The view from Pisaq ruins main gate in Peru
SAcred Valley
The Sacred Valley
The Sacred Valley is a stunning alpine valley, roughly 35 miles (59 km) long, carved out by the Urubamba River and stretching from the towns of Písac to Ollantaytambo. To the Incas, this wasn't just prime real estate, it was COSMIC real estate. Just don't confuse this valley with the Inca Trail; that's the multi-day hike to Machu Picchu.
Now, this group tour was pretty cool and all, and if you are on a vacation with limited time, I'd highly recommend it. But since I had the luxury of time, if I had to do it all over again, I probably would have done things differently because it felt pretty rushed in some spots. They offer a ton of variations of this tour; some take two days, and some don't hit as many spots but cost less.
What I would actually recommend is finding a tour option that hits Ollantaytambo and maybe one or two other places. Do that, and then ditch the tour group entirely (you aren't just "ditching" them, it is a common strategy) to stay the night in Ollantaytambo. You can easily catch the train from there straight to Machu Picchu and navigate your way back on your own from there. (It is all very easy, and I explain exactly how to do it in my write-up of Machu Picchu here.)
For this tour, you MUST have your tourist ticket with you. They will tell you that when you sign up, but they do very little hand-holding. I was honestly surprised they didn't verify everyone had theirs at the start of the tour. So, be a responsible adult and make sure to bring it with you. Also, when I left in the morning, it was quite cold in Cusco, but you vary quite a bit in elevation along the way, so definitely wear layers.
Chinchero
Chinchero is the first official stop on the tour. Sitting at 12,300 feet (3,760 m), it is the highest point of the day, even higher than Cusco.
You’ll pull up to a small village and have to walk through it to reach the actual ruins. It’s a quaint little town, and I grabbed a couple of lomito (pork loin) sandwiches from a street vendor here to fuel up. You can find these all over Peru for only about 3 soles ($0.90) apiece, and they became a regular breakfast staple for me.
To be honest, the ruins themselves were just okay. The real attraction at this site is the view with the ruins at your back, opening up over an awesome valley. I would say that if you were planning on exploring the Sacred Valley on your own without a rushed tour group, this is a ruin you could easily skip without missing too much. That said, I’ve heard there is a great one-hour downhill hike that starts right here and ends in Urquillos. That would be ideal for a backpacker-type traveler who has more time to spend in the Cusco area. Chinchero is not far outside of Cusco, and you could easily catch a local bus out there on your own for probably about 5 soles ($1.20).
Before you actually get to Chinchero, you'll make a quick stop at a little farm. Looking back, I was a bit disappointed this was even included on the tour because of how short you already are on time. They give you a glass of warm tea, show you how they dye various local textiles, and talk about cuy (guinea pig).
Chinchero ruins
The mountain view Chinchero overlooks
Salt Mines of Maras
Next is the Maras Salt Mines. This is actually private property and the entrance fee isn't included in the tour. It is 20 soles ($5.50) to get in. Cash only.
The drive in is pretty cool because you get a sweeping view from above of just how massive the operation really is.
Once you're inside, it’s an incredible view, but there isn't actually a whole lot to do. You used to be able to walk down the narrow paths right between the salt pans, but thanks to dipshit tourists who wanted to do things like spit in them (this is an active mine making salt that people actually put on their food) that is no longer allowed.
This was the view from the van first entering the mine
This is pretty much the only view from in the mine, but the path into it does have a little more to see including a hot spring.
Moray
You have now seen exactly as much of Moray as I did.
Don't let the guides fool you. They will tell you it was an Inca agricultural laboratory similar to Tipon, built to test varying microclimates for crop harvesting. They will also tell you how, even though it is incredibly deep, it never floods due to complex underground engineering. But it is all bullshit because it is CLEARLY a landing pad for an alien spaceship.
In reality, this was one of the most rushed spots on the entire day trip. From the second we climbed out of the van to the moment we climbed back in, we weren't here for more than 15 minutes total.
Our group was led straight to a central viewing platform where, yes, you can see everything and get a great view. But there is a long walking path wrapping around the entire rim of the structure where other tourists and groups were exploring, and we didn't get to touch it.
What made it even more infuriating was that right after rushing us through this site, they drove us to a salt store, which was literally a shop that sold nothing but overpriced, flavored souvenir salt, and we were forced to spend at least 30 minutes there.
Signature shot of Moray
Steps into each individual layer, but I'm pretty sure people aren't allowed down into it
This was taken at the base of Ollantaytambo and you can see Pinkuylluna across town
Ollantaytambo
Now, I know I have spent some time bitching about the tour being rushed. In their defense, this site and the next are the best attractions on the route, and we did get plenty of time here. And I know, you think you are the special tourist who is totally different from all the others, but unfortunately you are going to have to deal with these plebs wearing Hawaiian shirts and carrying huge cameras around their necks, because this place is going to be quite crowded.
Ollantaytambo has the lowest elevation of all the sites at 9,160 feet (2,792 m), and it is a good thing too because it also requires a pretty steep hike to reach the top.
The town itself is larger than the towns at the previous stops, and it is highly unique because it is the only surviving town built directly on the original Inca grid. The streets the Incas used in the 1400s are the exact same ones people walk on today. (interesting side note: a few days before I wrote this, I heard on a podcast that the Inca Empire is actually a few hundred years younger than Oxford University. I thought that was kinda cool)
I really wish I had stayed a night here, because I would have liked to explore the town more. Plus, there is a whole separate place across town that no one ever talks about.
From Ollantaytambo, you can clearly see another mountain with ancient structures sitting right on the side of it. This is Pinkuylluna. It isn't included on the official tourist ticket, but it is completely free to go see on your own. It looked like it would have been a challenging hike.
Once you finally get to the top of the main site, you will see the unfinished Temple of the Sun. I imagine it is unfinished because the Incas decided, "fuck that, these stairs are a bitch."
Up at the top is another badass 360 degree view. Soak it in and then get ready for the final stop.
View from the base of the fortress...
This was the view at the very top of Ollantaytambo. Notice the blue sky? Just wait until I turned around...
...And the reverse angle
...And saw this rain coming at us from across the valley. This is one of my favorite pics that I have taken. We didn't get that wet, it just sprinkled on us.
Pisac
This is the final stop on the tour. The ruins share a name with the nearby town but sit on a mountain overlooking it. For reference, the town is at 9,750 feet (2,972 m) and the ruins sit up at 10,662 feet (3,250 m). I have heard the town itself is a decent place to visit, but I didn't get to see any of it.
When it comes to ruins, most just have basic walls and some foundations. I think what most people find exciting is when there are several intact structures left standing, allowing you to get a much better visual of what the ancient city actually looked like. That is what makes Machu Picchu so incredible, and this is the only site that can hold a candle to it
.
Because it was our last stop, we didn't quite have enough time to see everything. All of the archaeological sites in the area have a strict closing time of 4:30 PM. That is a tad early if you ask me, but unfortunately, the Cusco tourism board did NOT, in fact, ask me. As we were walking through, the guards were actively closing off sections and blocking new visitors from entering. I was a little disappointed because the one section I missed contained a majority of the intact structures, but I still got a great view of them from the outside.
That path leading up, right in front of those shacks, was closed off by the time I got there so no more people could enter
The top of the farming area but below the living area
The ancient man-made stuff is cool, but then you turn around and your jaw drops at the naturally made stuff. Such an incredible country,
Final Thoughts on the Sacred Valley
I didn't really put much thought into what I missed or how I should have handled things until I started laying it all out for this article.
This wasn't a bad tour, and I wouldn't necessarily recommend against it. All of the sites are worth seeing. It really just depends on how many days you have to spend in Cusco. I would have liked to see more of Ollantaytambo, but if you are only visiting Cusco for four days, I wouldn't recommend spending the bulk of a day in that town alone.
Another factor depends on how good your Spanish is. I mean, Cusco is probably the easiest city in South America to navigate without speaking any Spanish, but hopping on a local bus by yourself to another small town can be intimidating. And it should be! Not just for safety, because Cusco is incredibly safe, but because you just don't know the local schedules. It would completely suck to take a bus out to Pisac and then, when you are done exploring, find out that no more buses are heading back to Cusco that day.
The best advice I can give is to use this guide and others like it, map out what you really want to see, and then build your itinerary around it.
Sun setting on my day in the Sacred Valley