From the picturesque village of Maras, whose colonial houses sport magnificent carved stone portals, a path winds through the lush green pampas, framed by the snow-capped peaks of the Urubamba and Vilcabamba cordilleras. An amazing landscape unfolds, composed of tiny terraced basins that tumble down the hillside to the Valley of the Incas. Since the Incas, they collect the salt water from an underground spring. Seen from above, they form a wonderful ochre, brown and white patchwork.