Sacred Valley Special Service – Full Day
Overview
The special tour to the Sacred Valley of the Incas is a challenging way to visit in one day the most prominent attractions along the beautiful valley of Urubamba. And is aimed for visitors who have limited time but want to know everything in one day.
- Departures: Daily
- Duration: full-day
- Availability: In private service.
Places to visit
- Archaeological Site of Pisac
- Archaeological Site of Ollantaytambo
- Archaeological Site of Moray
- Salt Mines of Maras
- Chinchero
Detailed
Starting Time
- Private Service : 7:00 – 18:30 hrs.
Mínimum elevation : 2850 m/9350 ft
Máximum Elevation : 3800 m/12467 ft
DESCRIPTION OF THE PLACES TO VISIT
Pisac
Pisac is the gateway to the famous Sacred Valley, where the Incas erected on the mountain a magnificent Citadel that consists of agricultural terraces, walls, warehouses, buildings and temples joined by an inca trail neatly built on cliffs and tunnels accompanied by spectacular views of the beautiful Urubamba valley. This Citadel was erected in the 15th century by order of the ninth inca King Pachacutec and should fulfill an important role in the Inca era, due to its strategic location and the quality of its architecture in their temples.
In colonial times the Citadel was abandoned and its inhabitants were forced to live in the new colonial villages known as Reductions created in the year 1572 by the Spanish as part of its policy regime of creating small villages agglomerated around a Christian Church and a central square. Currently in Pisac square every Sunday there is a traditional fair where the indigenous communities of the Sacred Valley practice the barter of their products.
Ollantaytambo
It is located 60 km northwest of the city of Cusco and with a height of 2.850 meters above sea level, this impressive Inca construction was erected in the fifteenth century during the reign of the Inca Pachacutec and shows an amazing architecture in its buildings ,such as the temple of the sun, built with giant stone blocks perfectly joined crowning the mountain, and in the lower part is possible to see the remains of the ancient Inca citadel, composed by royal buildings , cobbled streets crossed by canals where the water still runs as in ancient times.
Salt Mines of Maras
The salt mines of Maras is composed of more than 3,000 small ponds constructed on the mountain slope in terraces and are exploited since ancient times. Every year during the dry season the local people start to work collecting the salty water that emerge from mountain bowels like a water source, and is directed by tiny canals to fill the ponds. The salty water contained in the ponds are gradually evaporated by the sun heat and after the salt is collected to be commercialized in the local and international market.
Its consumption is highly recommended by its content of minerals suitable for human organism. and it is known as the pink salt of Maras.
Moray
It is located 67 kilometers from the city of Cusco. It is a formidable archaeological complex with concentric circular terraces built in a natural depression, taking the form of a gigantic amphitheater. These terraces formed a large agricultural laboratory, in which the ancient Peruvians experienced and got improvements in agricultural production, also has Andean religious importance that inspires a great mysticism. Now is used also as a center of the Ritual offerings to the Mother Earth (Pachamama).
Chinchero
This village is located 28 km from Cusco on the way to Urubamba. In where you will find the remains of the royal hacienda of Tupac Inca Yupanqui, and the beautiful colonial temple built over the remains of an important Inca temple. One of the main attraction is its Sunday market, originally dedicated to the barter of products between the people from the valleys and the highlands. Nowadays, the market is a true spectacle of color and movement that causes the tourist fascination with its offer of crafts and elaborated textile garments made with the purest pre-Columbian style.
Included / Not Included
Includes
- Pick up from your Hotel
- Tourist transportation
- Professional tour guide
- Buffet lunch
Not included
- Entrances fees.
- Extra expenses.
What You Need
- Entrances fees
- Camera, jacket, sun hat, sunglasses, rain poncho