Description of the sites to be visited during the year. The climate of the sites is dry and warm with temporary rain that begins in November and finishes in March and April. Each site keeps important remains from the pre inca age up to the republican age, ages that forged all our history and culture that are well known South America.

ROUTES

1. Moray, Maras town and Salineras(Duration: 5 hours)

Moray´s ruins

Located at 3,450 m.a.s.l, where we can see pre inca and inca ruins, such as circular platform used as agricultural terraces with a complex system of irrigation that reaches three sectors. These ruins were discovered in1930.
The site that the Quechuan named "muyus" is the deepest pit whose depth is 150 meters, the height of the platform is around 1.80 meters. These ruins belong to the Inca age, they used to be an agricultural experimentation center so they created micro climates in every terrace.

Maras town. - Maras is a nice town that still keeps a good part of its architectural colonial beauty. You can see amazing portals made of thin stone, as well as lintels with sculptures in bas-relief.

Salineras. - It is a small brine spring worked with very elementary means by a part of the population of Maras and Pichingoto. These archaeological ruins reveal that this resource was already well-known and used at pre - Hispanic time, it could have been one of the many sources of supply of salt for the inca village.

The technique for the extraction of the salt has been very similar to that used one for nine hundred years or more. During all these centuries this technology has been conserved and that consists of a true hydraulic engineer installation but of miniature, since the pool has relatively small dimensions, constructed in shapes of platforms on one of the slopes of the gorge. Each pool has an entrance channel and vents the water, this way the steam is expected to come out and later the salt grain that is settled in the floor is gathered. The extraction is seasonal, it´s done in dry season, from May to November or at the beginning of December. The ownership of the pools has stayed in the same families for generations.

2. Pisaq (Duration: 5 hours)

Pisaq is the place where the tour starts to the Sacred Valley of the Incas. This village has half-caste and colonial characteristics, here the Sunday market is magnificent, the Mass is celebrated in Quechuan and the worthy "varayoc" (local authorities) attendance gives it a major enriches to the activity.
Over the current colonia village, which still preserves its Inca roots, one finds the hill called "Intihuatana", with a set of platforms and a really impressive sight of the valley, where there are the archaeological remains of fine stone works, that shows the simple way of burying their deads in the hillsides, which belonged to the village.
3. Chinchero (Duration 5 hours)

This typical village is a beautiful example of the architectural syncretism between the Andean thing and the Hispanic thing. It has a very attractive temple constructed over the base of an inca temple. The Sunday market and the ceremony of the Mass (catholic and quechua) are still particular.

It was one of the most important inca village in the region. This village is known in the tradition as the " land of the rainbow " because the "K´uychi" (rainbow) appears frequently in rainy season.

Every Sunday, the barter system is practised at the market where diverse goods are exchanced. Tropical products such as fruits, coca leaves, Maras´s salt, the local products like potatoes , beans, olluco, etc. The handcraft market offers diverse very well woven products. Here the merchants are native commoners of the villages.

4. Ollantaytambo (Duration: 4 hours)

Ollantaytambo is located at the north of Cusco, at 2,018 m.a.s.l. Ollantaytambo was inhabited in the pre inca age, then in the colonial age the population decreased due to the forced work that was inflicted to its habitants.

Nowadays Ollantaytambo is an example of the social and cultural process, an historical expression as well as an example of vitality and strength of the culture that is still alive.

Ollantaytambo, is the only Inca city that is intact and its houses serve still as housings of current occupants. On the mountain full of platforms, stand out the monoliths of pink granite perfectly assembled, from where you can see an impressive sight of the valley , beside being an archaeological set with much to admire. It has an extension of 600 hectares aproximately, it includes several sites such us religious places , administrative and urban places, it´s clear that there exists also areas dedicated to the agriculture and storage for their products.

Nearby to the archaeological site we can see Pinkuylluna hill, which shelters the "Tunupa" that represents authority from it´s human like expression. According to the people who live there, the Tunupa hill has the shape of a corn since it is considered to be one of the representative places for the production of the corn.

All the services to these different routes include:

· Tourist private transport
· Professional, and bilingual guide
· First aid kit.
· Tickets to vist Moray and Salineras (for other places, the passenger must carry their onw tourist ticket)

It does not include:

· Tips and extra expenses
· Tickets of visit archaeological sites.
· Other not written services.

Updating, May 2008