The mystery of Moray’s circular terraces
Few Inca sites puzzle visitors like Moray. Its enormous concentric circles sink into the earth like a green amphitheatre — and nobody can say with certainty what they were for. That mystery is exactly what makes it fascinating.
What Moray is
Moray is a set of vast circular agricultural terraces built into natural depressions near Maras. The deepest drops around 30 metres, and the temperature between the top and bottom rings can differ by several degrees.
The leading theory
Most archaeologists believe Moray was an agricultural laboratory, where the Incas used the terraces’ microclimates to experiment with crops at different altitudes — effectively testing how potatoes, maize and other staples would grow across their vast, varied empire.
Combine it with the salt pans of Maras for one of the Sacred Valley’s best half-days. See the Maras and Moray tour.
See Moray and Maras
Visit the terraces and the famous salt pans together.
Frequently asked questions
The leading theory is that Moray was an Inca agricultural laboratory, using the temperature differences between terraces to test crops at different altitudes.
The largest of the circular depressions is around 30 metres deep, creating noticeable temperature differences between the top and bottom rings.