Moray, Salineras, and Pisac, Peru
Moray and Salineras were two sites that Sonya in Hostal Marani recommended that we see. They're less popular with tourists and are a little harder to get to by public transport so we hired a taxi for the day. Moray is the site of three sets of large circular terraces that the Incas supposedly used for agricultural experiments. Circular terraces are unusual and we had never seen them before. Salineras are 500 year old salt pans built by the Incas to gather salt. Hot water flows out of a spring in the side of a mountain and the mineral rich water is diverted to a large number of salt pans to evaporate. These salt pans are still used today to create salt licks for cows.
On our third day in the Sacred Valley, we took the local bus to Pisac where we walked up about 2000 ft from the town to the Inca ruins in the mountains above. Few tourists walk the trail and it's a pity because the views along the trail are quite spectacular. While hiking up the trail, we wondered where all the tourists were; we found out when we turned the corner to the main Pisac ruins and saw hundreds of people milling around. The buses bring the tourists to the main set of ruins and most people don't go beyond them.
