THE MARAS TOWN
Maras is a district of the province of Urubamba, where it is possible to be arrived through a hard road from km 50 of the route Qosqo - Chinchero - Urubamba; located to the West of the Qosqo to 3300 m.s.n.m. and on a level one that at prehistoric time was a great plateau. From part of the mountain range of Urubamba and níveas summits of the "Weqey Willka" is appraised there (today "the Verónica", 5682 mts.) and the "Chikón" (5530 mts). Apparently it was a preinkásico town with discontinuous later occupation; in this zone is great amount of ceramic fragments of the Chanapata culture, as well as scrapers and knives of obsidian. The town was founded on the colony by the Spanish Pedro Ortiz de Orué, and his important occupation empiezó when the cusqueños noble of the Inkario were undressed of their palaces in the Qosqo and had to leave to settle down in other small towns like San Sebastián and Maras. Also, in the war initiated by Manko Inka by the recovery of its Quechua Nation, Maras served as bastion for the invaders in its incursions against the town of Ollantaytambo occupied by the Inka during 2 years. Many of their houses are bragged of with nobiliarios shields in their stone thresholds which indicates the importance acquired then when it was crossing site forced for the carriers and his recuas of mules who transported tropical products and specially cocaine leaves from the high forest cusqueña to satisfy the necessities with the city of the Qosqo and the country. Villa was declared "Villa of San Francisco de Asi's de Maras" (: city or town that had certain privileges); at that time it had much more importance than the town of Urubamba, but today it is a town that languishes as a result of its isolation and the development of the modern life. It has a church made in you marinate, typical of the provincial religious architecture, in whose vestibule is a cross worked in granite; to the interior of the church linen cloths keep from school cusqueña representing the Apostles and others, whose author is Quechua painter Don Antonio Sinchi Roqa Inka that was natural of Maras and painted with much care for its church; this one was contemporary of bishop Mollinedo and Angulo, and reached celebrity in the middle of century XVII
Taken from http://www.qosqo.com/qosqoes/maras.html.
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