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The Sacred Valley

The Sacred Valley of the Incas has numerous rivers that descend from the mountains into small valleys with very good climate and geographic conditions for agriculture. At the time of the Incas very it was highly valued as one of the main agricultural sites by the Inca Empire due to the richness of the soil where the best corn of Peru is produced.

The main artery of the Sacred Valley is the Urubamba River or Vilcanota, which extends from the south of Pisac to the ancient city-fort of Ollantaytambo. Between these towns, you can visit Yucay, Urubamba, Chinchero, Moray, Maras, which are among the most important ones. The whole Valley is guarded by the impressive snow-capped mountain ranges of Urubamba, such as the Verónica, the Chicón, San Juan, among others.

- PISAQ

A typical Andean town 32 km south-east of the city of Cusco, where the artisans’ fair takes place every Tuesdays, Thursday and Sundays, an exhibition and sale of Cusco’s beautiful crafts and multi colored clothes. Every Sunday, the church holds mass in quechua, attended by mayors of the districts and towns, dressed in typical suits and carry the “varayoc” or sceptre of control. A few kilometers from the town, on a mountain side, is the archaeological site of Pisac, built of stone and is highlighted by set of halls and temples where is the solar clock or “Intiwatana” is found. The Inca construction of Pisac is admired for their perfectly assembled polished stone structures, surrounded by watchtowers or towers by defense, as well as by a great magnitude of Andean terraces, symmetrically constructed.

- URUBAMBA

This city is located on 78 kilometers north east of the city of Cusco, via Pisac, or 57 kilometers through the Chinchero highway. It is situated right in the middle of the Sacred Valley of the Incas. It has a good pleasant climate, astounding sceneries like the snow-capped mountain range of Chicon and its colorful country sides. It was one of the main agricultural centers of the Inca Empire. The climate conditions were so favorable that in 18th century, the renowned naturalist, Antonio Leon Pinelo maintained that this place as the biblical paradise. In the rainy season, abundant fruits abound the valley. Urubamba offers the traveler diverse adventure tourism such as hiking and trekking, mountain biking, rock climbing or rappelling, river rafting, kayak and horseback riding.

- OLLANTAYTAMBO

The ancient citadel of Ollantaytambo is located 90 kilometers north west of the city of Cusco. Its archeological complex is a monumental work of Incan architecture. It was strategically constructed on top of two mountains that has a commanding view of the valley. It was an agricultural, military and administrative complex. On top of the complex a solar temple construction was built that may be a fort and is characterized by seven massive rock monoliths with Incan pictographs. These impressive enormous stone blocks were joined accurately to the millimeter. Legend has it that this fort belonged to a great man who fell in love with the Princess Cusi Coillor, daughter of the great Inca Pachacutec, who didn’t approve of this relationship.

- CHINCHERO

Only 28 kilometers from the city of Cusco, the town of Chinchero is situated and surrounded by a magnificent landscape of snow-capped mountains, rising from the horizon, the astounding Chicon and the impressive Veronica peaks also known as Wequey Willca or Puma Silla. The main plaza is characterized to be at the base of a great Incan wall with ten trapezoidal concaves and bordered by vice royalty period arches where every Sunday they hold a market day and all the nearby communities converge and offer their crafts with a possibility for barter or exchange of goods. The church has beautiful painting of the Cusco School of Arts and preserved images of the saints from the vice royalty era.

- MORAY

The impressive circular platforms of Moray are an admirable sample of the Andean system of terraces constructed by superimposing in a circle and forming a great amphitheater. It has a depth of 150 meters to the ground displaying retaining walls that are connected with an extensive system of irrigation. It is from the Inca period and was comprised of a huge agricultural laboratory where they obtain various micro climates based on different altitude levels above the sea, as a basis to experiment and improve their different crops.