Complete Sacred Valley Private Tour

The classic Sacred Valley route, private and unhurried: the ruins and market of Pisac in the morning, lunch on the valley floor, the Ollantaytambo fortress in the early afternoon and the Chinchero weavers on the way back. It is the itinerary that brings together the valley’s two major archaeological sites and its most famous market. We pick you up at your hotel in Cusco at 7:30 and you travel only with your group.

How the day unfolds

We drop into the valley on the Pisac road. First we climb to the ruins, an Inca complex with stepped terraces covering the whole hillside, a religious sector with the astronomical observatory and, on the facing hill, the largest known Inca cemetery. Then we descend to the village to walk the craft market, the valley’s most complete for textiles, ceramics and silver, with time to shop without pressure.

At midday we have lunch at a valley restaurant and continue downriver to Ollantaytambo. It is one of the few places where the Incas defeated the Spanish, and it is known as the last living Inca town because it is still inhabited on its original plan, with stone streets and water channels. We climb the fortress by its monumental terraces up to the Temple of the Sun, with the six pink stones that were never assembled.

On the way back we stop at Chinchero, at 3,762 metres, where a family of weavers shows how wool is washed, spun and dyed with plants and insects, and we visit the colonial church built on the walls of Túpac Inca Yupanqui’s palace. We reach Cusco in the late afternoon, with optional scenic stops if the light is good.

Why this route

• The complete introduction. Pisac and Ollantaytambo are the valley’s two essential sites; no other one-day route combines them with the market.
• The best context before Machu Picchu. Terraces, temples and Inca town planning you will later recognise at the citadel.
• Time for the market. Being private, you stay in Pisac as long as you like; on shared tours it is twenty minutes.
• Active acclimatisation. The valley is lower than Cusco; only Chinchero, the last stop, is above the city.

This route or the Sacred Valley Private Tour?

We run two private full days in the Sacred Valley. This is the one for the major archaeological sites: Pisac and Ollantaytambo. If you are more interested in the circular terraces of Moray and the Maras salt mines, choose the Sacred Valley Private Tour.

We compare them in more detail in Sacred Valley classic or VIP: which to choose.

Tourist Ticket and entrance fees

Pisac, Ollantaytambo and Chinchero are visited with the Cusco Tourist Ticket, which is not included in the price and is bought at the start of the tour: the partial Sacred Valley ticket or the full one, which also covers Sacsayhuaman and the city sites. Bring cash in soles for the ticket and the market.

What to bring

Comfortable shoes for uneven ground — the Pisac terraces and Ollantaytambo stairways are stone — sunscreen, a hat, a warm layer for Chinchero at the end of the day and a poncho in the rainy season. A camera and some room in your bag for whatever you buy in Pisac.