The Sacred Valley was one of the most important places in the Inka Empire. Its climate was beneficial to the development of agriculture and the construction of important cities like Pisac and Ollantaytambo, which we will visit as part of this tour. At Pisac the Inka ruins are notable for their curved agricultural terraces from which you can take stunning photos of the Sacred Valley. Below the ruins the ancient village hosts a bustling handicrafts market.

Ollantaytambo is the focal point for the northern end of the Valley and is the entrance to Machu Picchu and the Inca Trail. The Quechua people here subsist primarily on agriculture, with some villages also reviving traditional Incan weaving techniques to make textiles and other handicrafts for sale. Many other Inca traditions continue to live on in the music, the food, and the way these home communities worship the Apus (God mountains in Andean religions). These ancestral customs have largely died out in urban centers.

The backdrop of snow-capped mountains alongside the flowering meadows, azul lakes and unique flora and fauna, is simply beautiful, and provides a great base for adventure tourism.

Category
Day Tours
Tour Code
CUS1D106
Location
Cusco, Peru
Tourism Modality
Culture, ecology
Duration
01 day / 9 hrs.
Distance
Round trip: 165 km.
Min. Altitude
2,900 m / 9514 ft
Max. Altitude
3,700 m / 12139 ft
Difficulty
Easy
Group Size
4 to 10 people
Gastronomy
Local, Novoandina, International
Transportation
Tourist Bus
First Aid Kit
+ Emergency oxygen bottle
Student Discount
Does not apply

Day 1

Between 4:30 AM and 5 AM, we will pick you up at your hotel in a tourist transport. We will travel for approximately 2 hours to Cusipata.
7:00 am.: Breakfast. After breakfast, we will continue to the checkpoint.
9:00 am.: Arrival in Llaqto (4,638m / 15,216 ft), hike starting point
From 9am to 1pm. Hike round trip to the Rainbow Mountain! (5,100m /16,732ft).
02:00 pm. Buffet lunch in Cusipata (If there are vegetarians or anyone with food restrictions please let us know).
Between 5:30 pm and 6:00 pm.: Will be back in the city of Cusco, where you will be left near the main square.

Detailed:

At 8.30am, we´ll pick you up from your hotel and take you to the start of the tour. We travel from Cusco toward the Sacred Valley. We descend 1500 feet to the valley, where we find the sacred Urubamba River and the village of Pisac. In Pisac. Here we stop to visit a traditional market (30 minutes), where you can buy some local souvenirs.

Then, we will go to the archeological site of Pisac, where we going to have a guided visit (one hour approx.) to know this Inka town, in which we will see temples, houses, altars, caves and the famous “Intihuatana” solar observatory.

We continue towards Urubamba, where we stop for lunch (45 minutes). Then we will continue another 30 minutes by bus until we reach Ollantaytambo, where we will also visit this Inka archaeological site, which shows an amazing temple of the sun, huge blocks of rock perfectly carved and polished, stone water fountains, stairs and terraces. Also, we will be able to see local people with their traditional clothing, from Patacancha and Willoq villages. Upon our return, we will make a quick visit (30 minutes) to the famous church and archaeological site of Chinchero. We return to Cusco at approximately 6:30 pm.

INCLUDED