Sacred Valley tour with Maras & Moray (VIP) – Full Day

The Sacred Valley VIP full day tour starts at 7.30am with pick up from your hotel in Cusco.

After a 1-hour drive through the Sacred Valley of the Incas, you will stop in the town of Chinchero to participate in a short experiential tour with the local community and their resident alpacas. Your guide will then accompany you around the local market and take you on a tour of the Colonial Temple.

The next destination of the day will be the circular, agricultural platforms of Moray. An experimental and research centre of the Incas, due to its ever changing micro-climate and surrounding mountain range. After visiting Moray, you’ll be driven the short distance to the salt mines of Maras. A unique collection of salt wells that have been formed into stepped terraces, fed by a nearby irrigation channel. Here your tour guide will educate you on the traditional ‘mining’ practices of the local people and the historical significance of the salt mines to the region.

The afternoons’ tour will begin surrounded by the natural beauty of Urubamba. The largest town in the sacred valley and our lunch destination for the day. Here you will be treated to a decadent buffet style lunch amidst the backdrop of the surrounding Andes mountains in the valley.

After lunch, your transport will take you alongside the Urubamba River, to the picturesque town of Ollantaytambo. Here your guide will accompany you through the bustling local markets and the famous Inca fortress that towers above the town. The strategic position and architectural sophistication of the site, offers visitors some of the best views of the Sacred Valley from above. The exquisite stonework and rich history of Ollantaytambo will take you and your guide on an impressive journey through Inca antiquity, before you return to your transport and head to the final site of the day.

Last but not least on the days’ itinerary, you will arrive at the archaeological park of Pisaq. Considered to be the royal hacienda property of the Inca Emperor Pachacutec, the 15th century fortress once served many important functions. These include ceremonial, religious and astronomical purposes, courtesy of its famous Intihuatana ‘sundail. The sprawling complex comprises of dramatic stepped terraces, aqueducts, channelled waterways, bridges and cemeteries. The name Pisac in Quechua is ‘Pisaca’ meaning partridge. This is because originally the archaeological center was shaped like a partridge, since the Incas liked to shape their most important cities in the form of animals.

After guiding you through the incredibly well-preserved stonework of the archaeological site, your guide and your transport will accompany you back down the valley for a peruse through Pisac towns’ iconic market, cobbled streets and authentic plazas.

After a further 1-hour drive back through the Sacred Valley to Cusco, you will arrive at your hotel at approximately 6:30pm.

PLACES TO VISIT ON THE SACRED VALLEY (VIP) FULL DAY TOUR:

CHINCHERO

Chinchero is located 28 km from Cusco, along the road to Urubamba. The towns’ greatest asset, and what it is most famous for, is its beautiful colonial temple, built upon Inca foundations.

In the 15th century, the temple served as the residence of the Emperor Túpac Yupanqui, son of the Inca Emperor Pachacutec. Sadly, much of the complex was destroyed in the 16th century by the Spanish, in place for a colonial catholic temple. Today the site boasts beautiful agricultural platforms and terraces arranged over many hectares, and is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the Sacred Valley.

Chinchero is also renowned for its bustling Sunday market, that offers a spectacle of colours and pre-Columbian style crafts, handmade by the local indigenous people of the valley.

MORAY

The famous circular terraces of Moray are considered to be the agricultural laboratory of the Inca empire. It is believed that the Inca culture brought products from all over the territory for the purpose of planting them in the fertile land of Moray.

The complex is divided into groups of 4 terraces, each with its own microclimate. The individual stepped terraces boast different temperatures, heights, characteristics and respective irrigation canals. This unique set of conditions allowed the Incas to cultivate many different types of plants and grains in one controlled area.

Andean culture also gives voice to the concentration of feminine energy at Moray, making it a magnetic center of the mother earth ‘Pachamama’.

MARAS – SALT MINES

The town of Maras is famed for its unique stepped ‘salt mines’, located at an altitude of 3,200 m / 10,500 ft. The ‘mines’ comprise of 4,500 small wells, formed into stepped terraces, fed by a natural water source coming from the mountains.

Salt is obtained once a month by means of drying the salt water under the sun, evaporating the liquid and leaving behind crystallised layers of salt. The salt is then flavoured and packaged and sold to all corners of the Cusco region.

URUBAMBA

The charming town of Urubamba is surrounded by picturesque mountain peaks, and is an important hub for travel in the area. Located in the center of the Sacred Valley, the region’s largest town is perfectly placed for exploring the neighbouring archaeological sites such as Pisac and Ollantaytambo.

Unlike its border towns, Urubamba was not a site where the Incas constructed a religious temple or fortress. However, in the years after the Spanish conquest, it has become a bustling town of markets, hotels, restaurants and colonial style churches.

OLLANTAYTAMBO

Ollantaytambo is a picturesque Inca settlement in the Sacred Valley, home to bustling local markets and the famous Inca fortress that towers above the town. It was named in honor of the chieftain ‘Ollanta’, famous for his romance with the Inca princess, daughter of Pachacútec.

The impressive archaeological site is located on temple hill, overlooking the Vilcanota river below, and was once the royal estate of Emperor Pachacutec.

An established Inca Trail also starts from Ollantaytambo, which ascends to the Málaga pass at an altitude of 4’200 m / 13,780 ft. The trail follows the direction of the mountain, passing through towns such as Huilloc, home to the renown Huairuros.

PISAC

Pisac is located at 33 km from Cusco, in the heart of the Sacred Valley. It is comprised of an ancient village, occupied by the native Quechua inhabitants. A 15th century archaeological site situated atop the Apu Inti Huatana mountain, at an altitude of 3,300 m / 10,826 ft. And a modern town of colonial origin located in the base of the valley.

Pisac’s archaeological complex is one of the most important Inca jewels of the Emperor Pachacutec, as it was his most treasured defensive fortresses in all of the Sacred Valley. In the Inca times, the site fulfilled many functions including ceremonial, religious and astronomical, being home to the famous Intihuatana astronomical clock or ‘sundail’.