Sacred Valley Day Tour with Chinchero, Moray, Ollantaytambo and Pisac

Chinchero: Andean weaving village and Inca royal estate

Chinchero sits at about 3,760 metres on the high plain between Cusco and the valley, so it is the first stop and the coolest of the day. The village was built over an Inca royal estate: you see long walls of fitted stone, wide agricultural terraces and a whitewashed colonial church raised on Inca foundations in the early 1600s, its ceiling painted with flowers and saints. Snow-capped peaks of the Urubamba range line the horizon on a clear morning.

Most people know Chinchero for its weavers. At a family workshop the women show how alpaca and sheep wool is washed with a root that foams like soap, then dyed with plants, minerals and the cochineal insect, which gives every shade of red. A Chinchero tour normally lasts around 40 minutes, and the textiles here are among the finest you will see in the Cusco region.

Moray: the circular Inca terraces

Moray is one of the most unusual Inca sites in Peru: a set of giant concentric terraces set into natural hollows, the largest about 30 metres deep. Each ring has its own microclimate, and the temperature difference between the rim and the bottom can reach several degrees, which is why many researchers believe the Incas used Moray as an agricultural laboratory to adapt maize, potatoes and quinoa to different altitudes. Hidden irrigation channels and stone steps jutting from the walls still drain the rings after rain.

Your guide walks you along the rim path for about 35 minutes, with the best views from the upper edge of the main amphitheatre. Visitors no longer walk down into the terraces, which protects the walls. Is Moray worth visiting? On a Sacred Valley day tour it is one of the most photographed and talked-about stops, and it combines perfectly with Maras a few minutes away.

Maras salt mines (Salineras de Maras)

Below the village of Maras, a warm salty spring flows out of the mountain and has been channelled into thousands of small evaporation pools stepped down the slope. The salt pans were worked before the Incas and are still harvested by local families, each one owning its own pools and scraping the crust by hand in the dry season. From the viewpoint the pans look like a white and ochre mosaic against the red earth of the valley.

The stop lasts about 20 minutes, enough to walk the viewing path, take photos and browse the stalls selling pink salt, flavoured salts and salt chocolate. Note that the Maras salt mines entry ticket is not included and is paid locally in cash. For a Moray and Maras tour that also covers the rest of the valley, this route is one of the most efficient ways to see both in one day.

Urubamba: lunch in the heart of the valley

Urubamba is the main town of the Sacred Valley, lying at about 2,870 metres on the river of the same name, so the air is noticeably warmer and softer than in Cusco. The lowland here is green with maize fields, eucalyptus and fruit trees, and the valley floor is framed by the glaciers of Chicón and the Urubamba range. It makes a natural halfway point between the high plain of Chinchero and Moray and the Inca towns downstream.

Lunch is a buffet included in your Sacred Valley tour, with about 50 minutes at the table. Expect Andean soups, quinoa, roasted and stewed meats, trout, potatoes in many forms, salads and fresh fruit, with vegetarian dishes on the buffet. Drinks are ordered separately. It is a good moment to rest, drink water and get ready for the climb at Ollantaytambo.

Ollantaytambo fortress and Inca town

Ollantaytambo is the living Inca town of the valley: its grid of narrow lanes, stone water channels and courtyard houses has been inhabited since the 15th century. Above it rise steep terraces leading to the Temple Hill and the unfinished Sun Temple, where six enormous pink stone monoliths fit together without mortar. The stone was quarried on the far side of the river and hauled up the slope, and in 1536 the Inca army defeated a Spanish force here by flooding the plain below.

On this Ollantaytambo tour you spend about 50 minutes on site with your guide, climbing the terraces at your own pace, so comfortable shoes help. Ollantaytambo is also the main train station for Machu Picchu: if your train leaves in the afternoon you can end the tour here around 3 pm. Tell us when you book and we will let your guide know.

Pisac archaeological park and artisan market

Pisac closes the day with one of the most dramatic Inca sites in Peru. The archaeological park spreads along a ridge high above the town: curved agricultural terraces sweep down the mountainside, while the upper sectors hold temples, ceremonial baths and fine stonework around the sun dial known as the Intihuatana. The cliffs facing the site are dotted with hollows that once held Inca tombs, among the largest Inca burial grounds known.

With your guide you have about 45 minutes among the ruins and terraces, then time in the town for the Pisac market, famous for textiles, ceramics, silver jewellery and Andean musical instruments. The road back climbs to Cusco in about 50 minutes, and the tour ends near the Plaza de Armas around 6:30 pm. Remember that Pisac, Ollantaytambo, Moray and Chinchero all require the Cusco tourist ticket, which is not included.