Standing the test of time...

For our free day before the start of our trek, we headed out to the Sacred Valley to visit the Moray Inca ruin and the Salinas De Maras.

In need of transportation, we signed up for a group tour that would drive us to both.  Although the tour felt sometimes like we were herding cats (what part of "we'll meet back in front of the bus in 20 minutes" is confusing?), the sites themselves were spectacular.

Moray was developed by the Incan Empire as an agricultural laboratory that would experiment with and grow crops to feed its 8 million citizens.  The terraces span 150m in height and represent 21 different microclimates.  They also appear to have mastered hydraulic engineering naturally.

These features allowed the laboratory to harvest crops here that grew in all parts of the geographically diverse Empire.  The close proximity of the different crops also allowed for natural cross-pollination which helps to explain why Peru now grows over 3,000 different types of potatoes! The techniques were so effective that hundreds of years later crop scientists are borrowing many of them today.

The agricultural site also has a strong spiritual connection, centred around Pachamama, the earth mother.  As such, it incorporates elements of both the male and female composition and honours nature.  And the site feels spiritual - absolutely immense but built with such precision and ability, it is almost possible to believe there was some divine intervention in its creation.

The Maras Salt Ponds are owned by more than 600 local families and have been operating since pre-Inca times.  In addition, the salt mining technique has remained virtually unchanged since the ponds were first created!

The ponds are filled by a nearby salt water spring that flows through directed channels to cover the hundreds of salt ponds down the hillside.  Over time, the sun evaporates the water in the ponds, leaving a saturated salt pile that can then be mined by the workers.

Three types of salt are created in these ponds.

1. Pink salt, which is very rare, and has 82 different types of minerals.
2. Bright white salt which is most commonly used in cooking.
3. Brownish salt (the lowest level) which is used for therapeutic baths and other medicinal external purposes.

These different techniques seemed remarkably effective in producing excellent crops and minerals without negatively impacting the environment.  They were also able to withstand dramatic weather fluctuations.  Kind of makes you wonder whether we could use some of these techniques in other parts of the world...