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History of the Sacred Valley of the Incas: how a maize valley became the heart of the empire

The Urubamba river valley, between Pisac and Ollantaytambo, was to the Incas what its modern name suggests: the most fertile and temperate land near Cusco, where they grew maize, raised terraces, temples and fortresses, and tested crops at Moray. Chinchero was a royal palace, Pisac and Ollantaytambo imperial estates with religious sectors, and Ollantaytambo was left unfinished by the arrival of the Spanish. Today it is the only place where an Inca town is still lived in with its original layout.
History tells better on the ground. Book today until 8 pm and tomorrow you hear it from your guide.—Is there space tomorrow?

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Before the Incas

The valley was settled long before the empire: the Maras pans were already worked by earlier communities and the first terraces date from regional cultures. From the 15th century the Incas reorganized it on a large scale: they channelled stretches of the river, extended the terraces and turned it into the larder and the retreat of the Cusco elite.

Maize and the terraces

The mild climate of the valley floor (2,800–3,000 m) allowed maize that did not do as well in Cusco, 400 meters higher. The terraces of Pisac and Ollantaytambo, with their retaining walls, channels and soils built up in layers, were not only farming: they were engineering to win land from the hillside and control the water. At Moray, the amphitheaters of concentric terraces at different temperatures are read as a laboratory for adapting crops to different altitudes.

What each stop tells

ChincheroThe palace of the Inca Túpac Yupanqui; on its walls the Spanish raised the church in the 17th century. The weavers keep pre-Hispanic spinning and dyeing techniques alive.
MarasMore than 3,000 pans fed by a salt spring, worked since before the Incas and to this day by the families of the community.
MorayCircular terraces in natural hollows; the temperature difference between levels supports the agricultural-laboratory theory.
OllantaytamboA royal estate of Pachacútec and, in 1537, the scene of one of the few battles the Incas won against the Spanish. The Temple of the Sun was left half built.
PisacA royal estate with terraces, a religious sector with the Intihuatana and the largest known Inca cemetery in the cliff opposite.

The valley today

Ollantaytambo is the only town of the former empire that keeps the Inca layout in use: the blocks, the channels along the streets and many of the walls are the originals and are still lived in. Chinchero, Pisac and Maras live from farming, textiles, salt and visitors. The Tourist Ticket funds the conservation of the state archaeological sites; the Maras fee goes to the community that works the pans. That is why both are paid on the tour.

Bookings for tomorrow: non-refundable; you can move the date if there is space, and we reschedule or refund if we cancel because of the weather.

Related pages

Sacred Valley guidethe 7 placesOllantaytambothe living Inca townMoraythe agricultural laboratory
Tap a question to open it

It is a modern name, popularized in the 20th century; to the Incas it was the Urubamba valley or Willkamayu, the sacred river. The adjective reflects the concentration of royal estates, temples and terraces.

A property of the ruling Inca, with land, terraces, a palace and a religious sector. Pisac and Ollantaytambo were ones; Chinchero was the palace of Túpac Yupanqui.

It is the most widely accepted theory, based on the temperature difference between terraces and the crop remains, but not the only one; the guide tells you the alternatives.

The conquest interrupted work on the Temple of the Sun: the half-carved blocks and the quarry ramp are still where they were left.

Both routes share Chinchero, Ollantaytambo and Pisac; the Express adds Maras and Moray, the Classic the Taray viewpoint. The guide adapts the story to the order of each.

Yes, in both languages at every site. You can book today for tomorrow until 8 pm.

Book until 8 pmfrom US$29
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