Visiting Peru’s Sacred Valley (Sans-Machu Picchu)

When us outsiders think about Peru, most minds will likely automatically arrive first to one name: Machu Picchu. And it’s understandable; the 15th-century Incan city ruins is the country’s most visited site, attracting tourists as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. But Machu Picchu is actually just one of a number of archeological and cultural sites that sit within the area north of the Incan capital of Cusco, known as Valle Sagrado de los Incas–The Sacred Valley of the Incas.

Now, probably like you, I actually hadn’t heard of the Sacred Valley before my trip to Peru. In fact, it wasn’t even really a part of the original plan that my sister and I had for our journey–to be frank, we were mostly in it for Machu Picchu. But between getting all the logistics booked for the trip and our arrival, Peru fell into wonky political circumstances that sparked protests, road blockades, and ultimately the untimely closure of Machu Picchu “indefinitely”. We were keeping our fingers crossed in the weeks leading up to our travels that things would settle down enough for them to resume tourism to the site, but these hopes were officially dashed when we landed in Cusco in late January and there had been no improvements in the sociopolitical landscape.

But it was this unfortunate situation that allowed us to shift our itinerary and instead take a group tour that showcased the rest of the Sacred Valley. Road blockades also altered the tour itinerary some, but it overall allowed us to see the other major sites that make up the Sacred Valley area. 

Below is the play-by-play of how our day trip through Peru’s Sacred Valley went!

Chinchero

After picking up all participants in different parts of central Cusco, our bus made its way to the first destination, along the outskirts of the village of Chinchero. It was less than an hour drive from Cusco, but is the highest altitude town in the Sacred Valley at about 3,764m (12,343ft). Our first stop was Munay Away, a textile market where we got to observe how they hand-craft different textiles from various camelid (alpacas, llamas, vicuña, etc.) furs. We were shown brief demonstrations of the washing, dying, and weaving processes, and also had the opportunity to purchase some of the textiles (which I heavily indulged in–because where else would I buy them?!). My favorite purchase was an alpaca fur throw blanket, which I use frequently for warmth and decoration (but my little alpaca figurines are a close second–so soft!).

From there we branched the Chinchero Archeological Site, which sat at the edge of a wide clearing overlooking a mountainous view (shown in the photo you first saw at the top of the page). Like many other historical cities in Peru, this area has remnants of both Incan and colonial design and architectural features. More vendors were also set up in this area.

Moray

Next stop on the tour was Moray, a highly-picturesque Incan ruin because of the impressive land markings that the site is known for. At about 3,500m (11,500ft) above sea level, it consists of three groups of circular craters, which are lined with step-like depressions tapering towards the center. Our tour guide explained to us that the circular craters were historically used for agricultural purposes; with a top-to-bottom height of about 150m (490ft), the different levels in the crater made for slightly different climates (temperature, humidity, etc.) on each step, thus allowing for experimentation with planting multiple crops at different levels to see where they fared best. This was a shorter stop, so we only got to see one of the craters before we were herded back into the bus to take our ride to the next stop.

(Pro Tip: This is one of those places where a selfie stick comes in very handy! Regardless of if you have one or not, you’ll get the best shots by holding the camera well above your photo subject instead of straight on as we most often do. If all else fails, scout out a vertically-gifted individual to help you get the best angles!)

Maras & Las Salineras

The next stage of the journey took us to the town of Maras (3,200m/10,450ft), which is famous for its nearby salt evaporation ponds, Las Salineras. We first made a pit-stop just off the road, where we piled into a classroom-like space and learned about the salt extraction process, carried out by local families that own the ponds (some across many generations). This was also another stop that allowed for purchases, namely for products crafted with the natural salts like seasonings and chocolate. I was grateful that they provided samples for tasting before buying–which is how I found my favorite chocolate flavor, aji con sal de maras!

Then, we took the short ride north that put us at Las Salineras de Maras itself. This was definitely another picturesque marvel; the whites of the salt craters contrasted against the reddish-brown of the surrounding mountain makes it a bit of an other-worldly scene.

Lunch

This was a moment where we again felt the tensions of the circumstances that Peru was facing. Included in the price of the tour was a lunch; but our accommodations opted to have my sister and I dine at a place different than where the rest of the tour group were going. After dropping off the other tour participants at the restaurant, we were driven to our restaurant–only to find it was not open. Turned out that the restaurant wasn’t able to open because there wasn’t any gasoline–which was becoming a common circumstance for many places of business, as fuel wasn’t able to move as easily across the country due to road blockades by protesting groups. So we ended up back at the restaurant where everyone else was, which was serving a lovely expansive buffet. I wish I had taken pictures or took note of the location. Not only was the food fresh and tasty, but the venue was beautiful and massive, secluded in the forest with both indoor and outdoor seating.

After lunch, the next stop was meant to be Pisac, but road blockades had also affected our access to this as well. (Our tour guide really tried hard to make it happen for us; he was in communication with people on the ground there receiving constant updates. It didn’t work out, but still a big shout-out to him for trying!)

Ollantaytambo

With Pisac off the itinerary, we pushed onward to our last stop, Ollantaytambo. For me, this was the site with the most interesting backstory. Sitting at a relatively low 2,800m (9,186ft), the area had historically served as a “tambo”, a deposit for food storage. But the story goes that Ollantay, a notable military general of the time, was in love with the daughter of the 15th century Incan ruler Pachacutec. He was deemed unfit to marry the princess however, which led to him staging a rebellion and taking the tambo as his hiding grounds–thus gaining the name Ollantaytambo, or “the tambo of Ollantay”. (Apparently after a decade-long standoff he was captured; but after he explained his grievances, he was forgiven and allowed to marry the princess. Love prevails!)

I have to admit–I almost missed out on these views, as I’m not keen on hiking/extended outdoor treks up inclines. But this was an occasion where I put my reservations aside and joined the group in the trek upward, which I am glad for! The increased elevation made for much nicer views of the landscape. I’m generally not one for mountains, but even I can’t deny that the formations of the steep slopes were marvelous to observe.

And that wrapped up our Sacred Valley tour! Machu Picchu is of course a must-visit that we’ll have to check off our list on a future visit, but I am glad that we at least got to see other historical marvels that the Peruvian landscape has to offer!