Place · 3,500 m · Express route only · Tourist Ticket
Moray: the circular terrace amphitheaters where the Incas tested their crops
Moray is a set of amphitheaters of concentric terraces cut into natural hollows on the plateau, at 3,500 m. There is a noticeable temperature difference between the highest terrace and the floor, which is why they are thought to have worked as an agricultural laboratory for adapting crops to different altitudes. The Express route visits it at 10:30 am am, for 45 minutes, with the entrance covered by the Tourist Ticket.
It is visited tomorrow if you book today before 8 pm, Cusco time. Express only, at 10:30 am am.—Is there space tomorrow?
The largest amphitheaterTwelve rings of terraces dropping some 30 meters to a circular floor, with flying-stone steps (sarunas) set into the walls to move from one level to the next.
The smaller amphitheatersTwo smaller sets, one of them unfinished, which help you understand how they were built.
The laboratory theoryThe guide explains the temperature difference between levels and the theories about maize, potato and quinoa being acclimatized here before being taken to other parts of the empire. It is not the only reading, and he will say so.
The landscapeMoray sits on an open plateau with the Chicón snowpeak behind and fields in a chequerboard: the 15-minute drive from Maras is one of the most photogenic roads of the day.
How much walking
From the entrance to the rim of the largest amphitheater is a few flat minutes. Walking down to the floor and back up is optional, takes about 20 minutes and you feel it at 3,500 m; the guide allows time either for that or for going round the rim above. Closed shoes: the terraces are earth and the sarunas narrow.
Why it comes after Maras and before lunch
Chinchero, Maras and Moray sit on the same plateau, west of the valley; the Express links them in that order, Chinchero → Maras → Moray, to put the highest stop first thing and then drop to Urubamba (2,871 m) for lunch. Moray is the last visit before the 12 pm buffet.
Bookings for tomorrow: non-refundable; you can move the date if there is space, and we reschedule or refund if we cancel because of the weather.
Yes: it is the same ticket that covers Chinchero, Ollantaytambo and Pisac. It is paid in soles on the day, to the guide, before the first checkpoint. What is separate is Maras.
Yes, by the stone steps between terraces. It is optional; down and back up takes about 20 minutes at 3,500 m.
It is the most widely held theory, supported by the temperature difference between levels and the crop remains, but not the only one. The guide tells you the alternatives.
No: Moray and Maras are only on the Express route. The Classic covers Taray, Pisac, Ollantaytambo and Chinchero.
15 minutes by bus across the plateau. On the Express they come one after the other: Maras at 9:30 am, Moray at 10:30 am.
Yes, until 8 pm Cusco time: the Express leaves at 6:20 am for US$32 with lunch. Check the space on WhatsApp before you pay.