Sacred Valley of the Incas: Sites and Landscapes

The Sacred Valley of the Incas is the part of the Urubamba Valley (also called Vilcanota or Wilcamayo) that lies between the villages of Pisac and Ollantaytambo.

It is a fertile valley where the Incas grew corn and built some of their most beautiful cities.

The Sacred Valley of the Incas is several hundred meters deep and offers spectacular landscapes. It is also a mandatory passage between Cuzco and Machu Picchu. It also has a number of top-tier Inca sites, making it a destination not to be missed.

The altitude of the Sacred Valley of the Incas ranges from 3000 meters at Pisac to 2800 meters at Ollantaytambo. The climate is milder than in Cuzco, and it is pleasant to spend a night there, in one of the many countryside hotels that have set up there, which also allows you to arrive earlier at Machu Picchu the following morning.

What to do in the Sacred Valley of the Incas?

The city of Pisac is one of the most important Inca cities and one of the most beautiful. You can spend 2 hours there and walk down from the site to the village via fairly steep staircases that offer magnificent views over the Sacred Valley. The village of Pisac itself is pleasant and hosts a major craft market every day.

The village of Ollantaytambo still has a few streets dating from the Inca era and is dominated by a spectacular fortress, another major Inca site. It is also the departure point for most of the trains going to Machu Picchu.

The Moray terraces are circular Inca agricultural terraces set in natural depressions.

Close to Moray, the Maras salt pans offer both a beautiful sight and an interesting visit into the traditional exploitation of salt.

Not far from there, the village of Chinchero has a beautiful Spanish church built on a former Inca site.

You can see these 5 main sites in one very full day. However, it is preferable to take 2 days for the Sacred Valley, for example Pisac and Ollantaytambo on one day and Moray, Maras and Chinchero on the other. Or if you only have one day for the Sacred Valley, you can focus on 3 or 4 of these sites, for example Pisac, Ollantaytambo, Chinchero with a return to Cuzco at the end of the day, or Pisac, Moray, Maras, Ollantaytambo, with a night in Ollantaytambo and departure the next day towards Machu Picchu.

The Sacred Valley of the Incas is also an excellent place to enjoy nature through sporting activities. You can go mountain biking, whitewater rafting on the Río Urubamba, or test your nerve on the via ferrata and zip lines on the cliffs of Ollantaytambo.