Moray, the Laboratory of the Inca

Six Months in South America, Part 15

When you first arrive in Cusco, before doing anything else outside the city, I recommend taking a tour of the Sacred Valley of the Incas. This helps with acclimation to the altitude and provides a fantastic cultural introduction to the area. If possible, split the tour into two days so you have more time at each site, although I still found heaps of value from the full-day tour. 

One place you’ll visit is Moray, also known as the Laboratory of the Inca. The Inca were (and still are) an advanced group of people who were influenced by the pre-Inca cultures who came before them. They had eight distinct zones with different groups and languages specific to each region. 

Moray is about 50 km (31 miles) from Cusco, near the village Maras, which is famous for its salt mines. Moray sits on a plateau at about 11,500 ft (3,500 m) and contains distinct terraces and its own irrigation system. 

The wild thing about Moray is the temperature difference between the different terraces (as much as 9°F between the top and the bottom.) The design of the terraces created microclimates, similar to what we see in greenhouses today. 

One theory is that the Inca used Moray as an agricultural research laboratory, experimenting with different ways of growing crops. 

Our guide explained that the coca plant is sacred to the Inca. They would send people to travel through the jungle to harvest it, a journey that took up to five days. 

However, some speculate that through the use of the terraces at Moray, the Inca started experimenting with changing the climate to grow coca leaves. Now, instead of a five-day trek through the wilderness, they could grow and harvest coca close to the city. 

The idea that Moray was used as an agricultural laboratory is one of several theories about how the Inca used this site. Evidence also suggests that the bottom six terraces might have been built by a culture predating the Incas, possibly the Wari culture. 

Whatever they were used for, the archeological ruins at Moray are a must-see and can be coupled with a trip to the spectacular Maras salt mines nearby, which have been producing salt for more than 500 years.

Maras Salt Mines