The Sacred Valley is the 60 km corridor between Pisac and Ollantaytambo at altitudes of 2,800-3,000 metres — lower than Cusco and often warmer, which makes it the better acclimatisation stop before Machu Picchu. Pisac for the hilltop fortress and the market, Ollantaytambo for Pachacuti’s unfinished Temple of the Sun, Moray for the circular agricultural terraces, Maras for the pre-Inca salt pans still worked by hand. Peruways runs the full circuit with licensed Peruvian guides and bundles it with the Machu Picchu train. Book at Peruways.
