Maras and Moray: Sacred Valley Guide

Maras and Moray are two sites on the high plain above the Sacred Valley, about 1 hour to 1 hour 30 minutes from Cusco and usually visited together. Moray is a group of circular Inca terraces in natural hollows, at about 3,480 m; the salt pans of Maras are some 4,500 small salt pools on a hillside, worked by local families since before the Incas. Moray is on the Boleto Turístico; the salt pans have their own entrance fee.

Maras and Moray at a glance#

The town of Maras, at about 3,300 m, lies between the two: Moray is about 7 km from the town, and the salt pans about 6.6 km by road (or about 3.7 km on foot, downhill).

Moray: the circular terraces#

Moray has three large hollows, and the Incas lined them with rings of terraces; the main one has twelve levels and is about 30 m deep. Each level gets a different amount of sun and wind, so the temperature changes from the rim to the bottom, which is warmer; a difference of up to 15 °C is often quoted. Because of this, most researchers think Moray was used to grow crops in different conditions, as a kind of agricultural test site, but there are no written records of its purpose.

The salt pans of Maras#

A spring of very salty water comes out of the mountain above the salt pans, and narrow channels carry it to thousands of shallow pools built on terraces. Families close a pool, let the water evaporate in the sun and scrape off the salt, as people here did before the Incas: archaeologists date the first salt production to the Early Horizon, long before the Inca period. The salt pans are run by Marasal, a company owned by the communities of Maras and Pichingoto, whose 633 families work the pools.

• Entrance: S/ 20 for foreigners and S/ 15 for Peruvians since January 2024 (it was S/ 10 for everyone before), paid in cash at the entrance. It is not on the Boleto Turístico.
• Visiting: since June 2019 visitors cannot walk between the pools; you see them from the path and viewpoints along the edge.
• Buying salt: stalls at the entrance sell salt from the pools.

The town of Maras#

Maras is a small farming town of adobe houses and a colonial church, on the plain between Moray and the salt pans. Most visitors only drive through it, but it is a good place to start the walk down to the salt pans.

How to visit Maras and Moray#

• On a tour: half-day tours from Cusco visit both, and many Sacred Valley tours add them to Ollantaytambo or Chinchero.
• By taxi: from Cusco, or from Urubamba in the valley, with the driver waiting at each site.
• On foot or by bike: walk from Maras to the salt pans and on down to the village of Pichingoto in the valley, or join a bike tour.
• By ATV or on horseback: see our guide to adventure tours in the Sacred Valley.

Peru’s tourism board has an official video of Maras and Moray.

Tips#

• Bring your Boleto Turístico for Moray and cash in soles for the salt pans.
• Both sites are exposed: bring a hat, sunscreen and a jacket for the wind.
• From May to September the paths are dry; in the rainy season the path down to the salt pans can be muddy.

Maras and Moray on our tours#

Our Cusco Family Holiday: 8 Days visits Pisac, Moray, Maras and Ollantaytambo on its Sacred Valley day. For the rest of the valley, see our Sacred Valley guide.