Moray: circular terraces at 10:30, before going down for lunch
Amphitheatres dug into natural hollows at 3,500 m, with concentric terraces that hold different temperatures depending on depth: that's why they're thought to have been an agricultural laboratory for testing crops at different altitudes. The Super Sacred Valley arrives at 10:30, fifteen minutes after the Maras Salt Mines, and spends 45 minutes on the rim of the main amphitheatre before dropping 40 minutes to lunch in Urubamba. It's covered by the Boleto Turístico.
Altitude
How high is Moray?
Moray is at 3,500 m, 150 m above Cusco: the second highest of the tour's 7 stops.
The stops in the Super Sacred Valley's order (Chinchero → Maras → Moray → Urubamba → Ollantaytambo → Pisac) and the Taray viewpoint, visited only by the Traditional; the dashed line is Cusco, where you sleep. Altitude and altitude sickness →
What's there
Three things in 45 minutes
The main amphitheatre
Concentric terraces descending towards the centre; you walk the upper rim while the guide explains the irrigation system and the theories about its use. Moray and the salt pans are visited the same morning: we cover it in Moray and Maras in one day.
The agricultural laboratory
The temperature difference between the highest and lowest terraces would have let the Incas test which crops thrived at each altitude. It's the most widely accepted reading, not the only one.
The Maras plateau
Moray is on the same plateau as Chinchero and the salt pans: open fields and the mountains behind on clear days.
Photos
Moray, in four photos
Tap a photo to see it largeSuper Sacred Valley
10:30, the last stop before lunch
Fifteen minutes separate the salt pans from Moray. It's visited mid-morning, and at 11:15 the bus drops 40 minutes to the valley floor for lunch at 12:00 in Urubamba. Full itinerary →
Traditional Sacred Valley
Doesn't go to Moray
Maras and Moray are the two stops the Super adds, and they cost US$2 more. The Traditional sees the Taray viewpoint instead and spends more time in Pisac. Moray and Maras in one day →
Practical
Before you get off the bus
| Entrance | Boleto Turístico, separate from the tour price; paid in soles. Entrance fees by route → |
| Sun and wind | Open plateau: a hat, sunscreen and a light layer. |
| Effort | Low: you walk the upper rim, with some slope. Closed shoes. |
| Toilets | In the entrance area. |
| Who doesn't visit it | Both Traditional departures. Compare routes → |
A set of circular terraced amphitheatres dug into natural hollows, at 3,500 m. The most widely accepted theory is that they were an Inca agricultural laboratory for testing crops at different altitudes.
The Super Sacred Valley arrives at 10:30, fifteen minutes after the Maras Salt Mines, and stays 45 minutes. At 11:15 it drops to Urubamba for lunch at 12:00. The Traditional doesn't visit it.
Moray is covered by the Boleto Turístico, along with Chinchero, Ollantaytambo and Pisac. It's paid separately from the tour, in soles.
The usual route follows the upper rim, which is where the shape makes sense. Access to the terraces is controlled by the site and may be restricted to protect them.
Because from Chinchero the road first drops to the salt pans and then climbs to Moray before descending to Urubamba. That keeps lunch at 12:00.
At 3,500 m, 150 m above Cusco and 262 m below Chinchero. After Moray the tour drops to Urubamba, at 2,871 m.
Little: it's an open plateau. Bring a hat, sunscreen and water.
Moray tomorrow at 10:30
Choose your departure and get the exact pickup time for your Cusco accommodation tonight.