Ollantaytambo sits in the Sacred Valley at 2,792 metres — one of the few Andean towns still built on its Inca grid, with running water in the stone channels of its pre-Hispanic streets. Peruways runs guided visits that pair the fortress ruins above the town with the colonial grid below.
The fortress dominates the valley. Pachacuti’s forces built the enormous terraces and the unfinished Sun Temple on the upper platform; the quarry across the valley is where the stones were dragged from. In 1537 Manco Inca’s forces beat the Spanish here before withdrawing to Vilcabamba — one of the few Inca victories of the conquest.
Below the fortress, the colonial grid is still in use. The houses sit on Inca foundations, the plaza carries textiles from Patacancha, and Pinkuylluna — the storehouse ruins on the opposite cliff — is a quiet climb if you want the view back down.
Ollantaytambo also makes a better acclimatisation stop than Cusco, which sits 600 metres higher. For visitors flying straight from the coast, a night here is easier on the lungs than one in Cusco.
Book your Sacred Valley day — Ollantaytambo included — through Peruways.
