Ollantaytambo, in the Sacred Valley of the Incas, is one of the few places in Peru where the original Inca street grid still works as a town. The ruins above the town — part fortress, part temple — are among the best-preserved in the Cusco region.
Peruways runs guided day visits to Ollantaytambo from Cusco. The archaeological site itself is a staircase of agricultural terraces leading up to a Sun Temple of massive granite blocks, hauled across the valley from the opposite mountainside — the Spanish never finished the complex, which is why the quarry stones are still mid-journey today.
Below the ruins, the town has a small market selling Andean textiles and produce, plus a handful of good lunch stops before you catch the train onward to Aguas Calientes. Peruways’ transfers from Cusco are comfortable, and the guides fill in the Inca history that otherwise just looks like a lot of stones.
Have a look at Peruways’ Sacred Valley packages at Peruways. Ollantaytambo is often the overlooked day of a Cusco trip — it shouldn’t be.
