Peru Sacred Valley Tour – Cusco to Sacred Valley of the Incas

Your Cusco to Sacred Valley of the Incas tour starts with a 0700 AM transfer from your hotel in Cusco. We will be driving you for an hour to the village of Pisac.

Pisac:

Home to massive Inca ruins, the archeological site here is just second to Machu Picchu in size. It is perched on a hilltop overlooking the valley. On this guided tour of Pisac ruins, we will be introducing you to different areas of the complex.

Pisac is also home to a renowned market where craftsmen from neighboring villages gather here to sell their products. This is an ideal place to shop for souvenirs.

Altitude: 2980 meters above sea level (9776 feet)

Ollantaytambo:

We will continue our Peru Sacred Valley tour with a drive to Ollantaytambo. Ollantaytambo was the former administrative capital of the Incas. The Inca site here is snuggled between two peaks.

This was one of the most sacred sites to the Incas. However, it turned to be a deadly battleground when the infamous battle of Ollantaytambo was fought between Manco Inca and Hernando Pizzaro in 1531.

After the guided tour of the complex here, we will be visiting the town. Ollantaytambo is referred to as the living Inca town. This is because it was never left abandoned. Houses here have a traditional inca touch in architecture.

Today, Ollantaytambo is a popular transit point for boarding trains to Aguas Calientes to visit Machu Picchu. It is also the last major town before the trailhead of the esteemed Inca Trail. 

Once you have had the fill of the history here, we will drive you to Urubamba where we will be serving farm fresh lunch at a local restaurant.

Altitude (Ollantaytambo): 2850 meters above sea level (9350 feet)

Altitude (Urubamba): 2870 meters above sea level (9416 feet)

Maras:

After relishing a native meal, we will drive you to Maras. This is probably the most photographed site in the entire valley. Maras houses over 6000 pre hispanic salt ponds that are built on the slope of a hill which are active even today.

Locals continue the traditional solar evaporation method to extract salt. They let in natural spring water into these geometric ponds and wait for it to evaporate. When it does, it leaves behind crystals of salt which are manually scrapped out.

Maras salt is pinkish in color and has a distinct taste. Our local expert will explain more about the Salt mining traditions during the tour. 

Altitude: 3385 meters above sea level (11,106 feet)

Moray:

After touring this prominent site, we will be driving you to Moray. The circular farming terraces here are unmissable. The Incas used them as an agricultural laboratory. Each level here has a different temperature which allows them to determine the best climate needed to grow any crop.

Thanks to this, Peru produces over 800 varieties of potatoes.

Altitude: 3500 meters above sea level (11,500 feet)

Chinchero:

Our final stop on this full day Cusco to Sacred Valley of the Incas tour will be in Chinchero. Often referred to as the land of the Rainbows, Chinchero houses a small Inca complex which was built as a summer palace by Pachacutec.

The farming terrace here has aqueducts that are connected to the nearby river which serves even today. 

The royal palace here was demolished upon Spanish conquest and the whitewashed church was built on its remains which stands here today. 

Chinchero, however, is prominent for its Andean textiles. Locals here have preserved their age-old traditions. During your visit, you will witness how they dye the extracted wool from Llamas and Alpacas and knit them to make beautiful sweaters and more. 

Culminating this informative and joyful Cusco to Sacred Valley of the Incas tour, we will be driving you back to Cusco. We will be reaching by 0600 PM. 

Altitude: 3725 meters above sea level (12,221 feet)