Sacred Valley of the Incas Tour with Maras and Moray

We will pick you up from your hotel in Cusco at 0700 AM. Then in our private transportation we will embark on a trip to Pisac. On our way we will make a quick stop at a viewpoint in Taray. It offers a stunning view of the valley below. You will be able to see the Urubamba River winding through the towns of the Sacred Valley of the Incas. Pisac is home to one of the massive and beautiful Inca sites perched on a hill overlooking the town. We will take you uphill to the main entrance of the complex. Here our local expert will give you a guided tour of the complex. After touring the complex, we will take you to the main square. During the weekends, the narrow cobblestone streets here fill with local people selling their crafts.

Once you have had your fill of Pisac, we will take you to Urubamba. It is the lowest part of the Sacred Valley of the Incas. Here we will stop for a buffet lunch at a local restaurant.

After tasting a typical meal, we will continue the tour and visit Ollantaytambo. This was the most prominent site during the Inca empire. Here you can witness the advance of Inca urbanism. Ollantaytambo is one of the oldest and most inhabited towns of the Inca empire. The town is sandwiched between two Inca ruins. This is also the place from where you will board the train to Machu Picchu and the Inca Trail.

After touring Ollantaytambo, we will be visiting Maras and Moray. Both sites have played a prominent role and continue to do so even today. Moray is home to circular agricultural terraces that served as an agricultural laboratory for the Incas. Each level has a different temperature. The Incas used this place as an agricultural laboratory to determine the best climatic conditions necessary to grow a crop.

Maras is home to the salt mines. It has been passed down from generation to generation. The locals here continue to practice the traditional method of salt cultivation by solar evaporation. Our local expert will explain it to you in detail.

Completing the full-day tour to the sacred valley, we will be visiting Chinchero. It is the home of Andean textiles. This beautiful and serene town is often overlooked by tourists. It houses a whitewashed church that was once a royal palace of the Inca emperor Pachacutec. Among all the sites in the Sacred Valley, Chinchero has the most fertile soil. During the Inca civilization, under the leadership of Pachacutec, they built many agricultural terraces. The water channels here are a testament to the advancement of Inca engineering.

Later in the evening, we will take you back to the city of Cusco. We will drop you off at Plaza Regocijo, one block from Cusco's main square, Plaza de Armas.