An Ultimate Guide to the Sacred Valley: Things to do and see

The Sacred Valley, alongside Cusco are some of the most visited places in Peru. Their popularity could be put down to their proximity to wonder of the world, Machu Picchu. However, this is not the only reason to visit.

From exploring original Incan streets to embarking on breathtaking hikes, from shopping traditional handicrafts to marvelling at ancient ruins, there are endless things to do in the Sacred Valley.

We spent around 4 months in total exploring the beautiful country that is Peru, with 2 of these months spent living in Cusco. While here, we visited as many little towns and villages in the Sacred Valley as possible, leaving no stone unturned.

If you’re unsure where to visit in the Sacred Valley or if it’s even worth visiting at all, we’ve put together a comprehensive guide that covers all there is to do and see here. So let’s get into it!

Is the Sacred Valley worth visiting?

If you’re here you’re probably planning to visit Cusco and Machu Picchu on your trip. So is the Sacred Valley worth visiting if you’ve already experienced a wonder of the world?

The short answer is yes. This is one of the most beautiful parts of Peru and if you have the time to explore it then we fully recommend it.

Each town has its own unique charm, many featuring original Incan streets. If you want to escape the crowds of Cusco, there are a few quieter, more authentic towns, hidden between the main tourist attractions, as well as some incredible hiking trails with awe inspiring mountain views. 

The ruins you can find here might not be quite as grand as Machu Picchu, but are impressive in their own right. We recommend exploring the Sacred Valley before you venture to Machu Picchu so you can save the best till last! 

Entrance fee to the Sacred Valley

To visit the towns of the Sacred Valley, there is no entrance fee. However, there are ruins dotted all over the valley that you need a Cusco tourist ticket named ‘Boleto Turistico’ to enter.

There are a few options when it comes to purchasing your Boleto Turistico:

• Sacred Valley Ruins ticket: For S/70 ($19) per person you can purchase a ticket that can be used over two consecutive days from the day of purchase. This ticket includes entrance into Pisac, Moray, Chinchero and Ollantaytambo.

• Cusco Ruins ticket: Also S/70 ($19) per person, is a second two day ticket that allows entrance into Sacsayhuaman, Qenqo, Pucapucara and Tambomacha ruins.

• The full ticket: If you plan to visit all of these sites or need more than two days, the best thing to do is to purchase the full Boleto Turistico that will allow you access to 16 different sites and museums within Cusco and the Sacred Valley. This is valid for 10 consecutive days from the day of purchase and costs S/130 ($35). 

Things to do in the Sacred Valley

Pisac

One of the most popular towns in the Sacred Valley is Pisac, and for good reason. 

This photogenic hippy town is set in a stunning part of the valley, where incredible mountain views can be enjoyed from traditional Incan streets. Just wandering the cobblestone alleyways, enjoying a coffee with a view or shopping for handicrafts can make for a perfect day.

Pisac used to be known for its artisanal markets, particularly on a Sunday. However, the markets now run all week and are not something we’d recommend going out of your way for. 

The majority of the stalls here sell the same generic things that you can buy all over Cusco, or in any part of Peru if we’re being completely honest.

However, if you wander further from the main square and around the town, you can still find little shops selling authentic handicrafts that are made with traditional techniques. 

The main reason we recommend visiting Pisac is to take a trip to Pisac ruins. 

The ruins sit up on the mountain side, high above the town. If you ask us, these are the most impressive ruins outside Machu Picchu. 

We recommend taking a taxi up to the entrance. The taxis wait on the Pisac side of the ‘Puente Pisac’ bridge and cost S/35 ($9.50) per car. If you have the time to wait for more people to fill the taxi, it will take the cost down to S/10 ($2.70) per person. 

To enter you will need to purchase a Boleto Turistico.  

Just past the entrance you will find the main section of Pisac archeological site which tends to be pretty busy. We recommend exploring here first and then hiking back down to the town through the ruins. 

The walk down takes 1 hour and 15 minutes. It’s very scenic and takes you through another section of the ruins away from the crowds that you’ll most likely have to yourself. 

It is possible to hike up to the ruins and back down. If you continue up the road from ‘ Nuevo Mercado Artesanal de Pisac’, you will find the entrance to the hike. However, we wouldn’t recommend this if you’re not acclimated to the altitude as it’s very steep. 

How to get to Pisac from Cusco

The easiest way to reach Pisac from Cusco is to take a local colectivo (shared van) from ‘Paradero a Pisac‘ on Puputi Street. These vans leave when full from 7am in the morning, running frequently throughout the day, and cost S/5 ($1.50) per person each way. 

Alternatively, you may want to take a tour of the Sacred Valley for around $30 that visits multiple towns and ruins. This is a great option if you are short on time. However, it’s unlikely that you’ll have the option to hike back down to the town as you’ll have a lot to fit into a day. 

Chinchero

Chinchero is a town that we didn’t actually visit until the second time we went to Cusco. Though it still gets plenty of tourists, Chinchero can be overlooked in favour of the more popular towns of Pisac or Ollantaytambo. However, we’d urge you not to skip it. 

The old town of Chinchero boasts beautiful architecture and cobblestone streets that lead to a small but impressive archeological site. To enter you will need the Boleto Turistico. 

From the terraces of Chinchero ruins you can enjoy a spectacular view of snow capped mountains, one of which is the famous Salkantay. Visit at sunrise or early morning when the sun lights up the mountains perfectly. 

How to get to Chinchero from Cusco

The colectivos to Chinchero leave from ‘Paradero Buses a Urubamba via Chinchero’ and cost S/3 ($0.80) per person. 

The Urquillos Trek

One of the best things we did in the Sacred Valley was the trek from Chinchero to the town of Urquillos. Not only did it have breathtaking views, but we also had the whole trek to ourselves!

This trek is mostly downhill which makes it a perfect hike to begin with if you need to acclimate for a multi-day trek to Machu Picchu. 

The trail begins from Chinchero ruins. Walk down the terraces until you reach a sign saying ‘Camino Inka, Chincero, Urquillos’. This is where the hike begins. 

As you trek along the valley sides, enjoying dramatic mountain views, you will eventually reach a sign leading you to Poc Poc Waterfall. It takes around 1 hour to reach the waterfall and you’ll need to pay an entrance fee of S/5 ($1.50) per person on arrival.

After spending some time at Poc Poc, you can then return to the waterfall entrance and either hike back to the main path along the valley sides, or turn right to walk down into the valley and along the river side. 

Both paths will take you to the town of Urquillos. In total it should take 3.5 to 4 hours to complete the trek. 

Urquillos is a small, authentic village. There isn’t anything to do here but admire the views and get an insight into local life. 

If you continue past the village, you will eventually reach Urubamba River. As you cross the bridge to the other side, you will see a main road that leads to Urubamba in one direction and Pisac in the other. 

On the side of the road you can hail down a colectivo to take you to your next destination. In our case this was to Urubamba for a refreshing drink and a bite to eat. This cost S/1.5 ($0.40) per person. 

Ollantaytambo 

Another extremely popular town to visit is Ollantaytambo. If you plan to take the train to Machu Picchu, this is a great place to base yourself as the trains leave frequently from here. 

Though this gateway to Machu Picchu can often be a little crowded, it’s way too beautiful to miss. The town still has its original Inca streets and is surrounded by ruins in every direction.

Many people come here to visit the ruins of Ollantaytambo. Though these are beautiful, we didn’t find them quite as impressive as the ones in Pisac. However, the Boleto Turistico includes both sites so you may as well have a look around to get your money’s worth.

If you’ve seen too many ruins and feel like you don’t need to see any more, we still recommend visiting Ollantaytambo just to wander the streets or relax in a cafe. 

How to get to Ollantaytambo from Cusco

To get to Ollantaytambo, take a direct colectivo from ‘Estacion de colectivos para urubamba y ollantaytambo’. This should cost no more than S/15 ($4) per person each way. 

Calca 

The little town of Calca sits between Pisac and Urubamba. You won’t find many tourists here as it’s not on any Sacred Valley tour. 

Calca is a beautiful, local town with lots of charm. Though there isn’t a great deal to do here, it’s a lovely place to stop for an hour after a busy day in Pisac. 

We recommend enjoying a coffee or some lunch in the gardens of Pisonay Coffee Roasters. This is perhaps our favourite little cafe in the Sacred Valley. 

To visit Calca, jump into a colectivo in Pisac that is travelling towards Urubamba. This costs S/3 ($0.80) per person.

Moray Ruins and Maras Salt Mines

A unique archeological site to visit is Moray. It’s composed of 3 sets of terraces that are shaped a little like an avocado. 

Though it’s a mystery as to what this site was used for, there’s a theory that each terrace has its own microclimate and the Incas used it as a sort of laboratory to study the impacts of each climate on crop growth.

The Boleto Turistico includes entrance to this site. 

We recommend coupling a visit here with a stop at Maras Salt Mines. These impressive salt terraces were used by the Incas over 500 years ago.

Now these salt ponds belong to the local people. Everyone here has the right to harvest salt and each family is given a pond to mine, with the size of their plot proportional to the amount of people in their family. 

You can still see people working on the salt mines, but to witness this you’ll need to visit in the dry season. 

You can also buy the salt here from the markets or shops as a unique souvenir. 

The entrance fee is S/10 ($2.70) per person and is not included in the Boleto Turistico.

How to visit Moray and Maras from Cusco

It’s a little more complicated to visit these sites independently but not impossible as long as you’re up for a hike. 

First take a colectivo to Ollantaytambo from ‘Estacion de colectivos para urubamba y ollantaytambo’. This should cost no more than S/15 ($4) per person. Tell the driver to drop you in Media Luna or shout ‘Baja’ when you want the driver to stop. 

From here, there is a 2 km trail that takes you to Maras Salt Mines. This should take approximately 45 minutes and is a little uphill.

Once you’ve reached the viewpoint and finished admiring the view, you can begin hiking to Moray ruins. 

This is a 9.25 km, well trodden trail that takes 2-3 hours to complete. As a disclaimer, this hike has a gradual incline so may not be the easiest if you are not well acclimated. 

Getting back from Moray to Cusco can be a little more tricky. It’s possible to get either a colectivo or taxi from the ruins that takes you to a stop marked ‘Paradero Maras – Moray’ on google maps. From here it’s easy to flag down a passing colectivo to take you back to Cusco. 

If you’d prefer, you can also do this route in reverse. 

If you’re short on time and don’t fancy the hike, you may want to opt to take a tour instead. Tours are available from both Cusco and Ollantaytambo and cost around $15 per person. 

Urubamba 

Our least favourite town in the Sacred Valley is Urubamba. We spent an afternoon here and didn’t feel like there was much to do or see. 

However, if you plan to base yourself in the Sacred Valley rather than in Cusco, Urubamba is a great option as it has plenty of great accommodation options and is situated in a central location, with easy transport to each of the towns that we recommend to visit. 

One fun activity you can do here however, is white water rafting on the Urubamba river.  

How to get to Urubamba from Cusco

Take a colectivo from ‘Paradero Buses a Urubamba via Chinchero’. This should cost no more than S/10 ($2.70) per person.

Sacsayhuaman

If you haven’t quite got Incan ruins out of your system, then you may want to make a stop at Sacsayhuaman (quite literally pronounced sexy-human). 

After visiting the majority of the ruins in the Sacred Valley, as well as Machu Picchu, we were a little ’ruined’ out and didn’t actually make it here ourselves. However, we’ve heard that it’s incredibly impressive and it’s super easy to get to from Cusco.

How to get to Sacsayhuaman from Cusco

If you’re up for a bit of uphill walking, it’s easy to get here by foot in around 35 minutes from the Plaza de Armas. You can also pair it with a trip to the Cristo Blanco statue as the ruins can be reached via a gravel road that continues behind it. 

Alternatively you can take the easier route and grab a taxi. This should take around 15 minutes and cost no more than S/10 ($2.70). 

Local colectivos (shared vans) and buses also pass the ruins on their way to Pisac. You can flag one down on Calle Puputi and it should cost no more than S/3 ($0.80).

How to get around the Sacred Valley

It’s super easy to get around Sacred Valley independently with the use of colectivos that run frequently between each of the towns. However, it’s impossible to do it all in a day. 

With a base in Cusco, we managed to visit all of these sites across 3 days. Here is the route we recommend:

Day 1: Take a colectivo to Pisac from Cusco, stopping at Sacsayhuaman along the way if you wish. Explore Pisac and the ruins and then grab a colectivo to Calca for a late lunch or mid-afternoon coffee. Travel back to Cusco via Urubamba.

Day 2: Take a colectivo from Cusco to Ollantaytambo. Afterwards, visit Maras Salt Mines and hike to Moray before returning back to Cusco.

Day 3: Take a colectivo to Chinchero and spend a day hiking to Urquillos. Return to Cusco via Urubamba.  

An alternative to basing yourself in Cusco is to stay within the Sacred Valley. We’d recommend basing yourself in either Pisac, Urubamba or Ollantaytambo.

If you’re short on time or prefer convenience, then there are plenty of tours to the Sacred Valley available from Cusco.  

When to visit the Sacred Valley

The best time to visit the Sacred Valley is during Peru’s dry season between May and September. During this period you’ll be able to enjoy warm sunny days and blue skies. However, it’s also winter in Peru so it does get very cold in the evenings. 

This dry weather provides the absolute best conditions for hiking and a clear view of the surrounding mountains.

The peak hiking season in Peru lasts from June to August. To avoid the crowds, we recommend visiting in either May or September.

As we’re sure that Machu Picchu will be on your list too, make sure to avoid February as Machu Picchu is closed during this month each year to ensure its preservation

Final Thoughts

Whether you’re visiting Peru for a few weeks or a few months, we really recommend adding the Sacred Valley to your itinerary. There are so many things to do in the Sacred Valley, whether you are a history buff wanting to learn more about the Incas, or just want to enjoy a picturesque walk around some of the most beautiful towns in Peru.

We hope that this guide has helped you to plan your perfect trip to the Sacred Valley.  If there are any burning questions you have that we didn’t cover, make sure to check out our more detailed guides on each town in the Sacred Valley, or drop us an email and we’ll be happy to help!

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