Sacred Valley Excursion

On this tour you’ll spend a day exploring the great variety of attractions the Sacred Valley of the Inca has to offer. In the marketplace at Pisac you’ll have the opportunity to buy crafts made by Peruvian artisans. Then you’ll visit the valley itself, and hike through an Inca ruin in one of the nearby mountains.

You’ll start your journey through the Sacred Valley in the town of Pisac, home to Peru’s largest arts and crafts market. Most of the wares for sale at Pisac consist of textiles that are woven by locals. There’s also an abundance of sweaters and mittens made from the fleece of Peru’s most distinct herd animal, the alpaca. Alpaca fleece is prized for its softness and sheen. Artisans also sell paintings, handmade jewelry, and carved gourds. Whatever you purchase, be sure to do a little bit of haggling first.

After the market, the tour stops for lunch in Urubamba, a town right in the middle of the Sacred Valley. Coming from the mountains of Cusco, you’ll be struck by the lushness and bright colors of the plant life surrounding the Urubamba River. When you stop to eat, you’ll be surrounded by the green slopes of the Andes.

From Urubamba, you’ll travel up into the mountains to visit the ruins of Ollantaytambo. Tucked away into the highlands above the origin of the Sacred Valley, Ollantaytambo is the home of a diverse array of Inca ruins. An incline separates the ruins from the modernized part of the town. You’ll ascend a steep staircase to reach several one-of-a-kind Inca buildings. At the Temple of the Sun and the Temple of Ten Niches, you’ll see some flawless examples of Inca stonework. Some of the buildings are unfinished, abandoned upon the arrival of the Spanish. Near the bottom of the ruins stop to admire the Princess Baths, a fountain decorated with geometric designs in the shape of three steps.

The Sacred Valley was a crucial stronghold for the Inca. When the Spanish first arrived in Ollantaytambo, the Inca successfully drove them away. As you explore the Sacred Valley you’ll see for yourself why the Inca fought valiantly to continue their dominion over the peaks and valleys of this stunning area.

To take this tour, travelers are required to have a Cusco Tourist Ticket. You have the option of getting either a Full Cusco Tourist Ticket or a Sacred Valley Partial Tourist Ticket. We'll help you get the ticket, but to do so we'll need your passport number, birthdate, and nationality.

These tickets allow you to visit a number of attractions in the area. Some of these attractions are visited during the course of this tour, while others are not. You can use the ticket after the tour is over to visit the attractions that are not covered in the tour. Below are the places that each ticket allows you to visit, as well as the length of time that each ticket is valid. Think about how long you'll be in Cusco and what you want to see before you decide on a ticket. We can help you with this, too.

Full Cusco Tourist Ticket: The Cathedral, Santo Domingo Convent (Qoricancha), Saqsayhuamán, Qénqo, Pukapukara, Tambomachay, Tipón, Pikillacta, Pisac, Moray, Chinchero, Ollantaytambo, Qoricancha Site Museum, Municipal Museum of Contemporary Art, Regional Historical Museum, Folk Art Museum, and the Qosqo Native Art Center. This ticket is valid for 10 days.

Sacred Valley Partial Tourist Ticket: Pisac, Moray, Chinchero, Ollantaytambo. This ticket is valid for 1 day.