Possibly because I have never toured a salt flats site before, Maras saltineras impressed me a lot. The deceptive simplicity of the process, coupled with the visuals of hundreds - or is it thousands? - terraced ponds, made the site quite memorable. I also very much like that it is an active production, which further differentiates it in the area that is most famous for its remnants of civilizations long gone.

You really only need 25-30 minutes here, including the time to get from the parking lot to the viewing platform and back. The information boards are all in Spanish, so having an English-speaking guide may make the visit more enjoyable for some. There is on-site free wi-fi if you want to use an online translator and your mobile signal starts acting up in the ravine.

With your entry ticket, you get a complimentary sample pack of the pink salt that is produced at Maras. The cooks in my family later told me that it was superior to any salt they had ever bought in an American supermarket.

I got to Maras by hiring a driver for the afternoon of combined touring of the salt flats and the Moray terraces, at under $80. Neither site was crowded in mid-afternoon in early May, although my driver suggested that they would get busier towards closing times when the bus tours returning from Ollantaytambo to Cusco would make the final stop at one or the other.