The Salineras de Maras, (Salt Pools of Maras) are a group of several thousand salt evaporation ponds that have been “mined” for salt by the local people for thousands of years, since as far back as 200 AD, many years even before the rise of the Incan Empire.

At over 3,200 msl the salty spring of Qoripujio bursts forth to carve out the Qaqahuiñay Gorge.The salty water has been cleverly directed by ancient intricate channels leading to the myriad salt catchment pond systems. Thus the valley’s steep slopes have been carved, massaged, and terraced into thousands of white, slightly pink, and light brown polygonal pools shimmering with the reflection of the surrounding red earth.

 Here the past lives on vividly in the present. 

Ancient and sustainable symbiosis with Mother Nature continues through the eons. Earth providing life in the the mineral form of salt and (hu)man’s ancient ingenuity and engineering used to depend on her. A prime display of harmony with La Pachamama.