The Sacred Valley Tour 1d

The Sacred Valley Tour is one of those can't-miss things to do in Cusco. This fabulous one day tour takes us to many famous destinations, including the Pisaq ruins, the Pisaq artisan market, the Inca fortress of Ollantaytambo and the town of Chincheros. Throughout this tour, we will enjoy splendid views of the deep and beautiful Sacred Valley of the Incas, observe native traditions that have been passed down for hundreds of years, enjoy great local cuisine, visit breathtaking ruins, and have the chance to purchase authentic artisan goods to bring home with you. Don't miss it!

Tour Itinerary

The Sacred Valley Tour

At 8:00 AM, an Ascend Travel representative will pick you up at your hotel for the transfer to the Sacred Valley. We will travel past the ruins of Saqsayhuaman and Tambomachay on our way to the impressionable Sacred Valley of the Incas. Our first stop is the town of Pisac, where we will first climb the valley road to the amazing ruins high above the colonial town. The Pisaq ruins are famous for their ample agricultural terraces located along steep cliffs surrounding the town. At the top of the agricultural terraces, we will visit the famous Incan sun temple in the section of the ruins known as "Intihuatana." This temple includes the famous "Hitching Post," supposedly used to tie up the sun on its journey around the Earth. This temple is also believed to have served astronomical purposes for Incan Priests. We will also see ancient Incan crosses, which represent three levels of existence (the "Upper" world, the "Everyday" world, and the "Under" world).

After visiting the ruins, we will descend to the town of Pisaq where we will visit the famous Pisaq market. Although very quiet most of the week, the town of Pisaq springs to life every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday – and the market is famous for handmade ceramics, silver jewelry, embroideries and tapestries - most of the goods are sold directly from the artists that create them.

Next, we will board our van to our next stop, which is the town of Urubamba. Here we will enjoy an awesome buffet of local cuisine at a colonial hacienda or tourist restaurant before heading to our next destination.

After a drive of about 45 minutes along the banks of the beautiful Urubamba River, with beautiful views of high-mountain peaks and glaciers reaching over 5500 Meters (or 18,000 feet), we will reach the great Inca fortress of Ollantaytambo. This town, apart from its amazing scenery and natural beauty, is significant due to the fact that many of the intact Inca structures are still used by the local people. We will observe impressive carvings in the mountain, enormous stone blocks perfectly carved by the Incans, inhabitants in their traditional dress, and we will ascend amazing agricultural terraces to get a spectacular view of the surrounding valley and mountains.

Our final stop is the village of Chincheros, high above the Sacred Valley, where we will get a breathtaking view of the glaciated peaks of Mt. Chicon and Mt. Veronica, visit the famous colonial church and archeological site, before continuing on another 45 minutes to Cusco where we will arrive around 6:00 or 6:30 PM.