The Sacred Valley of the Incas was used to fulfill different functions and take advantage of the resources offered by these lands for the development and progress of the Inca civilization.
This half day tour will take you to the important places that the Incas developed for the production of products, planting and harvesting a diversity of products. You will also get more information about the Inca culture and life.
Together with our local guide you will discover surprising facts about the history that Cusco keeps in each place of its sacred valley. This tour is ideal to acclimatize before making your trip to Machu Picchu.
If you want to visit more places in the sacred valley that were a key point for the development of the Inca civilization, check out our full day tour package to the Sacred Valley and Maras Moray.
Cusco Hotel Transfer
0830 AM
We will pick you up from your hotel in Cusco and take you through the Sacred Valley of the Incas along the route from Chinchero to Maras in our private transportation.
Throughout the journey, you will be able to see the natural beauty of the Peruvian countryside, as well as the snow-capped peaks of the Andes.
You will be able to observe and learn more about the traditional salt extraction process that the inhabitants of this town still carry out when you arrive at the Salineras de Maras, accompanied by our local expert guide.
The salt mines of Maras are one of the natural sites in the Sacred Valley that provide an impressive insight into Inca technology. Currently, more than 3,000 saltwater wells are used by 800 households in the local villages of Maras.
Since the time of the Incas, the salt pans have been used to extract salt through an evaporation process in which wells filled with naturally salty water are expected to harden and extract the salt.
After seeing these saltwater pools, we’ll head to the Moray Archaeological Complex, where you can purchase your admission ticket if you haven’t already.
The Archaeological Complex of Moray, with its surprising agricultural terraces, is located a few kilometers from Maras.
It was used as an agricultural research center by the Incas, and is made up of 20 different microclimates with a temperature difference of 15°C between the highest and lowest terraces.
As a result of this, they were able to grow a variety of products throughout the Sacred Valley.
You will explore the many circular terraces with our guide, who will explain how the Incas used them and which floor had the maximum temperature.
After this tour of these places we will return to the city of Cusco in our private transport. We will arrive in Cusco in the afternoon.
