What is the Sacred Valley of the Incas? What to see in the Sacred Valley - Peru

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When preparing your trip to Peru, with great probability, you will have as the biggest goal for your trip to visit Machu Picchu. Also with great probability, he will arrive in Peru through the international airport of Lima and, after Lima, will go to Cusco, also most likely by plane.

Cusco is a wonderful city and you are sure to love to get to know Machu Picchu. However, between Cusco and Machu Picchu, there is a whole set of treasures that, who visit Machu Picchu cannot, in any way, stop exploring, we speak of the Sacred Valley of the Incas.

What is the Sacred Valley of the Incas?


Between the city of Cusco and Machu Picchu, in the middle of the Andes, there is a huge valley that is crossed by the Urubamba River and, therefore, also known as the Urubamba River Valley. And this river and valley had enormous importance in the Inca Empire that, despite having spread through a territory that today belongs to 5 different countries had its epicenter in the city of Cusco and, in the Sacred Valley of the Incas.


In addition to the religious importance attributed by the Incas to the Urubamba River, the quality of the valley's land around them was of vital importance throughout the Inca Empire and, as you drive along its banks, you will be able to still see the enormous production that on the present days still takes place in its lands.

In the time of the Inca empire, there was an intensive production of different species of maize and potatoes, as well as various fruits and vegetables, and the so famous coca, which are planted in the fertile and flat land near the riverbed, as well as on terraces designed for agricultural production. Something impressive to ascertain, and that those who visit the Sacred Valley will certainly not miss the possibility of seeing in Moray, it is the existence of "laboratories" of agricultural experiments and studies, in which the Incas sought to find out which products fit best under certain conditions, in order to maximize their production.

Upon arriving in Cusco, we promise that you will fall in love with the city, but what you will notice is that during the colonization period by the Spanish conquistadores, enormous efforts were made to erase the vestiges of what was the capital of the Inca Empire. Although there are still innumerable signs of the Inca past, easily identifiable when strolling through the streets of the city, it is clear that the impact of the Spanish occupation was marked and changed the image of the city very much, something that did not happen in Machu Picchu, which managed to keep outside the occupation and preserve its identity.

However, although Incas have been occupied by armies led by Spain, along the Sacred Valley there are still vestiges of several Inca settlements that are an extraordinary way to get in touch with a people that, despite having dominated by a period not too long, perhaps a little more than 100 years, has left a huge and important mark in several countries of South America.

In this way, as you probably have to book a few days in Cusco area before your trip to Machu Picchu, so you have the chance to get accustomed to altitude (you can see here how to prevent and deal with altitude sickness symptoms), you will have the perfect opportunity to explore the Sacred Valley of the Incas and we are obliged to say, this ends up being a great way to organize your trip, which then culminates with the arrival at Machu Picchu.

Another advantage of spending a few days exploring the Sacred Valley of the Incas is its height, which is about 2800 meters above sea level, less than 600 meters from Cusco (you can find out more about it on our post: Cusco or Ollantaytambo).

What to see in the Sacred Valley


The Sacred Valley has many attractions, which can take a visitor to spend weeks exploring them, but unfortunately for most, as was our case, we didn't have so many days, so it was necessary to make a choice of what we do not really want to lose.


That is what we have done, and it is on this choice that we want to share, that is, on what, in our opinion, can not be lost. And, what you can not miss, in the Sacred Valley is:

- Ruins and Pisac Market;
- Ollantaytambo;
- Chinchero;
- Salinas of Maras;
- Moray.


Now let's talk a little bit about each of our choices.

Ruins and Pisac Market


Several are the markets that you can find in the different villages of the Sacred Valley, but the most famous is the Pisac Market. If you go to the weekend, and especially on Sunday, you will see how huge this market is, but even during the remaining days of the week it is still extremely good to visit it, being one of the best places to enjoy and buy handmade products locations. With its center in the Plaza de Armas de Pisac, the market tends to extend in all directions along the streets of the city and, this is one of the attractions that can not miss in the Sacred Valley of the Incas.


But in our opinion, more than the market, we must visit the Pisac Ruins, which at its top are an impressive image and a great way to prepare for what Machu Picchu will give you.

Ollantaytambo


Ollantaytambo or Ollanta, as it is also affectionately known, is a small village about 100 km from Cusco, which we loved and in which we made our base to explore the Sacred Valley of the Incas and to visit Machu Picchu (if you want know more about why we chose Ollantaytambo for our first stop in the Sacred Valley of the Incas, click here).

This small village is like an outdoor museum and, after Machu Picchu, it will be the biggest Inca attraction you will ever see. Waking along Ollanta you will feel the Inca heritage at your feet, especially as you climb its huge and magnificently preserved terraces. Believe me when we say that Ollantaytambo deserves much more attention than what is given in a short walk involved in a tour through the Sacred Valley one day.

Chinchero


The town of Chinchero is not one of the most visited by visitors but, what also does not lack are reasons of interest. It begins soon by its height, about 3760 meters above sea level, the highest place we have been in our entire journey through Peru.


Although the village and the Inca ruins you will find are not the most impressive of your trip, they do not fail to merit your visit, but what impressed us most was being able to watch how local women work textiles and, how cleverly and of artisan form they obtain the colors that are so characteristic of the clothing used by the Peruvian people. If you are fortunate enough to visit Chinchero on a Sunday, be sure to take advantage of your typical market, where trade is still held today through the exchange of goods.

Salineras of Maras


The Salineras of Maras do not have anything directly related to the Inca Empire but are also located in the Sacred Valley of the Incas and are absolutely mandatory.

Only the walkthrough Mount Salkantay that will take you to the salt mines will make you win your day, but prepare to arrive at a scenario that, with great probability, you have seen in your life in photographs, because your scenery is perfect for wonderful photographs. At more than 3000 meters high, there is a mine of salt, where salt literally rises from the mountain and man has for centuries ingeniously managed to find a way to separate the salt from the water that flows.


And this way of capturing its salt was through the hundreds of small pools, shaped on terraces along the mountain that, as the sun does its work and evaporates the water, creates a wonderful scenery of colors that, in the distance, resembles a hive of various colors. Of course, we can always try to explain in words but the pictures explain better and, of course, you already know that you can not miss visiting it during your stay in the Sacred Valley of the Incas.

Moray


Not far from the Salinas de Maras in Moray, there's something that looks like a sci-fi movie. It is in Moray that you will find 3 amphitheaters of concentric shapes on terraces, dug in the middle of hills.


Its shape is complex, perfect and wonderfully balanced and is thought to serve as a kind of laboratory where the Incas sought to study the most favorable conditions for the exploitation of their plants. How did it work? Each terrace had its own differentiated conditions, a kind of microclimate that, due to its altitude, which also resulted in conditions of temperature, humidity, exposure to the sun, among other conditions, differentiated and, what was sought to discover the conditions ideal for each plant to then recreate these conditions on a large scale.

Of course, there is still no certainty as to whether this would be the goal since the Incas did not develop the writing process, so it will always be difficult to complete Moray's purpose 100%, but what we can guarantee is that his visit is impressive and, without doubt, one of the experiences that you can not miss in the Sacred Valley of the Incas.

How to see the Sacred Valley?


Well, the possibilities for organizing to see the Sacred Valley are vast. In Cusco, what will not be lacking are alternatives at the level of tour operators that will take you to know all these destinations. You can manage this tour in a small group or in larger groups. If you wish, you can also rent the services of a taxi driver that can take you to any destination you wish but there will not be a guide with you. However, in most of the places to visit there are guides available to help you know, for a certain price, it is always appropriate to be negotiated, both in terms of value and number of participants. Under these circumstances, it may make up for joining other visitors to lower costs.

There is also the possibility to rent a car and make the journey at your own pace. Here you can not count on the services of a guide, but you can also request them at your destination. Unlike Lima, we did not find it difficult to drive in the Sacred Valley of the Incas. However, you always have to be very careful as you will be traveling narrow roads along the mountains and always have extra attention when weather conditions are not the best. With regard to car rental, however, it may not be much cheaper than the prices charged by taxi drivers, so it is not one of the most used forms of locomotion.

Conclusions


Briefly, we must say that you can not in any way visit Machu Picchu without spending some time of your trip to visit the Sacred Valley of the Incas. Many people, with little time of travel, try to know the maximum of the Sacred Valley of the Incas in a day and, it is possible but, not the ideal, in our opinion. The Sacred Valley of the Incas has so much to offer that we even recommend that at least two days should be reserved to meet you or even more if you can. We guarantee that you will not regret any second destined to explore this wonderful area and to know all the Inca heritage scattered throughout the Sacred Valley.

In this article we have just mentioned the main attractions to visit in the Sacred Valley of the Incas but, as we mentioned at the beginning, this is just our opinion. Of course, in addition to the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu, you should also book your travel time to visit Cusco and some of the nearby attractions, namely Tambomachay, Puca Pucara, Q'enko and Sacsayhuaman, which will also give you a very good job your day.

Do not forget that, in order to enter most of the attractions that we mention, you will need the Boleto Turístico, which, although more expensive, compensates to buy what gives to the general circuit (1, 2, 3), which is priced at 130 Nuevos soles for adults (about 35 euros, 40 dollars), and 70 Nuevos soles for students (about 22 euros, 19 dollars), 2019 prices.

 We really hope that our ideas help you to prepare for your visit and if you are planning your trip to Machu Picchu, we always do our reservations with booking, they are our partners and its with them that we get the best deals. You can look for the best deals by clicking here, it won't cost you any money and, it helps us to support our blog.

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We would also like to invite you to leave your opinion and questions and, in case you have already visited Machu Picchu, let us know about your experience using our comments box. Thanks for your visit to our Non Stop Family Travel Blog, come back often and, if you liked our article, don’t forget to share it with your friends.

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