valley, two sites only a few kilometres apart are usually visited together. At Maras, a salty spring feeds thousands of shallow pools terraced down a ravine; families from the local community have harvested the salt here since before the Incas.
At Moray, the Incas shaped natural hollows into rings of concentric terraces. The temperature differs noticeably between the top and bottom levels, and many researchers think the site was used to test crops in different conditions — though that remains a theory.
Top things to do at Maras & Moray
See the salt pans of Maras
Viewing platforms look across the patchwork of white, cream and brown pools. Visitors are no longer allowed to walk among the pans themselves, to protect the salt. Stalls sell the pink salt in every form.
Walk around the terraces of Moray
A path circles the largest depression and passes two smaller ones. Allow 45 minutes to an hour. At about 3,500 m, take the climbs slowly.
Stop in Chinchero
Most tours add this weaving town on the road back to Cusco, with an Inca wall, a colonial church and demonstrations of natural dyeing.
How to get to Maras & Moray
- On a tour: the simplest way — a half-day trip from Cusco, or one that drops you in Ollantaytambo. See tours.
- Independently: take a colectivo towards Urubamba, get off at the Maras turn-off and hire a taxi there for the round trip.
- Active options: quad-bike and mountain-bike tours cross the plateau between the two.
Insider tips
- Moray is on the Boleto Turístico; the Maras salt pans charge a separate, small community fee in cash.
- The plateau is open and windy. Bring sun protection and a warm layer.
- The views of the snow-capped Urubamba range from the road are among the best in the valley.
Best tours & tickets for Maras & Moray
These top-rated experiences are the easiest way to see Maras & Moray:
Half-day tour Cusco: Moray, Maras Salt Mines & Chinchero Weavers Tour
Three of the most photogenic stops near Cusco in a morning or an afternoon. Very well reviewed, and easy to fit around other plans.
- Circular terraces of Moray
- Maras salt pans
- Weaving demonstration in Chinchero
Day trip Cusco: Chinchero, Moray & Salt Mines with Drop-off in Ollantaytambo
A Sacred Valley tour designed for onward travel: it finishes in Ollantaytambo so you can stay the night or catch a train to Aguas Calientes, instead of doubling back to Cusco.
- Chinchero, Moray and Maras
- Ends in Ollantaytambo, not Cusco
- Connects with evening trains
