The Sacred Valley, Peru
Sacred Valley highlights
Ollantaytambo
Moray
Maras
Why visit the Sacred Valley?
For true adventure, with mind-blowing scenery, and pre-Colombian history.
Getting there and around
We took a private minivan transfer arranged through our hotel in Lima back to Lima airport (cost £20). We flew with Viva from Lima to Cusco, a short domestic 90 minute flight. There were good views of Cusco and the Andes as the plane came into land.
Upon arrival into Cusco we immediately transferred to Ollantaytambo (2,800 metres) which is at a lower altitude than Cusco (3,400 metres) and would allow us to acclimatise to the altitude slowly, before returning to Cusco later.
For context, Tuolumne Meadows in the high country of Yosemite National Park is 2,600m and Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the U.K. is 1,300 metres.
We all felt the altitude a bit during our first few days in the Sacred Valley - breathlessness when walking uphill, headaches and sometimes dizziness, and disturbed sleep. It got better by about day 4.
We booked online a private transfer from Cusco airport to our accommodation using Taxidatum. This journey took two hours on bumpy, dusty roads through the agricultural valleys and mountains. The ride cost £45 for the four of us in a minivan.
We walked everywhere in Ollantaytambo, which is a charming and safe town to explore on foot, but we used Taxidatum drivers to visit other towns and sites.
Accommodation
We stayed at the Apu Lodge in Ollantaytambo for a week. We stayed in a large family room with 1 king bed and 3 single beds at a cost of £120 per night. This was quite pricey compared to other lodging options in the area.
A simple but decent breakfast of eggs, fresh fruit, homemade flatbread and jams, yogurt and granola was included in the rate. The breakfast didn’t vary and so for a 7 night stay it was a bit repetitive.
The lodge also served dinner. Their Andean chicken and mashed potato, and the crispy chicken dumplings with guacamole were particularly good. But unfortunately the restaurant closed without explanation for the last few nights of our stay.
The lodge was rustic and basic and there were a few ants and other creepy crawlies, but that was to be expected given its rural location. A major drawback was that the wi-fi was non-existent in our room but it was ok in the reception area. A laundry service was available for £1 per kilo.
Our star rating: 3
Our cost rating: 2
Ollantaytambo
The town
Ollantaytambo is a small town at the northern end of the Sacred Valley. It has a railway station with direct trains to Aguas Calientes, which makes it a popular jumping off point for people wanting to visit Machu Picchu by rail.
The town itself has tight cobbled streets with beautiful old buildings, leading to a pretty central square full of souvenir shops, cafes and restaurants; and lots of people trying to sell their wares.
In the morning the town is busy with tourists on their way to Machu Picchu but in the afternoon it quietens down to a more relaxing pace.
Archeological site
Above the town are the ruins of an important ceremonial and agricultural Incan site (and some pre-Inca ruins too). There are written records about the site from the Spanish conquest.
When the Inca leader Manco Inca escaped from Cuzco he and his forces went to Ollantaytambo. In 1537 the Spanish attacked. Manco Inca was ready, and having built a network of dams and irrigation channels, flooded the valley and used the higher ground to defeat the Spanish.
Eventually the Spanish returned with greater numbers, and the Inca retreated further into the jungle. The town became a focal point for Spanish settlement. Today most people in the town speak Spanish but we also encountered lots of people who only spoke Quecha.
Che Guevara summed up Ollantaytambo eloquently in his Motorcycle Diaries:
“Tracing the course of the Vilcanota and passing by some relatively unimportant sites, we reached Ollantaytambo, a vast fortress where Manco rose up in arms against the Spaniards, resisting Hernando Pizarro’s troops and founding the minor dynasty of the Four Incas.”
We purchased a boleto touristico (tourist ticket) at the entrance to the Ollytantambo ruins. The boleto is valid for 10 days and gives entry to 16 archeological sites in the area including Saqsayqaman and museums in Cusco, Pisaq, Moray and Chincero. The boleto costs £30 per adult; children are free.
We loved exploring this fascinating archeological site. The stonework is impressive and the views from high up on the stone terraces are stunning.
Cooking class
We really wanted to do an activity in this area that would see our money go directly into the local community rather than book with an international tour operator. Awamaki is a local charity providing sustainable tourism activities such as our private cookery class. The class cost £160 (£50 per adult and £30 per child).
We met our translator Jordan (a volunteer from Chicago) in the main town square, before heading to the local market for the ingredients. Then we went to Awamaki’s headquarters just off the main square for our lesson with Jenny, a local resident.
We helped make pumpkin soup, and causa rellena de pollo - layers of mashed potato, poached and shredded chicken, sliced tomatoes and avocado. Everything was delicious, we had lots of fun, and Jordan and Jenny were fantastic hosts. After weeks of eating out it was so nice to cook again!
Moray
Moray is an archaeological site about an hour’s drive from Ollantaytambo on a plateau at 3,500m.
We booked an English speaking driver online through Taxidatum. The trip to Moray and Maras with pick-up from and drop-off back at Ollantaytambo cost £50. The journey took us over high mountains with switchback roads and stunning views.
The site contains Inca ruins of several circular terraces and it is believed that the Incas used these as a laboratory to experiment with different crops at different altitudes and temperatures.
Maras
Sometime between 1000 and 200 b.c., before the rise of the Incan empire, people living near the town of Maras discovered a salty subterranean spring.
They built 4500 terraced ponds and channels to guide the spring water into the ponds. The ponds are approximately 4m square in area and 30cm deep. When the sun evaporates the water, salt is left behind. It takes about a month for the pond to refill and the water to evaporate again.
Local families own the ponds - the larger the family, the larger their pond; and new families are assigned ponds further away from the town. Ponds are inherited and passed down from parent to child.
The site is maintained by the families collectively, and the commercial side is managed through a communally owned company which is in charge of the classification and sale of the salt. Profits are distributed primarily among the owners of the ponds. However, residents who do not own ponds are also given a small share of the profits as part of a local culture of reciprocity.
We had the pleasure of visiting and learning about this ancient site, the efforts of the local community, and their refreshing collective economic approach.
Machu Picchu
Final thoughts
Coming to Peru off the back of 6 weeks in the USA was always going to be a radical change and Peru’s Sacred Valley was certainly different to Disneyland!
We found the adjustment to poorer internet, creepy crawlies, power cuts and intermittent hot water challenging but we all tried to take it in our stride and remember it’s a privilege to travel.
Ollantaytambo was a beautiful tranquil town to base ourselves in. It was incredibly photogenic and had a fascinating history. We could have compressed our activities here and stayed for a shorter period, but we liked being able to take a relaxed pace with our day trips. A week gave us plenty of time to explore the region in depth.