Moray Maras Trek

Description

Cusco has good option in reference Full Day hike, and one of the best option is Moray Maras Trek and Salt mines Hike where we will visit natural and Cultural tourist attractions such as Moray archeological centers with impressive Inca terraces and Maras Salt Mines.

These tourist attractions are located in the district of Maras, Province of Urubamba, Department of Cusco, The access is Cusco - Urubamba route, at km 42 there is a deviation to Maras where you enter to Maras’s town. There are many natural and cultural attractions in the sacred valley, Yanacocha Lake Trek is one of the good options.

Maras is a Andean typical town, it is located on a natural plateau on the left side of Urubamba River, the history of Maras dating back from pre-Inca age where it was inhabited by human groups such as the Maskas, then by the Inca Culture, when Inca Culture was conquered by Spanish, this place came to be inhabited by the Spanish conquerors, and today it is a fusion of both cultures, with narrow streets, colonial churches, beautiful portals and the view of the valley mountains Sacred of the Incas.

Moray's information is surprising because the Incas used natural depressions and built circular terraces which are connected by irrigation canals system (nowadays they no longer work) and communication stairs. The archaeological center of Moray is made up of 4 archaeological units of circular shape, the largest one is 150 to 170 meters deep.

The archaeological Center of Moray was studied by historians and archaeologists, they concluded that Moray was an utilitarian center, economic and Social use in the Inca age, taking into account this information we conclude that the archaeological center of Moray was a center of experimentation, adaptation and improvement of seeds at height.

Salt mines of Maras are a natural attraction whose dates from pre-Inca period with the arrival of human groups to Maras. The origin of Maras Salt mines is due to natural outcrop of water source that its composition has a large amount of Sodium. Nowadays the salt mines are exploited by the inhabitants of Maras which have approximately 2,500 wells, which form a different and impressive landscape in the Sacred Valley of the Incas.

These Natural and Cultural tourist attractions make the Moray Maras Trek a great option to visit, in addition to the beautiful Andean landscapes, customs and traditions that the inhabitants of Maras and their communities still preserve.

Moray Maras Trek Information:

Location: Northwest of the city of Cusco.

Duration of Moray Maras Hike: Full Day.

Hiking distance: Approximately 8 kilometers.

Season: All year, preferably from March to November.

Maximum height: 3 385 meters (11 105 feet).

Level of hiking: Easy.

Overview

Moray Maras Trek Itinerary

The pick-up will be from your hotel in Cusco or in the Sacred Valley then we head towards the Northwest of Cusco city, we reach the deviation of Maras, 1 hour and 50 minutes approximately from Cusco.

Our Transportation will leave us close to Inca archaeological complex of Moray, There we will start our hike, in Moray we will have a guided tour and time to take photos, Moray is an Inca archaeological center where the Incas built terraces or Inca platforms in a circular way, it is surrounded by a natural plateau from where you can see the snowy chain of Vilcanota.

After visit Moray we will start the hike to Maras, in the tour we will be able to appreciate fields of crops, typical houses of Andes, landscapes of Andean area and settlers of the area that still preserve their customs and traditions since the Inca age.

We will arrive to Maras and here we will have our box lunch, then we will continue our trek, this journey through a small valley which will take us to salt mines of Maras, here we will have a guided tour, we will visit the beginning of the outcrop of the salt mines and the exploitation wells of the salt mines of Maras.

From Maras salt mines you can already see the sacred valley of the Incas and we will continue our Hike until we reach the town of Pichingoto already in the sacred valley, here our transport will be waiting for us, which will take us back to Cusco city.