Exploring Peru’s Sacred Valley
The Sacred Valley, also known as the “Urubamba Valley,” is a valley in the Andes Mountains of Peru along the Urubamba River. It spans a little over 60 miles from Pisac to Ollantaytambo and is famous for its centuries old Incan ruins amidst a stunning mountainous backdrop. You can easily spend a couple days (or more!) touring the valley. We opted to take day trips to the Sacred Valley while using Cusco as our homebase.
How do you get there?
Most people who visit the Sacred Valley make Cusco their home base, and take day trips out from there, but you can stay at some of the smaller towns or villages along the valley, as well. The sites we mention below are all about 40-80 minutes from Cusco and you can visit sites by renting a car, taking public transportation, or booking an organized private or group trip.
Public Transit
You can find buses that go from Cusco to most of the cities along the Sacred Valley for around S/.5 – 15 soles. Make sure to have change because you may not be able to use large bills or cards. It’s definitely the most affordable option, but may not be as convenient or allow as much flexibility. The buses will take you to the nearest city, but may not take you directly to the ruins or other attractions. So once there you would need to walk or get a cab.
Rent a Car
At the time we wrote this article, you could rent compact or standard cars through sites like Expedia (https://www.expedia.com/Cars) or Kayak (https://www.kayak.com/cars) for about $50-60 per day. If you decide to go this route, just be aware that some roads may be narrow, uneven, or unpaved. We didn’t rent a car in Peru, but we have gotten a flat tire from roads like this before.
Group Tour
If you want to go the organized excursion route, you can find several options for private, group, or multi-day excursions through Get Your Guide, Tripadvisor, and Viator, with day trips ranging anywhere from $30-$100+/person, and multi-day trips costing several hundred per person.
Private Tour
We opted for a private driver/guide through Taxidatum, a private taxi service. One nice thing about going this route compared to other organized trips is that you pay per vehicle rather than per person.
Taxidatum
We did two private Sacred Valley tours through Taxidatum, the Southern Valley Tour and the Sacred Valley Full Day Tour.
The Southern Valley Tour was approximately 5.5 hours, cost $60 for a 4 passenger vehicle, and included 3 sites:
- Tipon
- Piquillacta
- Andahuaylillas
The Sacred Valley Full Day Tour was approximately 7.5 hours, cost $80 for a 4 passenger vehicle, and included 5 sites:
- Chincheros
- Moray
- Maras
- Pisac Ruins
- Pisac Market
The cost of the tour includes:
- Pickup and drop off at your hotel or Airbnb
- Transportation
- A guide
We actually ended up with the same guide for each of our tours, which was kind of nice. And he was good at providing us with some background and history on the sites, while also letting us explore on our own. Keep in mind, the drivers from these private taxis are not guaranteed to speak English. Ours spoke a little, but Tony ended up speaking mostly Spanish with him–but he was very patient and helpful despite our elementary Spanish!
Even though the tours are set for an approximate timeframe, they pretty much let you take it at your own pace and don’t rush you at all.
The tour does not include:
- Entrance fees
- Food or beverages
- Entrance fees are approximately S/. 70 soles ($25 USD) per site.
Cusco Tourist Ticket
We recommend getting the Cusco Tourist Ticket for S/.130 soles ($46 USD), which will save you a lot of money if you plan on visiting more than two sites. The Cusco Tourist Ticket is valid for 10 days from the date of purchase and includes 16 tourist sites in and around Cusco, 6 of which are in the Sacred Valley.
Click here to check out the Cusco Tourist Ticket Website or here to read our Cusco Tourist Ticket Article.
To check out more specifics on each of our tours, continue reading below.
Southern Valley Tour
For our Southern Valley Tour we were picked up from our Airbnb around 9:00 AM and returned around 2:40 PM.
Tipón
Our first stop was Tipón, where we spent most of our time. Tipón has sprawling Incan ruins with terraces and still functioning aqueducts. There are 13 terraces in total, 11 of which are irrigated. It’s one of the best preserved Incan aqueduct systems. Due to its long standing, it has been referred to as a “marvel of civil engineering.” Historians believe Tipón could have been a royal estate or agricultural center. It’s easy to kill a couple hours here, because there are several pathways through the ruins and surrounding mountains. Just make sure you take breaks and bring water!
At the top of one of the hills surrounding Tipón, you can also find part of the Inca Trail, which isn’t just a path to Machu Picchu. The Inca Trail is actually part of a larger road network built by the Inca, which covers over 25,000 miles through Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina.
Piquillacta
Piquillacta is one of the best preserved pre-Incan ruins in the Sacred Valley and was inhabited by the Wari people from about the 6th – 9th century. Archeologists have found evidence of over 700 buildings, including 2-3 story structures, and estimate that approximately 10,000 people lived there. In contrast to the Inca, who built their cities using large, precisely carved stones, the Wari constructed their buildings from smaller stones and mud, which you can tell by the distinctly different red color of these ruins compared to Incan ruins. This structural difference makes their cities much less durable than Incan cities and most of the city has been destroyed by earthquakes. Peruvians are currently working to reconstruct the village.
Andahuaylillas
The last stop of our tour was Andahuaylillas where we visited the 16th century San Pedro Apostol de Andahuaylillas Church, which has been dubbed the “Sistine Chapel of America,” due to its ornate decor and painted ceiling. It has a baroque style, with a giant gold altar and gold framed paintings, but the real highlight is the intricately painted ceiling, which looks like it’s constructed from wood beams, but was actually constructed from cane, straw, and mud, a technique called “kur-kur.”
We were lucky enough to randomly be there as the town celebrated its 200th anniversary and got to watch a parade where people dressed in traditional Peruvian clothes and performed an agricultural dance.
We also tried some candied apples, picarones, and chicha morada from street vendors. Picarones are a Peruvian dessert made from fried squash or sweet potato dough. It’s usually shaped like a donut and served with honey or syrup and tastes kind of like a funnel cake. Definitely a must try snack! And chicha morada is a drink made from purple corn, along with other fruit and spices. It has a light sweet flavor and can be quite refreshing.
Sacred Valley Full Day Tour
For our Sacred Valley Full Day Tour (which complements the South Valley Tour very well) we were picked up from our Airbnb around 8:00 AM and returned around 3:30 PM.
Chincheros
Our first stop was Chincheros, a former Incan palace, which now has a Spanish church, some Incan ruins, and terraces. The church, Our Lady of Montserrat, was built in the 17th century after the Spanish conquered the area. It has a baroque style with a gold altar and religious paintings.
There’s not much left of the Incan palace or buildings, but there’s a nice mountain view overlooking the terraces.
In more recent years, the area has been used as a field for growing potatoes, as well as a soccer field.
There is also a small market in the square around the church where you can purchase handmade goods and other souvenirs.
Moray
Moray is a series of concentric circular terraces built by the Inca for agricultural purposes. One would think the base of the terraces would flood during rains. However, the Inca structured the terraces in such a way to allow drainage and pull water into the soil. In addition, because the terraces are at different elevations, they’re at slightly different temperatures, creating approximately 20 different microclimates. This allowed the Inca to experiment with temperature, sun, wind, and elevation on crops and grow different crops on each level. Pretty amazing if you think about it!
Salineras de Maras
Salineras de Maras or ‘The Salt Mines of Maras’ is an area near Maras, Peru, with over 3,000 salt pools carved into the mountainside. Each pool is approximately 5 sq meters and fed by a natural underground saline spring that’s said to be over 100 million years old. The pools predate the Incan empire and were used by local people for food, medicine, and currency and continue to be used to this day. Today the pools are owned by about 600 local families and produce 160-200 tons of salt per year, and you are likely to see locals working there when you visit.
It’s also a beautiful and unique picture opportunity. From a distance it almost looks like a bunch of white buildings along the side of a mountain and as you get closer you see all the white and tan terraced pools.
Last, but not least, be sure to pick up some natural pink salt on your way out!
Pisac Ruins
The Pisac Ruins were probably our second favorite after Machu Picchu. It was some of the more complete ruins we’ve seen, and the town is nestled between the mountains, which were a beautiful shade of green. There are also thousands of Incan tombs built into the side of the mountain, which was unique to Pisac.
When we got to the top of the ruins, I sat down on a bench to rest, a little girl gave me a flower, and a little boy named Roberto sidled up next to me and said “comprarse.” So, we bought some new bracelets and a llama keychain and took some pictures with him. He was quite the little salesman and even tried to skim off some commission from his mom.
The ruins also sit atop a mountain about 3,000 meters above sea level, offering stunning views of the valley and terraces from above.
Pisac Market
The tour also includes Pisac Market, which we decided to pass on since we were hungry and not interested in shopping. It sounds pretty similar to most of the Peruvian markets I’ve seen or heard of, with produce, handmade goods, art, traditional Peruvian clothing, pottery, jewelry, and other souvenirs. It may also be a little more affordable than Cusco. The market is open daily, but the biggest day is Sunday, with more vendors coming from other nearby towns.
Final Tips
- Some sites require an ID or passport, so make sure you have that on hand
- Wear comfortable clothes for hiking around
- Bring sunscreen to shield yourself from the sun
- Bring plenty of water to stay hydrated
