Inca Moray

These are agricultural terraces or platforms built in gigantic natural depressions or holes. These terraces are superimposed concentrically, taking the form of a gigantic amphitheater. The largest hole is 150 m deep and the average height of the terraces is 1.80 m. According to historians, these constructions constituted an important agricultural laboratory for the Inca Empire, since their terraces are built with their respective irrigation channels and each one constitutes a microclimate. What is striking is the great difference in average annual temperature between the top and bottom of the depressions, a difference that can reach up to 15°C. Thanks to the terraces, the Incas harvested their products in different climates and levels, in order to discover the conditions that each crop needed. Moray has 20 types of microclimates in total, which makes it something truly amazing. The distribution of so many types of microclimates corresponds to the circular and concentric form, which allows the temperature to be graduated from the outside. In the lower platforms, the climate is humid and low in temperature. The next sector has a higher temperature ranging from 2º C to 3º C. This change in climate on the platforms allowed the Incas to cultivate different products, including a wide variety of tubers.