Chinchero, Moray & Salt Mines Trip: An Honest Review

So, you are thinking about seeing Chinchero, Moray, the Salt Mines, and maybe even Ollantaytambo and Pisac all in one go from Cusco? Very, very cool. A lot of people ask about it, and it sounds great. It’s almost like, “Why not knock it all out?” I get it. That said, it is good to know that planning this sort of adventure does take a little thought to make sure you soak it all in without rushing. We went through it, so it’s like your friend giving you the real scoop before you jump in.

Why Visit Chinchero, Moray, and the Salt Mines?

You know, it isn’t just ticking off places on a list; there is more to it, arguably. Places like Chinchero have awesome markets. Moray? Totally mind-blowing with those terrace circles. The Salt Mines are a crazy quilt of pools. That said, each of these locations provides its own peek into the story of the area around Cusco, offering a little bit of culture, history, and also a crazy-amazing scenery.

Chinchero: Sunday Market Vibes

Chinchero on a Sunday is really quite something. Seriously. Imagine locals trading and selling, all dressed in colorful clothes. It’s not a show put on for tourists either; very, very much the real deal. The weaving is killer. You might be able to find some genuinely beautiful textiles there, arguably. It might be worthwhile to keep in mind that haggling is more or less a part of it all, yet do it nicely, as if you were talking with someone you know. Getting there is usually pretty simple by taking a bus from Cusco. They tend to drop you off pretty close to the action.

Moray: The Incan Wonder

Moray? Almost like stepping onto an alien planet, really. The Incans did some super innovative stuff there, like using these circular terraces as test labs for crops. Each level has got a slightly different climate. Just goes to show how clever they were, arguably. It is, though, a bit of a drive to get to Moray, you know? You might be thinking a taxi or maybe joining an organized tour. The views, once you get there, they’re, very, very unforgettable. So too is that the thin air at that elevation tends to make things a little bit tiring, at times.

Las Salineras: A Salty Landscape

Las Salineras, that is some seriously stunning visuals. This is that place where, for ages, they have been pulling salt out of these tiered pools, usually. It shimmers white against the valley, that is beautiful, very. You will probably find it’s interesting to walk along the paths in between the pools, and too it is really a sensory overload – in a good way! So you are able to actually buy the salt directly from the families who run each pool. Consider that, in some respects, a really awesome way to support the locals.

Getting Around: Transportation Tips

Okay, here’s that tricky stuff a bit. Getting from place to place isn’t too bad, yet you probably have to know a few things to help your adventure go a lot smoother. There’s the bus route, then there are taxis, and lastly, tour packages, or perhaps a combination. So think of which one really hits what you are looking for, you know?

Option 1: The Local Bus – Economical but Time-Consuming

Going full local is a fun vibe and often, that saves some coin, too. That said, remember this: local buses will usually take a whole lot longer than other options. A bus from Cusco to Chinchero, as an example, probably runs often enough. Very. Still, if you are trying to pack everything in, waiting around for buses at the side of the road eats into exploring time. These buses, they also don’t tend to go exactly where tourists want to go, often. So there’s usually walking from drop-off points involved, so too.

Option 2: Taxis – Faster but Pricey

Taxis are just faster. Period. If you have not got a lot of time, they tend to be worth thinking about. A taxi gets you from A to B without stopping every five minutes to pick up other people. You’d probably have to haggle, frankly, before jumping in, and it also could run you a pretty penny, compared to the bus. It would not be at all unusual for many taxi drivers to very openly try and charge tourists higher rates than locals, in fact.

Option 3: Organized Tours – Convenient, Very Predictable, yet…

Want it all handled for you? So that is usually what tours provide. You hop on, and they usually run you from spot to spot, generally. Very useful. You won’t be getting quite that same, I do it all myself type of story you might want to tell your buddies back home, usually, and a lot of them kinda rush you a little. So what if you want to spend an extra hour checking the threads at the market? Often? You probably can’t.

Sample Itineraries: Making the Most of Your Trip

Trying to plan what you want to do? Okay. Very. Let’s look at a few rough schedules you might want to follow, to that end.

Option A: The Whirlwind Tour

This is if, at the end of the day, time’s tight. You’ll be needing an early start. Really. Grab a taxi, zip over to Chinchero Market fast. After you check that out, ask that same cabbie to shoot you to Moray and lastly Las Salineras. With maybe, almost like, only 1 to 2 hours at each spot, you can knock all these off by, say, mid-afternoon, something like that. Is that you might find this option super rushed, yet it is doable if you really do not have enough time, that is for sure.

Option B: The Relaxed Explorer

Okay, that second way to go at it, you can slow it down and also taste all of the moments, too. Start out super early and grab a bus headed for Chinchero. Take a lot more time strolling and getting amongst the textiles there. So maybe late morning grab another bus towards Urubamba, where you might be able to catch transport up to Moray. Lastly head on to the salt mines later. You probably need a full day for that, though. Very, very full. Still, you breathe it in way deeper.

Option C: The Ollantaytambo and Pisac Extension

Have you got plans on getting over to Machu Picchu? Alright. Going to Ollantaytambo might come in handy, very, very practically, anyway. So spend that same morning hitting Chinchero, Moray and Las Salineras then get a bus onward to Ollantaytambo. Sleep there then get a super-early train heading out to Aguas Calientes. So just know Pisac, with its marketplace and also its great ruins, deserves a full day on its own. Do it another time, very arguably.

Things to Consider

Think about these bits and pieces for making the trek way easier.

Altitude

Cusco sits high up. Really high up. It’s no joke. Very easy to feel dizzy and drained real fast if you shoot up there directly off the plane, basically. So it may be wise to chill for a day or two around Cusco ahead of trying any sort of rushing around.

What to Bring

Pack that sunblock! Oh, also bring that hat and those sunnies. Very very high UV intensity rays in this section of Peru, to be honest. Take water with you. So small bills come in very useful for smaller market purchases and also taxi fares. Just take a rain jacket; anyway, weather conditions over here are likely to get tricky in a heartbeat.

Best Time to Visit

Alright. Around that months from May to September? That is when the weather is dry. You get tons and tons of blue sky pics, anyway. This happens, though, to also be peak tourist times; so too might that also tend to mean more peeps around all over the place. Rainy season runs, I believe, from about November until March, yet then everything seems way more green and also quite less jam-packed.

Photography Tips

Taking nice images will help lock in some of those cool memories; I think about these few ideas for that. Seriously.

Golden Hour

Hitting Moray or the Salt Mines close to that early morning, I believe, you will probably get this dreamy light. Almost makes you melt inside, seeing this all under that nice sunrise, more or less. It softens that complete mood, and everything shines. That is worth that really, super early start; by the way.

Get High – Angles, that is

There are overlooks kinda all over. Anyway look out for one up somewhere when visiting the Salt Mines to capture all of it. It seems so a lot larger and so so cool whenever shot in an elevated angle. This makes that photo of all the terraced pools absolutely mind-blowing. Usually anyway.

Capture the People

Always seek that possibility that something awesome could materialize right behind or aside you: the women in standard gear in the markets, a local guy tending a salt pool… Anytime, be certain to very humbly and nicely request someone before photographing them so you show them respect, by the way.

Well, doing all that tripping round Chinchero, Moray, so too the Salt Mines, from Cusco in only one blast can seem tricky to undertake; it very absolutely provides great snippets in a genuinely special stretch of country. The way someone plots everything affects your overall memory though, by the way. Therefore feel encouraged and choose something suiting how you operate; even those small memories will probably stick alongside your mind for a number of years soon anyway.

• Choose transportation wisely by using personal tastes along with moment accessibility; going on your personal thing against guided will dramatically change precisely what one gleans after things and their value.
• Always pack adequately while always watching outside height for even easier adventuring around all those destinations that always have this possibility around.
• Remember time best aimed out near either first daytime light alongside late afternoon; very pleasant situations present very well at capture sessions while out alongside specific moments of your journey away to the wonderful outdoors nearby!

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