Salineras de Maras - Last Day Trip

For my very last day trip in Cusco, I decided to mix action with beauty. More specifically, I was first going to drive some ATVs through the countryside, before visiting some interesting salt 'flats' carved into a mountain side.

This time, it wasn't a 4.30am wake-up call, luckily, but our group met at 7am at Cusco's Plaza de Armas, its main square and just a mere 15 minute walk away from my AirBnB.

After a short 1h drive, we arrived at the starting point of the ATV tour, geared up, got a little introduction on how to drive the ATVs, went for a little test drive around a track and then we were off.

Driving an ATV through the countryside was pure bliss and we visited two beautiful and large lagoons, drove through local villages and even raced each other a little bit. It was good fun and lasted a good amount of time, around 1.5h-2h. I could've and wanted to go faster, but, ah well, maybe it is a good thing that we were told to slow down when we were about to go a bit more crazy.

Anyway, once we arrived back at the starting point all safely, we drove to the Salineras with a quick pit stop in a local shop for the guide to explain to us what we were about to see. In essence, the Salineras are hundreds of salt pools in which salty water coming from a little mountain stream is collected on the mountain side before it evaporates in the following two weeks. This process is repeated ten times to leave various layers of salt in the pools before it is collected. The upper layers are then used for cooking purposes whereas the lower layers for medical ones.

When we saw the Salineras the first time from the top, it looked incredible. Basically the entire lower part of the mountain is pure white with hundreds of pools collecting the salt water: I have seen pictures of it before, but in reality it definitely looked more spectacular. We parked up and then went down for a closer look. All I could think was: wow! The expanse of the Salineras was unbelievable. I was glad I had chosen to come here.

There was not much else to do, so after 30 minutes we returned to our bus and Cusco. And with that, my day trips around Cusco came to an end. What can I say? The nature here is otherworldly and there are still a few trips around this incredible city that I have not done. I will explore the city tomorrow, but I already know that I have to return, as there is so much more to see and experience. I already cannot wait to be back!Read more