The Sacred Valley, Peru

You can go white water rafting or kayaking, paragliding or hang gliding, or horse riding in the Sacred Valley, trek through its hills and mountains, hike part of the Inca trail, or explore what the respective towns have to offer. The Sacred Valley receives water from various rivers that descend through the surrounding gorges, and the different landscapes that are created are very attractive. The most popular tourist attraction in or near the valley, of course, is Machu Picchu, and this must not be missed.

The Sacred Valley of the Incas was undoubtedly a key area of settlement to the Incas. Its agreeable climate and fertile plains make a rare combination for the high Andes. It was also the route to the jungle and therefore an area with access to the fruits and plants of the tropical lowlands. The Sacred Valley served as a buffer zone, protecting Cusco from incursions of the Antis, the fierce jungle tribes who from time to time raided the highlands. Today the Sacred Valley remains a lush agricultural region supplying the city of Cusco with much of its produce such as maize, fruit and vegetables.

Most people visit the Sacred Valley as part of an organized one-day tour. The tour includes a visit to the market at Pisac, a stop for lunch in Urubamba, a visit to the beautiful Inca village and fortress of Ollantaytambo and a quick stop at the quechua village of Chinchero on the way back to Cusco. Some companies also include a visit to the ruins at Pisac but you'll have less time at the market if you do this. You'll find plenty of tour companies in and around the Plaza de Armas in Cusco offering these tours at between US$15 and US$25 for a seat on a bus. This price doesn't include your meals or entrance fees to the ruins. Entrance to the ruins is included on the Boleto Turistico if you have bought this in Cusco.

Departures are usually on the market days of Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. If you only have one day to visit the Sacred Valley you'll find the convenience of the tour well worth while since the entire circuit is over 170km in length. If you want to do it in a small group you can hire a taxi for the day (approx US$70) and take a guide (approx US$60). Alternatively you can also visit the Sacred Valley on your own, travelling by local bus.


The Sacred Valley has become one of the most important tourist centers in Peru. Apart from the incomparable historic wealth, the area around Urubamba offers trekking, thermal baths, and climbing. Recently, some participating tourist programmes have been developed inviting the visitor, for instance, to work in a terrace or collect salt from the salt pools. Although the tourist infrastructure has grown significantly in recent years, the valley has managed to preserve its natural enchanting peace.

Ollantaytambo is an attractive little town located at the western end of the Sacred Valley (about two and a half hours by bus from Cusco). The present town has been built on top of original Inca foundations and is the best surviving example of Inca town planning. The town is divided into canchas (blocks) which are almost entirely intact. Each cancha has only one entrance (usually a huge stone doorway) which leads into a central courtyard. The houses surround the courtyard. Good examples of this construction can be found behind the main plaza. The self-guided Ollantaytambo Heritage Walk allows you to tour the town following a series of blue plaques. Don’t miss this experience.


The town is located at the foot of some spectacular Inca ruins (entrance with the Tourist Ticket 'Boleto Turistico') which protected the strategic entrance to the lower Urubamba Valley. The temple area is at the top of steep terracing which helped to provide excellent defenses. Stone used for these buildings was brought from a quarry high up on the opposite side of the Urubamba Rriver - an incredible feat involving the efforts of thousands of workers. It is hard to imagine it happening today.


The elaborate walled complex contained a temple to the sun which was used for astronomical purposes as well as ceremonial baths. You can see the remains of these and spectacular stone terracing today and a visit is an exciting and very interesting experience. In many ways these ruins are some of the best Inca remains in Peru. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit and could have stayed for longer except we had to return to Cusco. We climbed the terraces, looked out over the town and valley then walked some of the local Inca trails. It was fascinating.


The complex was still under construction at the time of the conquest and was never completed. After Manco Inca was defeated by the Spanish at Sacsayhuaman following the unsuccessful siege of Cusco (1536) he retreated to Ollantaytambo. Francisco Pizarro's younger brother Hernando led a force of 70 cavalry, 30 foot soldiers and a large contingent of natives to capture Manco Inca. The Inca's forces, joined by neighboring jungle tribes, rained down showers of arrows, spears and rocks upon the unfortunate Spanish troops. In an intelligent move the Inca's flooded the plains below their stronghold making it difficult for the horses to manoeuvre.


Hernando, uncharacteristically, ordered a hasty retreat. Ollantaytambo became the only place ever to have resisted attacks from the Spanish. However, their victory was short-lived when the Spanish returned with four times their previous force. Manco Inca retreated to his jungle stronghold in Vilcabamba and Ollantaytambo fell into the hands of the Spanish.

From Pisac, following the Vilcanota River towards the west, the narrow route between the river and the hills passes through the towns of Calca, Yucay and Urubamba before arriving at Ollantaytambo. Yucay is associated with some important events in Incan and colonial history. In the spacious Plaza de Armas there is a beautiful, impressive tree, the pisonay, whose leafy branches and beautiful flowers grant the town an air of festivity and elegance. The ruins of the Palace of the Inca Huayna Capac can also be found in this area.

Urubamba, located 78km from Cusco via Pisac and 57km via Chinchero, is not located far from here. It was one of the main agricultural centers of the Inca empire. Like many places along the valley, Urubamba is in a fine setting with snow-capped peaks as a background. It has many restaurants and pleasant dining areas with reasonable prices. The nearby White Mountain range provides the area with scenery of extraordinary beauty. The town offers the visitor a wide range of possibilities for rest and lodging, and includes a number of hotels and other lodging houses.

We stopped for lunch here at the very interesting Alhambra Restaurant. This is on the edge of town and just a short way off the main road. The restaurant obviously caters for tour buses doing a one-day Sacred Valley trip from Cusco but independent travellers are welcome as well. This is a hacienda-style restaurant with a surprising relaxed and intimate manner and with lovely garden and mountain views. Its buffets are only on market days (Tues, Thurs, and Sat). At other times, the three-course menú turístico is said to excellent; choose main courses such as stuffed lake trout with quinoa in a nut sauce.


Lunch was a buffet affair when we visited with a good range of choice. It is served in a large pavilion but you eat in small thatch covered huts or outside in the garden. Despite the number of people, the atmosphere was pleasant. A live band played Peruvian music and also international hits with a local instrument flavour. They were quite a professional group and offered CD’s to anyone who was interested. My wife ended up with two!!

Lunch started with soup and moved on to several local and international cold dishes. For the main course there was a choice of fish, lamb or beef with warm vegetables. There were several salads or you could make your own from the vegetables plates. Several desserts were available as was tea and coffee. Drinks were ordered from waiters. It was quite a professional operation and we enjoyed it.

Pisac is the first significant town you come to north of Cusco. It is a picturesque Andean Village, typical except for the huge, spreading pisonary tree that dominates the central square. Most tourists visit Pisac to see the famous market on Sunday, but there are smaller, but still significant, markets on both Tuesday and Thursday. In spite of its popularity the market retains much of its local charm, at least in the part where villagers from miles around gather to barter and sell their produce.


Fruits, vegetables and grains happily share the stage with ceramics, jewellery and woollens on the central plaza and spill over into the side streets. Sellers set up shop from about 8 am and start packing up around 3pm. Most tourists arrive around 10am and stay for a few hours but the locals say the best bargains are had late in the afternoon when vendors are packing up and don’t want to cart things back home.


In the tourist section of the market you can buy a wide variety of handicrafts - mostly the same things you see in Cusco. Many of the guide books state that handicrafts are cheaper here than in Cusco but we didn’t notice much difference. Admittedly we were there when most other tourists were bargaining for purchases. Pisac is a good place to buy the local ceramics including a huge and varied collection of hand-painted multi-colored beads.


Pisac is a pretty village and has plenty of small handicraft shops and is worth a visit on any day of the week, even if there is no market. There are many local buses departing from Cusco for the one hour ride to Pisac village. Local buses cost about US$1.50 each way. A taxi can be hired for about US$15 each way.


The other attraction of Pisac is the Inca ruins that are high on a hill above the town. The fortress is a masterpiece of Inca engineering with narrow trails that wind tortuously between solid rock. Archaeologists think this was a fortress to defend the empite from the fierce jungle people to the east.

There is no public transport up to the ruins. You can either hike up, starting from the plaza (allow two hours round trip). Alternatively you can negotiate with a local taxi driver to take you there (about 20 minutes following a long winding road) and either return by taxi or walk down hill to the plaza. (A local taxi costs approximately US$10 each way)

A trip to the Sacred Valley often starts with brief stops at some Inca sites near Cusco before heading off to the village of Taray and the tourist attraction (trap) of Awana Kancha. After passing Sacsayhuaman, the huge ruins complex above Cusco, the first stop can be at Quenko.

Quenko (Qenqo) is a temple and amphitheatre about 7km from Sacsayhuaman. The ruins are very well preserved and feature a series of underground tunnels with an Altar (probably for sacrifice), galleries and carvings. Quenko was carved from a huge limestone formation. Niches in the wall were used to display religious items. The amphitheatre with its huge monolith in the middle featured some wide seats or thrones. This may be a hint of its use by royalty. Other interesting sights at Quenko include the hall of sacrifices and the water canals cut into the rock, whose zig-zag shape gave the site its name.

Puca Pucara is a smaller fortress a little further out. It was probably used to defend Cusco. It is not as impressive as other sites.

Tambo Machay was the sacred bathing place for the rulers. This marvel of hydraulic engineering is still fully functional and feeds crystalline water from a hidden spring. Some say that this water will give you eternal youth. It is believed that it was here where Pachacutec received his vision of the coming conquerors (which was fulfilled only a couple of years later).

A stop can be made at the artisan market in Corao. This is more commercial than the Pisac market but when we visited there were few other people there so there was plenty of room to move around and the vendors were quite interested in doing deals and generally being helpful.

It is a short distance from here to the lookout over the Sacred Valley in Taray. This really is a lovely spot and while a few locals had set up small stalls there was no pressure to buy.

Finally we reached Awana Kancha at the 23 kilometre mark from Cusco (Phone: 084/203-287). Entry here is free with the hope that you will make a purchase at the huge showroom towards the end of the complex. Awana Kancha, whose Quechua name loosely translates as "palace of weaving," provides an opportunity to see products made from South America's four camelids (alpaca, llama, vicuña, and guanaco) from start to finish. You can feed and touch the animals, see shearing at times, observe the textile weaving and dyeing, and view and buy the finished products in the show room. It opens daily from 8am to 5pm.