You can visit the sacred valley of the Incas along the Chinchero route where you can visit more picturesque places as well as more Inca ruins. These are the places that you will visit along the Chinchero route: Chinchero town, Chinchero The temple of the Rainbow, Moray the Inca Circular terrazes, Maras, town, Maras Salt Mines and Ollantaytambo Inca fortress. After Ollantaytambo you can go back to Cusco or from Ollantaytambo you can continue your trip to Machu Picchu.<\/p>\n
The Sacred Valley is home to many Inca ruins, some of which are arguably just as impressive as Machu Picchu without the large crowds. The communities across the valley are also very spiritually vibrant. Set aside more time to explore if you\u2019re open to learning about Shamanic rituals. Many credible yoga, ayahuasca and san pedro retreats take place in this region.<\/p>\n
Regardless of what\u2019s drawing you to this mysterious and majestic corner of the world, it\u2019s a worthwhile place to spend time\u2014 for a day, for a week, for a lifetime. If you\u2019re a casual tourist hoping to maximize your time in the Andean highlands, consider buying the\u00a0Boleto Turistico<\/em>\u00a0(or Cusco Tourist Ticket). For a little over 130 soles or $40 you can visit the majority of the region\u2019s archeological sites in the span of the 10 days.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re staying in Cusco or a neighboring village long term, you can take your time exploring. Each town is worthy of a day trip on its own, and if you have the pleasure of visiting multiple times, there\u2019s more to see than the ruins themselves. The valley spans a large region north of Cusco, so I can\u2019t address every possible destination. But let\u2019s start with a few of our favorites.<\/p>\n Travel with a Runas Expert guide, there are several tours you can book through\u00a0Runas Expeditions, we are sure you\u2019ll love our authentic and unique tours.<\/p>\n There are a handful of archaeological sites so close to Cusco that you could hike there such as\u00a0Sacsayhuaman<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Q\u2019enqo<\/strong>. And though there\u2019s really no site that\u2019s not worth seeing, I\u2019ve chosen to highlight a few of the most significant complexes of ruins located in the small towns throughout the valley, all of which are a short colectivo ride from Cusco\u2019s city center.<\/p>\n Geographically, Chinchero is actually on the way to Urubama. However, it\u2019s one of my favorite towns in the valley and We think it really merits its own trip. It rests at a higher elevation than much of the valley, which makes for fantastic views. The Chinchero archaeological site is also the starting point for a little known hike along an old Inca road, which leads to the small village of Urquillos. It\u2019s especially beautiful during the rainy season when all of the wildflowers are in bloom!<\/p>\n In chinchero, \u00a0we will visit a local family at Chinchero town where you will be given a demonstration of the Andean textiles that have been passed down to all of them from generations since Inca times. You will also have the opportunity to shop from the local families.<\/p>\n If you only have time to visit one town, Pisac will give you the perfect snapshot of the Sacred Valley. Located only 45 minutes away from Cusco, Pisac\u2019s ruins are particularly stunning due to its agricultural terraces cut into the cliffside; you can even climb up the stairways for a stunning view. Pisac is also well known for its Sunday market and extensive selection of Andean handicrafts.<\/p>\n And if you\u2019re hoping to spend the night in the valley, a hostel in Pisac is a great choice. In addition to traditional Andean culture, you\u2019ll encounter a lot of spiritually and artistically inclined expats. Urike\u2019s Caf\u00e9 is a popular meeting place with an international feel. If you want to venture off the beaten path, Pisac is also a good launching point for the\u00a0Kinsa Coche<\/strong>\u00a0(Three Lakes) hike.<\/p>\n Located six hundred meters above the level of the Valley, contrasting with the green forests and the varied and vigorous vegetation that houses the Vilcanota mountain range; It extends between 3,200 and 3,500 meters above sea level, the reddish and semi-arid Maras Pampa, which is barely irrigated by it; flow of some springs, contains at one end, one of the most beautiful and sophisticated environmental laboratories of the Inca state: Moray. Designed taking advantage of natural depressions that project like funnels below the level of the pampa, Moray contains, in the largest of its four buildings, a series of ceremonial fountains and concentric platforms, in whose descending and successive agricultural surfaces the contemporary studies – neos found variations in average temperatures of up to 5\u00b0C.<\/p>\n Moray was an agricultural research center for Inca use that used a method similar to the technique we know today as spiral cultivation, which, as you can see, is used for the cultivation of plants with diverse environmental needs, with the difference that in this case It has natural depressions.<\/p>\n The wealth of the Sacred Valley was not only sustained by the fertility of its lands, the abundance of water and the beneficial condition of its climate. but also by the springs of warm water supersaturated with salt. whose flows were directed to flood miles of small shallow ponds carved throughout the slope on which the so-called Maras salt flats are located; salineras from which appreciable quantities of salt are currently obtained by evaporation.<\/p>\n The important role of personalized salt in the history of the world is known, since there is no people that has not used it as a dietary supplement since the most remote antiquities. Sodium chloride, among all sales, is one of the most necessary for the life of man, since it is present in the constitution of almost all fluids and cartilage, remaining as an always living deposit of energies. It is estimated at around 7500 grams. the amount of salt a person needs to consume annually.<\/p>\n During the Inca Empire, salt became the main product of exchange with the nomadic tribes of the eastern jungles and an important element of their redistributive economy, since in addition to its necessary intake, it was used to obtain it. massive dried-salted meat.<\/p>\n The MARAS SALINERAS, date back more than 3000 years old according to archaeological remains present in the area; They are located along the Qoripujio Mountain in the Peruvian Andes of the Sacred Valley of the Inkas, in the Maras District, Urubamba Province, Cusco Department – Peru.<\/p>\n Currently there are more than 3,000 salt ponds and the owners are the residents of the town of Maras.<\/p>\n Urubamba, one of the largest towns in the valley, is also easily accessible from Cusco. The Sacred Valley is even referred to as the Urubamba Valley sometimes because the Urubamba River runs through it. And though the town isn\u2019t famous for a particular set of ruins, it offers a well preserved glimpse into the everyday lives of Andean villagers. It\u2019s also a good jumping off point for two notable sites:\u00a0Maras<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Moray<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The village of Maras is home to spectacular salt mines believed, like many of the region\u2019s ruins, to actually pre-date the Incas. Just outside Maras, Moray is an archeological site famous for the circular construction of its agricultural terraces. And on a less historical note, if you\u2019re in the greater Urubamba area, the\u00a0Brewery of the Sacred Valley<\/strong>\u00a0is definitely worth checking out!<\/p>\n Many people go\u00a0through<\/em>\u00a0rather than\u00a0to<\/em>\u00a0Ollantaytambo because it\u2019s the most common place to catch the train to\u00a0Machu Picchu<\/strong>. However, not regarding Ollantaytambo as a destination unto itself is a huge mistake. The winding corridors of the town, set against the waning valley\u2019s jagged mountains cape, are a treat to explore. It\u2019s also home to an impressive archeological site, which includes a former fortress and temples.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Sacred Valley of the Incas or known as El Valle Sagrado de los Incas, it\u2019s truly one of the most travel destinations in the world. Many travelers, therefore,\u00a0stay in Cusco\u00a0before making their trip to\u00a0Machu Picchu. On this journey, travelers follow the Urubamba River through the Sacred Valley, either by train or on foot. And […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6025,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6022","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nChinchero\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"Chinchero](\"http:\/\/localhost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/the-sacred-valley-of-the-incas-Chincheros.jpg\")
Pisac\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/localhost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Pisac-donde-crece-y-florece-todo.jpg\")
<\/p>\nMoray<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/localhost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/the-sacred-valley-of-the-incas-2023.jpg\")
<\/p>\nMaras Salt Mines or known as Las Salineras de Maras.<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"Maras](\"http:\/\/localhost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/the-sacred-valley-of-the-incas-Maras-Salt-mines.jpg\")
Urubamba\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"Urubamba\"](\"http:\/\/localhost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/urubamba-Cusco-Peru-23.jpg\")
Ollantaytambo\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/localhost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/the-sacred-valley-of-the-incas-Ollantaytambo.jpg\")
<\/p>\n