# The Sacred Valley of the Incas: Seeing Machu Picchu and So Much More in Peru > Here's the essential guide to the Sacred Valley of the Incas: Machu Picchu, ancient terraces and the mountain scenery of Peru. Discover what to see beyond the famous ruin. - URL: https://langandtrip.com.ua/en/article/machu-pikchu-ta-bahato-inshoho-v-peru/ - Language: en - Published: 2023-06-22 - Categories: Culture, Historic Sites, Mountains, Peru, Relaxation --- It's not hard to see why the Incas called it the Sacred Valley. This 70-mile ribbon of land in the Peruvian Andes, running from the old imperial capital of Cusco to the mysterious citadel of Machu Picchu, remains a place of hauntingly beautiful scenery. Set against snowcapped peaks, the fertile river valley winds beneath steep forests and ancient farming terraces, while the mountain light at dusk gives the landscape an otherworldly glow. Many locals still speak Quechua, the language of the Incas. They also grow corn, raise alpacas and weave brightly colored textiles, just as their ancestors did before the brutal arrival of the Spanish five centuries ago. On top of that, the area holds other breathtaking Inca ruins that could easily be world famous, if only they weren't overshadowed by the tourism juggernaut that is Machu Picchu. For anyone making the once-in-a-lifetime pilgrimage to the citadel, the Sacred Valley makes the perfect base. Although the Sacred Valley has a well-developed tourism industry, with lodging and activities to suit every budget under the sun, it sees far less demand than the places at its head and its tail, Cusco and Machu Picchu. Here you'll find endless ways to explore the natural landscapes as well as a living, ancient culture. You can do it by car or, better still, on foot, by mountain bike or on horseback. The valley's small towns and villages also move to a calm, unhurried rhythm, making them an ideal place to unwind, whether with a massage, some yoga or simply relaxing in a hammock. Add Peru's celebrated cuisine to the mix and it's hard to go wrong. The area already has restaurants run by some of the country's finest chefs, and a new project from Virgilio Martinez is set to arrive soon, whose Lima restaurant Central consistently ranks among the best in Latin America. There's another key advantage to basing yourself in the valley: altitude. Cusco sits at an average of roughly 11,000 feet above sea level. In the valley the elevation mostly ranges between 7,000 and 9,000 feet. That may not sound like a huge difference, but it lands right in the "danger zone" for altitude sickness: symptoms such as nausea, fatigue and headaches often strike in Cusco, but rarely in the Sacred Valley. ## Pisac ![Ancient Inca agricultural terraces above the colonial village of Pisac](/storage/image/prev/Peru-1-Pisac-1024x576.jpg) This colonial village, known for its pre-Columbian farming terraces, is a great place to stop for the night and escape the tourist crowds of Cusco, just 40 minutes' drive away, with a small but appealing selection of stylish restaurants and hotels. Most people come for the famous Sunday market on the town square, where you can buy knitwear made from alpaca wool, ceramics and finely worked silver. The village practically bursts with the crush of foreigners and local street vendors along its narrow cobbled lanes. Yet only a small fraction of visitors make it up to Pisac's most spectacular site: the Inca fortress towering above the village. The fortress features stone water channels and what archaeologists believe was an Inca bath. Its summit is a small triangular plateau offering dazzling views and a distinctive Inca altar carved from a single block of granite, known as an intihuatana, or "hitching post of the sun". A road runs behind the fortress, allowing visitors to arrive by car, taxi or bus and then explore the site. However, as with most things Inca, the best way to appreciate Pisac, at least for those feeling energetic and unbothered by heights, is to lace up your walking shoes and climb up from the village square below. The climb up the original narrow stone steps is steep and usually takes a couple of hours. The mountain sun can beat down hard too. But the views of the village below, the terraces and the valley beyond make it entirely worthwhile. ## Chinchero ![Local weavers in traditional Andean dress in the village of Chinchero](/storage/image/prev/Peru-2-Chinchero.jpg) Known as the "birthplace of the rainbow", Chinchero is another picturesque colonial village, famous above all for its intricate traditional textiles. Unusually, the center of the village is privately owned and charges visitors an entry fee. It's money well spent, letting you wander among the various women's weaving collectives, where local women in traditional Andean dress use natural dyes to create stunning alpaca-wool pieces, including shawls, blankets and tablecloths. The colors can be either subtle or vivid, according to the weavers' choice, and span the whole rainbow: at least five shades of green depending on the leaves used, or a brilliant crimson made by grinding dried cochineal insects with a mortar and pestle. ## Moray and the Inca Salt Mines ![Cascading salt pools of the Inca salt mines near Moray](/storage/image/prev/Peru-3-Salt-Mines-1024x597.jpg) Moray, a pre-Columbian agricultural laboratory, is one of the least visited yet most fascinating Inca sites in the Sacred Valley. This amphitheater, sunk deep into a hilltop, consists of a series of descending concentric rings. Each level, experts believe, mimicked a different altitude, allowing the Incas to experiment with various crops for their vast empire. This tradition of testing natural ingredients has also inspired chef Martinez. It's here, in the tiny village of Moray, that he plans to open a new culinary complex covering every aspect of the farm-to-plate dining experience, with his team trialing new crops on the center's own land, possibly in 2017. The backstory of Moray is that the Incas possessed a highly developed environmental sensitivity. Pachamama is perhaps the most revered deity in the Andean cosmos, roughly translated into English as Mother Earth or Mother Nature. Moray remains the greatest embodiment of this understanding of Pachamama's delicate balance and how she provides for her people. Not far from Moray you can also visit the original Inca salt "mines", still in use to this day. They are in fact a series of cascading shallow pools built to collect water from a salty hot spring and let it evaporate. The walk down past the salt mines, back to the valley floor, is very scenic and takes about an hour. The pink Andean gourmet salt also makes an unusual souvenir to take home. ## Ollantaytambo This village is where most travelers heading from Cusco to Machu Picchu switch from bus to train. Its grid of cobbled streets is the best-preserved example of Inca urban planning, and the village itself was the site of a rare and short-lived Inca victory over the Spanish. It was here, in 1536, that a company of conquistadors led by the rebellious younger brother of Francisco Pizarro was showered with arrows and finally routed after the Incas used their irrigation system to flood the valley floor, throwing the mounted Spaniards off course. The narrow streets can get clogged with buses during the morning and afternoon rush hours to and from Machu Picchu, but the rest of the time the village is fairly quiet. It's also home to two magnificent Inca ruins, including yet another terraced fort. The massive walls are impressive, but so too, in a more subtle way, is the great Inca "shrine" carved into the rock at the far lower right of the site, as it blends gently with the natural features of the stone. The El Albergue hotel, opened in 1925 and set right by the railway station, remains an atmospheric place to stay, with its simple, traditional rooms and well-tended grounds. The hotel also has a restaurant open to non-guests and a top-quality distillery for cañazo, a kind of Andean rum that has been produced continuously in the valley since the 16th century. The hotel's organic farm, which overlooks the fort, also serves pachamanca, a pre-Columbian classic of Andean cuisine that involves slow-cooking various meats with potatoes, sweet potatoes, beans and local herbs by burying them under stones heated over a fire. El Albergue's version features lamb, chicken and alpaca, and, like most pachamanca dishes, it needs to be ordered the day before. ## Machu Picchu ![The Inca citadel of Machu Picchu perched between two forested peaks](/storage/image/prev/Peru-5-Machu-Picchu-1024x679.jpg) Revered as one of the world's greatest archaeological sites, this hauntingly beautiful Inca citadel fully lives up to the hype. Perched on a ridge between two sugarloaf mountains draped in emerald cloud forest, the wondrous beauty of Machu Picchu is rooted in its harmony with the stunning natural surroundings. The quality of the stonework also has to be seen up close to be believed. Enormous granite boulders with irregular natural edges and countless angles fit together so tightly, without any mortar, that you couldn't slide a sheet of cigarette paper between them. Many people, including Hiram Bingham, the American adventurer who rediscovered Machu Picchu in 1911, once believed it to be a fortress. Today experts agree it was a seasonal residence for the Inca rulers. But no one knows for certain. The 12-acre site, with two separate summit walks on either side, is large enough to warrant setting aside a whole day. If you decide to stay overnight in the small town below, you can also line up to get inside when the gates open at 5 a.m. to watch the sunrise over the citadel. Machu Picchu is made up of roughly 200 stone structures, their granite walls well preserved even though the thatched roofs decayed long ago. Among them are a ceremonial bath, temples, granaries and aqueducts. One of them, known as the Guardhouse of the Funerary Rock, is thought to have been used to embalm deceased aristocrats. Many visitors hire a guide, but simply losing yourself among the buildings is a wonderful option too, letting you take in the main highlights without any pressure. These include the Temple of the Sun, the intihuatana, the Sacred Plaza and the "prison group", a maze of narrow corridors and chambers whose highlight is the Temple of the Condor, where the carved head of a feathered scavenger sits against natural rock features that resemble its huge wings. Once you've finished exploring, you can, if you've bought the appropriate ticket in advance, take a strenuous hike up one of the two peaks, Huayna Picchu and Machu Picchu Mountain. The climb up Huayna Picchu takes about two hours, while Machu Picchu Mountain usually takes twice as long. The first option in particular calls for a head for heights and shoes with good grip. Take a look at German director Werner Herzog's film "Aguirre, the Wrath of God" and you'll understand why. This tale of Spanish conquistadors descending into the Amazon in search of El Dorado, the fabled city of gold, opens with an unforgettable scene as the expedition, clad in heavy armor, climbs the steep stone steps of Huayna Picchu. It's from these two peaks that the two classic shots of Machu Picchu are usually taken. Whether or not you want that once-in-a-lifetime selfie, these are the only spots offering a full panorama of the citadel, which makes them an essential part of the experience. ## Plan Ahead There's no getting around the fact that the citadel is a magnet for tourists. There is currently a daily cap on visits to the site, as well as to some of the related excursions, including the Inca Trail, Huayna Picchu and Machu Picchu Mountain. That's why it's crucial to book your tickets before the trip, including the Inca Trail and one of the various entry options for Machu Picchu, depending on which walk you want to do, so you don't travel all the way into the heart of the Inca world only to find the daily quota already filled.