Ollantaytambo sits at the western end of the Sacred Valley, 72 km from Cusco. The town is one of the few places in Peru where the original Inca street grid is still in daily use — adobe houses on the stone foundations Pachacuti laid before the Spanish arrived.
Peruways runs guided day trips from Cusco with English-speaking driver-guides, hotel pickups, and stops en route at Chinchero’s weavers or Moray’s circular terraces.
The main site climbs 60 metres of terraced hillside to the Temple of the Sun. The six pink granite monoliths at the top were quarried 4 km away across the valley; the Spanish invasion interrupted construction in 1537. Manco Inca won a rare pitched battle against Spanish cavalry here the same year — one of the Inca Empire’s few outright wins.
Peruways’ guides frame the site’s dual role as fortress and royal estate, with context on the pink granite ramps still visible on the opposite ridge.
Ollantaytambo is also the main train station for Machu Picchu, so most itineraries overnight here before heading down the gorge. Visit Peruways to book the day.
