Moray
The word Moray comes from the corn harvest called Aymoray and the dehydrated potato Moraya. Moray was rediscovered in 1932 by the expedition of Shirppe Johnson and was possibly an Incan agricultural research center where growing crops was conducted at different altitudes. The arrangement of its terraces produce microclimates. The center of the concentric circular terraces are a higher temperature and decrease gradually towards the outside at lower temperatures. In all, Moray can simulate up to 20 different types of microclimate s. It is believed that Moray could have served as a model for the calculation of agricultural production not only in Urubamba Valley but also from different parts of Tawantinsuyu.
During the month of October, hundreds of residents of surrounding communities attend the circular terraces of Moray to celebrate Moray Raymi or Festival of the Sun. The festivities include folk dances related to land, labor and agricultural products.
Tour Itinerary:
We pick you up from your hotel at around 9:30 am. From there we head to the archeological site of Moray. Later we visit the salt pans, Salineras, located northwest of the town of Maras. There are about 3000 wells, which were built in Incan times for consumption and as a means of economic exchange and are still worked by the locals. The mountain has a saltwater well, serving during the dry season to fill the wells through an “irrigation” system to fill the pans which then solidify into salt in the sun.
From here there is the option to return to Cusco or stay overnight in the valley.
This tour is available in the service group and private service.
