Sacred Valley Private Tour

This route gathers in a single day the four places that best explain the Sacred Valley: the weaving village of Chinchero, the circular terraces of Moray, the Maras Salt Mines and the fortress of Ollantaytambo. It is a private tour: we pick you up at your hotel in Cusco at 8 a.m., you travel only with your group in tourist transport, and the guide adapts the pace to whatever you want to see without hurry.

How the day unfolds

We leave Cusco heading north and in under an hour reach Chinchero, at 3,762 metres, the highest point of the route. There a family of weavers shows the whole process of wool: washing with saqta root, spinning and dyeing with plants, insects and minerals. We then walk the archaeological complex, with its terraces and the Inca walls on which the colonial church was built.

The second stop is Moray. Its circular terraces, sunk into natural hollows, worked as an agricultural laboratory: each ring has a different temperature and the Incas tested which crops thrived at each level. The guide explains the system and there is time for photographs from the upper rim.

We continue to the Maras Salt Mines, more than three thousand stepped salt pools on the hillside, fed by a salty spring and worked by the community’s families since before the Incas. It is the most photographed landscape in the valley. At midday we descend to Urubamba, on the valley floor, for lunch at a restaurant serving Peruvian cuisine.

In the afternoon we reach Ollantaytambo, known as the last living Inca town because it is still inhabited on its original street plan. We climb the fortress, with its monumental terraces and unfinished Temple of the Sun, and walk the town’s water-channelled streets. From here we return to Cusco, arriving around 7 p.m., or drop you at the station if you continue by train to Machu Picchu.

Why this route

• Landscape over crowds. Moray and the salt mines are the valley’s most unusual sites and are not on the classic Pisac route.
• A good first day. The valley sits about 500 metres below Cusco: the ideal outing to start acclimatising without strain.
• Ends at Ollantaytambo. If Machu Picchu is next, you avoid going back to Cusco: we leave you at the station with your luggage.
• Only your group. No shop stops and no one else’s schedule. Stay longer wherever interests you most.

This route or the Complete Sacred Valley?

We run two private full days in the Sacred Valley. This is the one for the farming landscapes: Moray and the Maras salt mines. If you prefer the major archaeological sites, Pisac and Ollantaytambo, choose the Complete Sacred Valley Tour.

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

Tourist Ticket and entrance fees

Chinchero, Moray and Ollantaytambo 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 if you will also visit the sites around Cusco. The Maras Salt Mines are run by the community and charge a separate entrance of about 10 soles. Bring cash in soles for both.

What to bring

Comfortable shoes for short walks on terraces, sunscreen, a hat and sunglasses — high-altitude sun is strong even under cloud — a warm layer for Chinchero in the morning, and a rain poncho between November and March. A camera with plenty of battery: Maras and Moray take half the photos of the trip.