Maras Salt Mines: 3,000 pools on one hillside

Q: How long do we stay at the salt mines?

45 minutes, arriving at 11:00 AM, before lunch in Urubamba.

Q: How many salt pools are there?

More than 3,000, and a single spring inside the hill fills every one.

A hillside of white salt pools, filled by a single salty spring and worked by families from the local community.

3,385 m Super Sacred Valley: 11:00 AM · 45 min

In short

Maras, in short

The Maras salt mines are a hillside of more than 3,000 salt pans at 3,385 m. One spring inside the mountain fills them all, and local families harvest the salt. You visit them on the Super Sacred Valley tour, arriving at 11:00 AM for 45 minutes, right before lunch in Urubamba.

They have their own entrance, managed by the local community and separate from the partial Cusco Tourist Ticket.

Altitude: 3,385 m
On Super Sacred Valley: 11:00 AM · 45 min
On the Traditional: Not visited
Salt pools: More than 3,000
Water: One underground spring
Entrance: Own ticket, run by the community

What you see

What you see at the salt mines

The salt pools

More than 3,000 small pools stepped down the slope, one after another.

One salty spring

Every pan draws its water from the same salty source inside the hill.

The families who work them

Families from the local community work the pools and harvest the salt by hand.

The hillside setting

The pools cover a steep slope; the view from the top shows the whole pattern at once.

Your time here

How long you stay, route by route

Reference times from our regular departures.

Super Sacred Valley route

45 min

Arrival 11:00 AM

45 minutes before lunch: time for the view from the top and a short walk along the edge of the pools with your guide.

See the Super Sacred Valley · from US$32 →

Traditional route

Not on this route

The Traditional does not stop at the salt mines. To see them, choose Super Sacred Valley (US$2 more) or the private tour on that route.

Compare the two routes →

Tips

Make the most of the Maras salt mines

Watch your step: the paths between the pools are narrow.
Sunglasses help — the white salt reflects the light.
Remember the separate entrance: add it in the Add-ons step when you book.
Lunch comes right after, in Urubamba.

Entrance

A separate entrance

The Maras salt mines are not part of the partial Cusco Tourist Ticket: they have their own entrance, managed by the Maras community. Add it in the Add-ons step when you book, or pay it in soles on the day.

Which ticket do I need?

Visit the Maras salt mines with us