Inca Agricultural Site at Moray, Peru Postcard

The beautiful concentric circles of Moray in Peru were likely used as an ancient Inca agricultural experiment. Here is one of the more shallow set of concentric rings with the snow-capped Mount Ch'iqun (18,140 feet elevation) on the horizon. In the distance you can see smoke rising from burning grasslands, as ranchers burn the pasture to renew the grass. Moray is an archaeological site in Peru about 31 miles (50 km) northwest of Cusco on a high plateau at about 11,500 feet (3,500 m) and just west of the village of Maras. It's part of the Sacred Valley of the Incas, also known as the Rio Urubamba valley. The restored ruins consist of several enormous terraced circular depressions, the largest of which is almost 100 feet (30 m) deep. It features a sophisticated irrigation system, like many other Inca sites. The depth, design, and orientation of these concentric circles with respect to wind and sun creates a temperature difference of as much as 27 degrees F (15 degrees C) between the top and the bottom. Agricultural and archaeological experts suggest that that this large temperature difference was used by the Inca to study the effects of different climatic conditions on crops. Speculation about the site has led to discussion about Moray as an Inca agricultural experiment station. Its microclimatic conditions and other significant characteristics led to the use of the site as a centre for the ancient study of domestication, acclimatisation, and hybridisation of wild vegetable species that were modified or adapted for human consumption. The site is now a popular tourist destination and is not far from Cusco, Ollantaytambo or Urubamba.