Strap on your helmet, grip the handlebars, and prepare for one of the most thrilling outdoor experiences available in the Cusco region. This ATV adventure combines raw off-road excitement with some of the most historically significant and visually stunning destinations in the Sacred Valley: the tranquil Huaypo Lagoon, the enigmatic Moray Archaeological Center, the charming colonial town of Maras, and the ancient and spectacular Salineras de Maras — over 3,000 salt terraces carved into a mountainside and still actively harvested by local Andean families using techniques unchanged since the Inca Empire. This is not just a tour — it is a full sensory experience of the Peruvian Andes on four wheels.
The ATV Huaypo – Salineras de Maras tour is one of the most popular and exhilarating half-day adventures available from Cusco, combining the thrill of off-road quad biking with authentic encounters with the Sacred Valley’s most compelling natural and archaeological landmarks. The tour departs from Cusco city and travels by private vehicle to the ATV base at Kilometer 39 of the Cusco–Ollantaytambo highway in the area of Cruzpata, where the quad bike adventure begins.
From the moment you mount your ATV, the route takes you through an extraordinary variety of Andean terrain — open puna grasslands, agricultural plateaus, winding mountain trails, and colonial village cobblestones — with panoramic views of snow-capped peaks including Nevado Verónica and Nevado Chiquito at every turn. Stops at the Inca agricultural laboratory of Moray and the remarkable salt mine complex of Salineras de Maras add profound historical and cultural depth to what is already an adrenaline-fueled outdoor experience.
Available in both a morning departure (07:00 AM) and an afternoon departure (01:00 PM), this tour fits easily into any Cusco itinerary and requires no prior off-road driving experience. It is perfect for solo travelers, couples, families, and groups of friends seeking an authentic and action-packed Sacred Valley experience beyond the standard bus-and-walk format.
The itinerary below is described for the morning departure (07:00 AM). The afternoon departure (01:00 PM) follows the exact same sequence, shifted approximately 6 hours forward.
Your adventure begins with a punctual door-to-door hotel pickup at 07:00 AM in a comfortable private tourist vehicle. Your guide or driver will contact you the evening before to confirm your exact pickup time and location. Make sure you have packed your sunscreen, jacket, camera, and cash for entrance fees (see inclusions section). The morning departure offers the best conditions for photography — softer golden light, cooler temperatures, and fewer visitors at the archaeological sites.
Your private vehicle departs Cusco and heads northwest along the Cusco–Ollantaytambo Highway, one of the main arteries connecting the city to the Sacred Valley. The journey takes approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour. As you leave Cusco’s urban sprawl behind, the landscape opens up to the vast altiplano of the Sacred Valley, with its patchwork of agricultural fields, eucalyptus groves, and distant snow-capped mountains. Your guide will offer an orientation briefing during the transfer, introducing the key destinations on today’s route and answering any questions you may have about the tour and the region.
You will arrive at the ATV base camp at Cruzpata, located at approximately Kilometer 39 of the highway, at an altitude of around 3,500 meters above sea level. The facility includes a reception area, storage for personal belongings, toilets, and a gear station.
Before mounting the ATVs, every participant receives a mandatory safety briefing and training session of approximately 10–15 minutes led by a certified ATV instructor. The session covers:
You will then complete a short practice circuit within the base area to get comfortable with your vehicle before heading onto the open trail. No prior motorcycle, quad, or off-road experience is required. Most participants feel confident and ready within the first 5 minutes of practice. Helmets, goggles, and gloves are provided for all riders. Dust jackets and knee guards are available upon request.
The ATVs roll out from the base and immediately the adventure begins. The first section of the trail takes you along a mountain path ascending through open puna grassland. The terrain is firm and well-maintained for the initial stretch, making it an ideal warm-up section for first-time riders. The scale of the Andean landscape around you is immediately arresting — vast open skies, rolling mountain ridges, and the first glimpses of the valley floor far below.
Approximately 10 minutes after departing the base, the group makes its first stop at a dramatic panoramic viewpoint with unobstructed 180-degree views of the surrounding mountain range. On clear days — most common in the morning — you can see the glaciated summits of Nevado Verónica (5,682 m), one of the most sacred and visually imposing peaks in the Cusco region, and Nevado Chiquito, a neighboring glaciated peak. Both mountains are deeply significant in Andean cosmology and are considered Apus — sacred mountain deities that protect the communities living in their shadows.
Your guide will explain the cultural and geographic significance of these peaks while you take photographs. This is a spectacular location and deserves a few unhurried minutes. The morning light is particularly dramatic at this viewpoint.
After the viewpoint stop, the route enters its most technically varied and exciting phase. The trail weaves through a combination of mountain ridges, steep descents, tight curves, and open plateau stretches as it crosses the terrain between the viewpoint and the Moray Archaeological Center. This section features:
Total riding time on this section is approximately 45–60 minutes, and it is the most varied and adrenaline-rich portion of the tour. Your guide rides ahead of the group to lead and pace, while a support rider follows at the rear to assist anyone who needs help. No rider is left behind.
The ATVs arrive at the Moray Archaeological Center, one of the most extraordinary and mysterious Inca sites in the Sacred Valley. Moray consists of a series of massive circular terracing systems (cochas) carved into natural depressions in the landscape — the largest reaching approximately 30 meters in depth from the top ring to the bottom. The design creates a series of distinct microclimates at different depths, with temperature differences of up to 15°C between the top and bottom terraces.
Archaeological evidence and modern research indicate that Moray functioned as an Inca agricultural experimentation center — a living laboratory where Inca scientists and agronomists tested different crops, soil types, and growing conditions at different simulated altitudes. In essence, it was the world’s first known controlled agricultural research facility, predating European scientific methodology by centuries.
During the 15-minute stop, your guide will explain the site’s purpose, construction, and the remarkable Inca engineering principles behind its creation. The visual impact of the concentric rings disappearing into the earth is unlike anything else in the archaeological world and makes for extraordinary photographs. Note: Entrance to Moray is included in the base tour price.
Departing Moray, the ATV route passes through the colonial town of Maras, one of the oldest Spanish-founded settlements in the Sacred Valley region. Founded in the 16th century on the site of a pre-Inca and Inca settlement, Maras retains its colonial character with cobblestone streets, a central plaza anchored by the San Francisco de Asís Church (built in 1568), and traditional adobe and stone homes decorated with carved wooden balconies. Many residents still speak Quechua as their first language and maintain traditional Andean dress, particularly among the older generation.
Riding through the town on the ATVs is a vivid and memorable experience — the sound of the engines echoing off stone walls, the curious and friendly faces of local residents, the smell of fresh bread and chicha from nearby homes. The guide will point out key landmarks as you pass through. A brief photo stop in the town plaza can be arranged on request.
The ATV route descends toward the Salineras de Maras, arriving at the official entrance checkpoint at the top of the salt mine complex. Due to the steep and narrow road descending into the Salineras, ATVs are not permitted beyond this point for safety and conservation reasons. From the checkpoint, our agency provides a complementary 15-minute round-trip shuttle service to the viewing platforms and active salt terraces below.
The Salineras de Maras are one of the most visually stunning and culturally significant sites in all of Peru. Descending into the valley, the full scale of this extraordinary landscape unfolds before you: over 3,000 individual salt evaporation pools cascade down the hillside in tiers of white, pink, orange, and terracotta, covering an area of approximately 40 hectares. The pools range in size from a few square meters to over 20 square meters and gleam brilliantly in the Andean sunlight.
The salt springs that feed the pools emerge from an underground saline stream known as Qoripujio, which flows year-round at a constant temperature and salinity. Salt has been harvested here continuously since long before the Inca Empire — archaeological evidence suggests salt production at Maras dates back over 2,000 years. Today, approximately 120 local families from the Maras community manage and harvest their inherited salt pools using exactly the same techniques as their Inca ancestors: controlling water flow with small hand-built channels, waiting for evaporation, and harvesting the crystallized salt by hand with wooden rakes.
During your visit you will:
Note: The entrance fee to the Salineras de Maras is not included in the base tour price. See the pricing section for options. Current admission is approximately S/. 10 (USD $3) per person — managed and administered directly by the local Maras community cooperative.
After your visit to the Salineras, the shuttle returns you to the ATV checkpoint. From here, you remount your quad bikes for the return ride to the base at Cruzpata. The return route offers different views and angles of the landscape covered on the way out, and your improved confidence with the ATV by this point of the tour means most riders find the return journey the most enjoyable of all — faster, more fluid, and with a fuller appreciation of the terrain.
Back at the ATV base, return your gear, collect your personal belongings, and board the private vehicle for the return transfer to Cusco. Journey time is approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour. You will be dropped off directly at your hotel in Cusco. Your guide will be available to answer any questions, recommend restaurants for lunch, or provide information about other activities in Cusco and the Sacred Valley for the rest of your trip.
Estimated return time to Cusco: 13:00 for the morning departure / 19:00 for the afternoon departure.
Located at approximately 3,600 meters above sea level in the Anta Province of the Cusco region, Huaypo Lagoon is a beautiful natural high-altitude lake stretching approximately 2.5 km in length. The lagoon is fed by Andean snowmelt and underground springs and remains a remarkably pristine body of water surrounded by totora reed beds, agricultural terraces, and rolling puna grasslands.
The lake is an important habitat for Andean waterbirds including the Andean coot, puna teal, Andean duck, great grebe, and various species of heron. Flamingos are occasionally sighted. The surrounding wetlands are used by local communities for traditional fishing (mainly rainbow trout and pejerrey) and reed harvesting. The area around the lagoon is steeped in local mythology — Andean oral traditions describe Huaypo as a sacred body of water associated with rain deities (Apu Huaypo).
The ATV route provides a memorable elevated perspective of the lagoon from the hillside trails above, with the glittering water contrasting against the greens and yellows of the surrounding agricultural fields. Depending on the specific route taken on the day, the group may stop at a designated viewpoint above the lagoon.
Located at approximately 3,500 meters above sea level near the town of Maras in the Sacred Valley, Moray is one of the most architecturally and scientifically fascinating Inca sites in Peru. The complex consists of three main circular terracing systems, known in Quechua as qochas or sunken bowl terraces. The principal and largest structure, the Qechuyoc Moray, is composed of seven concentric rings of terracing descending approximately 30 meters into the earth with a diameter of roughly 220 meters at the top.
The Incas engineered each level with a specific soil composition, drainage system, and microclimate in mind. The temperature at the top terrace averages around 15°C, while the bottom reaches up to 30°C — a designed range corresponding to different altitudinal growing zones across the Inca Empire. Modern analysis has identified traces of over 250 different plant species in the Moray soil, suggesting the site was used to acclimate crops from different ecological zones for cultivation throughout the empire.
Moray was partially excavated by American archaeologist John Earls in the 1970s and 1980s, and subsequent work by Peruvian archaeologists has significantly advanced understanding of its function. The site became a UNESCO World Heritage Site as part of the broader Machu Picchu Historical Sanctuary designation and receives approximately 300,000 visitors annually — though far fewer than Machu Picchu, making it a less crowded and more intimate experience.
The town of Maras sits at approximately 3,300 meters above sea level on a high plateau above the Sacred Valley. Founded by Spanish colonists in the 16th century, the town was built partially on the foundations of earlier Inca and pre-Inca settlements and retains many architectural features from both eras. The central plaza is surrounded by colonial-era stone buildings, and the Church of San Francisco de Asís (circa 1568) remains an active place of worship with an ornate interior featuring original colonial artwork and Baroque altarpieces.
The town’s economy has historically been based on salt production (from the nearby Salineras), agriculture, and traditional textile weaving. The Saturday market in Maras is a genuine local affair — distinct from the tourist-oriented markets in Pisac or Chinchero — where community members trade local produce, livestock, and handcrafts. Maras is considered one of the best-preserved examples of a living colonial highland town in the Cusco region and receives far fewer tourist visits than its nearby counterparts, preserving a more authentic atmosphere.
The Salineras de Maras are arguably the most visually striking of all the Sacred Valley’s many extraordinary sites and one of the most photographed landscapes in Peru. Located in a steep gully at approximately 3,000 meters above sea level, the salt mine complex covers approximately 40 hectares of terraced mountainside and contains an estimated 3,000 to 5,000 individual salt evaporation pools, each owned and managed by a member family of the Asociación de Familias Salineras — a community cooperative that has administered the site continuously for centuries.
The saline water originates from the Qoripujio spring, an underground hydrothermal source that releases highly saline water at a constant rate year-round. The water is channeled through an ingenious network of hand-built aqueducts into each family’s pools, where it evaporates in the intense Andean sun over a period of weeks, leaving a thick crust of white, pink, or light gray salt crystal. The varying mineral content of different pools produces different salt colors and flavors — the Maras pink salt is particularly prized by chefs worldwide for its distinctive mineral profile and has been exported internationally in recent years.
Salt harvested here has been traded throughout the Inca Empire and Andean region for thousands of years. Historical records from the early Spanish colonial period describe the Salineras as one of the most valuable economic assets in the entire Sacred Valley. Today, the Salineras are managed and administered entirely by the local Maras community with no government or private corporate involvement, making it a rare and inspiring model of indigenous community heritage management.
The ATV Huaypo–Salineras tour works exceptionally well as part of a broader Cusco itinerary. Most popular combinations:
Ask our team about multi-tour package discounts when combining this tour with any other activity in our catalog.
There are multiple operators offering ATV tours in the Cusco region. Here is what genuinely sets our tour apart from the competition:
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