Maras, The Salt Route

A picturesque town 67 Km  N of Cusco via paved way. This was a very prosperous community in Colonial times and still has a lovely church and various manor houses sporting the coats-of-arms of native nobility. Close to Maras are the salt mines that consists of 3000 small pools of approximately 05 square meters, over there is where men and women of Maras and Pichingoto lock up the water with high concentration of salt. Little by little with the evaporation of the water left the salt layers that according to their quality are derived for the human consumption, animal or industrialist. From each pool is obtained to the month up to 14 kintales (01 quintal is equivalent to 50 kg).

Moray

An archeological site 7 Km from Maras via packed dirt road and 33 km from Cusco. Composed of a series of concentric agricultural terraces, some as deep as of 150 m, the average of height of the platforms is of 1,80 meters and is a set of four circular terraces. Each one of the terraces has seven retaining walls and in them aqueducts are observed forming a system of watering. This is thought to have been a large agricultural laboratory where the Incas were able to create different microclimates to grow a large variety of crops. At the moment 70% of the eatable plants that the humanity consumes, was bequeathed by the Andean culture and in Peru there are around 3000 varieties of Potatoes.

Yucay

It is one of the cosiest places of the Sacred Valley of the Inkas by its climate and its pleasing landscapes, district of the province of Urubamba to 48 km from Cusco. Yucay is an example of the hard work of the agriculturists of the Inca Empire who used the system of Andean terraces for its products. Here are the remains of the palace of Inca Sayri Tupac, one of the rebel Incas who hid out in Vilcabamba, a splendid colonial church but the best thing of everything is to admire the sowing way and the payment to the Earth that the farmers do before initiating one lasts day.