The Sacred Valley stretches from Pisac down to Ollantaytambo, following the Urubamba river. At 2,800–3,000m it sits lower than Cusco, which makes it the usual acclimatisation stop before Machu Picchu.
Pisac anchors the valley’s upper end — an Inca fortress on the ridge above a market village. The ruins cover terraces, a cemetery dug into the cliff, and some of the region’s finer stonework. The market below is biggest on Sundays.
Ollantaytambo at the lower end is still laid out on the original Inca grid. The upper fortress has the massive Sun Temple stones (the complex was unfinished when the Spanish arrived), and the town is where most Machu Picchu trains depart from.
Urubamba in the middle is where many of the valley’s higher-end hotels are. The valley food scene has caught up — Mil at Moray and Kallpa in Urubamba both work with local farms.
Book Sacred Valley trips at Peruways, which bundles transport, guides, and entry tickets.
