13.3292°S, 72.1956°W.
Moray is an Inca agricultural research installation in the Maras district above the Sacred Valley, west of Cusco at 3,500 metres elevation. The site consists of three groups of concentric circular terraces sunk into natural depressions in the limestone plateau — the largest reaching some 30 metres deep with twelve concentric levels. The terraces create a measurable temperature gradient between the upper rim and the bottom level of as much as 15 degrees Celsius, effectively producing a stack of distinct microclimates within a single bowl. Soil samples taken by John Earls and other researchers in the 1980s revealed that the fill of the lower terraces contains soils imported from different ecological zones across the empire, supporting the hypothesis that Moray functioned as a state agricultural laboratory for adapting maize and other cultivars to varied conditions. The terrace stairs are inset directly into the retaining walls as projecting flagstones.
The deepest bowl absorbs runoff internally with no visible outlet.