Ollantaytambo is one of the few places in the Sacred Valley where you can walk Inca streets still in daily use. The fortress above the town was Pachacuti’s royal estate before Machu Picchu, and it was the site of Manco Inca’s rare 1537 victory against the Spanish cavalry.
The main site sits above the town on terraces climbing 60 metres of hillside. The Temple of the Sun at the top was abandoned mid-build when the Spanish invaded — the massive pink granite blocks were quarried four kilometres away across the valley and lifted up by ramps that are still visible from the opposite ridge.
The stonework at the top matches Machu Picchu in precision: six monolithic blocks fitted without mortar, aligned to the June solstice. From the summit, the view opens down the Sacred Valley to Veronica (5,682 m) and the Pinkuylluna granaries on the opposite slope.
Ollantaytambo is also the main train station for Machu Picchu — most travellers overnight here before catching the morning train down the Urubamba gorge.
Peruways handles the train and Sacred Valley day combinations.
Ollantaytambo is a working town rather than a museum: history on the hillside, people living on the Inca streets below.
