Departing to Cusco via Urubamba, you will quickly reach these famous sites of the sacred valley, which undoubtedly deserve to be visited. From the town of Maras, after seeing its main square, you can reach a “horseshoe road” to the “salt mine”, formed by about 3000 small wells with an approximate area of about 5 m² each. In times of drought, these are filled with salt water that comes from a natural spring that is located above the wells. When the water evaporates, the salt crystallizes. When the salt reaches about 10 cm high from the floor, it is removed and then bagged in cloth sacks to be sent to the region's markets. Today it is still exported internationally.
A few kilometres further, at 3,500 meters above sea level, are the archaeological remains of Moray: about twelve concentric platforms creating so many microclimates; it thus simulates the different repertoire of climates within the giant Inca empire. According to historians, it served both as a place of experimentation and to calculate agricultural production in the different regions of the Tahuantinsuyo.
