Description
This activity is designed to be taken on your spare day in Cuso. It will take most of the day, with about four and a half hours actually on the bikes. It is a great day out and a good way to experience the country - especially if you prefer to be out and about rather than touring around in a vehicle.
We'll pick you up from your hotel and give you a full briefing and orientation meeting. The bikes we use are very good quality front-suspension mountain bikes. Our route takes us to the Chinchero area and to Moray and the Maras salt mines.
Moray is a series of stone circles built in 4 descending tiers, each with several different levels. It is thought that this site was used by the Incas to determine the best climatic conditions for growing certain plant species, as each terrace is subject to slightly different temperatures and amounts of wind and sunshine - a kind of agricultural research centre. There is also evidence of a complex irrigation system, which backs up the idea that this site was used for growing crops.
We'll stop for a picnic lunch here before we carry on to Maras.
At Maras salt-rich water bubbles up from the ground and is channelled into a series of over 3,000 man-made separate salt pans. These are carved in terraces into the hills above the Urubamba River. Salt has been produced here since pre-Inca times, in the same way and you can see the workers carry on this practice. The water gradually evaporates in the sun, leaving the salty residue, which is dredged by hand, and left to dry out fully. Each of the pools is owned by a separate family, who collect and sell the salt. It is really quite a spectacular site.
