Morning Pickup in Cusco

Your Maras Moray Salt Mines Half Day Tour begins with pickup from your hotel or an agreed meeting point between approximately 8:00 a.m. and 8:30 a.m.

After joining the group, travel by tourist transportation into the Andean countryside, passing agricultural areas, traditional communities, and mountain landscapes on the way to Chinchero.

Chinchero & Traditional Andean Textiles

Start the cultural portion of the experience in Chinchero, a high-altitude Andean community with a strong connection to traditional textile production.

At a local textile center, artisans will demonstrate how wool is washed and prepared, how natural ingredients are used to create different colors, and how traditional weaving techniques produce the distinctive patterns found in Andean textiles.

The visit also provides context about Chinchero’s Inca and colonial heritage before the journey continues toward Moray.

Discover the Circular Terraces of Moray

Arrive at Moray and discover its extraordinary concentric terraces, one of the most recognizable archaeological landscapes in the region.

Your professional guide will explain the principal theories about the site’s function and its association with Inca agricultural experimentation and crop acclimatization.

After the guided explanation, enjoy some time for photographs and views across the surrounding highland landscape.

Explore the Maras Salt Mines

Continue toward the spectacular Maras Salt Mines, where thousands of individual salt ponds cover the steep mountainside.

Learn how naturally salty water reaches the pools through a traditional channel system and how evaporation allows salt to be harvested. Local families continue to participate in this centuries-old activity today.

The designated viewpoints provide excellent opportunities to appreciate and photograph the unique geometry of the salt terraces.

Return to Cusco

After visiting Maras, begin the road journey back to Cusco.

Arrival near the historic center is generally between approximately 2:00 p.m. and 2:30 p.m., leaving the remainder of the afternoon available for your own plans.