Moray ​Historic Site

Monday, February 26

During our time in Cusco, we worked during the week and explored the city in the afternoons. However we had more time on the weekends and took many day trips and tours into the surrounding area. One of the places we visited was Moray.

Moray is not the name of a village or town, but rather refers to an archaeological site and a series of Inca ruins in the “Sacred Valley,” a high valley in the Andes, a few kilometers from Cusco. The complex consists of several terraced complexes that the Incas built into the landscape at different depths. The varying heights of the terraces and their circular shape create different microclimates at different elevations. Until a few years ago, grain and potatoes were still grown here. It is believed that the Incas used these terraced complexes to conduct experiments and do research on different climate zones and their influence on vegetables and grains.

We were very impressed by the size of the terraced complexes and the incredibly saturated colors of the Andes. For us, the region around Moray is one of the most beautiful of the entire Andes region and we could hardly get enough of the bright green meadows, the shimmering blue mountains and the yellow flowers everywhere.