Published on May, 2024

Easily one of the more impressive sites in Peru. It’s humbling to know that this site is thousands of years old and is still in operation today. It was built by the Maras people thousands of years ago and started with just 200 pools. The Inka added thousands more pools, and there were even more added on after the Inca Empire fell. This region is famous for its salt production and the secret to it is the forever flowing salt water pouring from the mountain that the salt mines sit on top of. The locals channel this water into various different streams and fill the different square shaped pools. They fill them up to a certain depth so that the sun will melt the water and leave the salt behind. They produce three different types of salt here and ship all over the world. We were lucky enough to see a few workers down below working and harvesting the salt. The women are responsible for filling the pools with water and scraping the salt into bags and the men are responsible for caring said bags up to the top of the hill where they load onto trucks. There are also beautiful views of the surrounding mountains and it really feels like you are in a totally different time. I am impressed by the ingenuity and the willingness to do hard work by the Peruvian people. Definitely a site that every traveler and Peruvian should visit at least once.

Published on Sep, 2021

It was my birthday's trip where this part of Cusco was magical because I could renew my vibes and the view of SALINERAS and terraces in Moray by ñquad bike WAS WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE!!! I LOVED IT!!

Published on Feb, 2020

If you are in the Sacred Valley there are a lot of ruins and sites to see and I wouldn't skip this one, it really is quite a visually interesting experience. The salt flats are massive - so so many, all built into the mountain in terraces, it really is not something you're used to seeing! Also there are little shops and along the way inside which sell the Maras salt plain and also infused with different Andean herbs which make great small gifts for people (very travel friendly as well). It also feels nice to support the people!

Published on Feb, 2020

Maras (altitude 3,380m) is located 40 km north of Cuzco in the Sacred Valley of the Incas. This town was designed by the Franciscans and the color of houses (made with mud bricks) cannot be changed. he tradition of cooking with firewood causes long term lung disease. The Incas had a lab in Maras where, thanks to its micro climate, they experimented with many potato blends. There are dozens of potato varieties in Peru and I think we ate most of them. There are many salt evaporation ponds located towards Urubamba (2,870m), in use since Inca times. The salt is evaporated from a local subterranean stream, emerging at a spring with flow directed into an intricate system of tiny channels constructed so that water runs gradually down into the ancient terraced ponds which are less than four sq.m in area and no more than 30 cm deep. Maintenance of the adjacent feeder channel, the side walls and the water-entry notch, bottom surface of the pond, quantity of water and the removal of accumulated salt deposits requires close cooperation among the community of users which has been the process since before the Incas. As water evaporates in the sun warmed ponds, it becomes supersaturated and sale precipitates as various sized crystals onto the inner surfaces of the pond’s earthen walls and floor. The pond owner then closes the water feeder notch so the pond goes dry. Within a few days the salt is collected. Donkeys are used to transport the salt. Its color varies from white to light reddish or brownish tan and all three types of sale are considered medicinal. This rich in sodium salt can be purchased in Australia - known as Inca Salt. Owners of these salt ponds must be members of the community and families new to the community get one further away. The size of the assigned salt pond depends on the family’s size. Moray is an archaeological site about 50 km NW of Cuzco on a high plateau about 3,500m altitude. The unusual Inca ruins, mostly terraced circular depressions, the largest of which is approximately 30m (98’) deep, has an irrigation system. The depth, design and orientation with respect to wind and sun, creates a temperature difference of as much as 15 degrees between the top and bottom. It is therefore thought that Moray may have been an Inca agricultural experiment station. During the rainy season of 2009-10, high levels of rain caused permanent damage to the Moray ruins. Built out of stone and compacted earth, the damage was extensive as rain water undermined the ground beneath the structure. Repair work is continuing but lack of funds and rainfall hinder progress and there are concerns as to the future of this historic site and major tourist attraction.