Peru- The Sacred Valley
Maras
Be careful. Maras and the salt mines are two different things. Maras is the name of the town and the salineras is the actual salt mines.
Coming:
From Cusco- THIS blog explains it very well. But I’d suggest taking the cab to the salineras and doing the walking on the way back.
Price- S/. 6 PEN ($1.85 USD) collectivo, S/. 4 PEN ($1.30 USD) cab to salineras
From Moray- See the Moray section below, but I would actually suggest getting the collectivo to the Maras drop off then cabbing to Moray and then cabbing to the salineras.
From Urubamba- Take a local collectivo
Price– I don’t remember the prices exactly but should be very cheap
Sleeping: Don’t sleep here, easy half day trip from Cusco
Eating: I wouldn’t eat in Maras. The market had a few restaurants that did not offer much variety and were out of almost everything. Bring some snacks and save your meal for somewhere else.
Doing: Visit the salt mines! And make sure to take a walk through them as well!
Price- S/. 10 PEN ($9 USD)
Staying: About a half hour in the salt mines plus the walk back if you choose to do so.
Going: Instead of paying a cab to stay at the salineras, hike back to town on a 45-50 minute walk. It’s uphill but a nice walk with beautiful scenery. The path isn’t super obvious so just ask if you can’t find it (you’re not walking along the road).
From Maras you should be able to grab a van to the town of Urubamba where you can head elsewhere in the Sacred Valley if this is your first stop. A lot of people combine Maras with nearby Moray so you can cab it to Moray if you haven’t already been there. You can also catch a collectivo back to Cusco in the same place you got dropped off, just outside of town.
Moray
If you’re NOT going to any other ruins it’s not worth the entrance fee. If you’ll be using the ticket for any of the other three sites then might as well if you’re already in Maras. But in general it wasn’t particularly exciting to me.
Coming: It’s a short cab ride from where the collective drops you off outside Maras.
Price- S/. 20 PEN ($6.17 USD) per cab one way
Sleeping: It’s just a site, nowhere to sleep
Eating: Nowhere to eat either, your closest option is back in Maras
Doing: Visit the ruins! HERE is a short description of what they’re all about.
Price- S/. 70 PEN ($32 USD) for two consecutive days and entrance into Moray, Pisac, Ollantaytambo, and Chichero OR S/. 130 PEN ($40 USD) for 10 days and 11 included attractions
Staying: Takes about a half an hour to walk around and snap pics
Going: Have your cab driver stay and he can give you a ride to the salineras or back to Maras where you can get cheaper transport to another town or back to Cusco. It’s too far to walk back.
Price- It’ll cost another S/. 20 PEN for him to wait for you and S/. 20 PEN for the actual ride. It’s advisable to go with a group so you can split this cost.
Pisac
Coming:
From Cusco- Take a collectivo. The station is a little outside of the center off of Avenida de la Cultura. You’ll see it on maps.me (although it’s a little off) or ask your accommodation. It’s pretty easy to find and the ride takes around 45 minutes. As always, it’ll leave when it’s full, but shouldn’t be a long wait.
Price- S/. 4 PEN ($1.30 USD)
From Maras/Moray- If you’re doing the ruins I would spend a whole day here. If not, it’s is an easy half day trip. Take a collectivo to Urubamba (largest town nearby) and from there you can get on another collectivo to Pisac. If you’re a group you can pay a little more for a driver to take you directly there.
Price- I do not remember EXACTLY what the prices were but roughly- S/. 12 PEN ($4 USD) from Urubamba to Pisac in collectivo; S/. 90 PEN ($30 USD) for private driver; S/. 4 PEN ($1.30 USD) collective from Maras to Urubamba
Sleeping – There are plenty of hostels in Pisac but I wouldn’t recommend staying overnight. An afternoon or full day is plenty of time.
Eating– Lots of places around town. Many cater to tourists. I find the local hole-in-the-wall places to be the best food and the best value, though. You can find a menu del dia for S/. 5 PEN that includes a soup, choice of entrée and juice. The touristy places are all pretty pricey.
Doing– While ruins in Peru are much like cathedrals in Europe and temples in SE Asia (after a while they’re all the same….) Pisac ruins are worth a visit. They were an Incan fortress back in the day and located up on the mountain. Take a cab up and then walk down.
You’ll want probably two hours to explore the ruins and walk down to the town. Grab lunch and a pisco sour and go shopping! The market is enormous and has some great stuff with similar, if not cheaper, prices than Cusco.
Price- S/. 30 PEN ($10 USD) for a cab up to the ruins; Use the same ticket as Moray ticket (or buy it if you stop here first)
Staying– 1 full day trip
Going– Take a collectivo back to Cusco from the same place you were dropped off. If you don’t remember ask round, everyone knows! It’s about two blocks away from the main square and you’ll hear them shouting “CUSCO?!?!” from afar.
Price- S/. 4 PEN ($1.30 USD)
Others
Ollantaytambo and Chinchero – After having done MP I wasn’t super interested in doing a bunch of ruins. Ollantaytambo did look pretty cool but just ran out of time. Chinchero didn’t sound like it was going to be anything significantly different than what I had already done and seen.
