The Sacred Valley of the Incas is where I send travelers who want to slow down before Machu Picchu — terraced ruins, working Andean markets, and small towns at a gentler altitude than Cusco. It's also the smartest place to spend your first nights in the highlands: lower elevation means easier acclimatization, and the scenery does the rest.
What a private Sacred Valley experience includes
- Pisac's Inca terraces and its Sunday and Tuesday/Thursday artisan market
- Ollantaytambo's fortress ruins and the best-preserved Inca town in Peru, still inhabited today
- Chinchero's weaving cooperatives, where you meet the women keeping traditional textile techniques alive
- Luxury lodges and boutique hotels set directly in the valley, from Belmond to intimate family-run properties
- A private guide and driver, so you move at your own pace between stops
Sacred Valley or Cusco first?
I generally recommend the Sacred Valley before Cusco city — it sits roughly 600 meters lower, which makes altitude acclimatization far more comfortable before you tackle Cusco (3,400m) and Machu Picchu.
That drop is the valley floor, where you sleep. Ollantaytambo and Urubamba sit well below Cusco. It is not true of every ruin. Chinchero is higher than the city, and Moray, the circular terraces above the valley, is high as well. The point of the first night is the town you sleep in, not a promise that every stop that day is easy on the lungs. Maras, the salt pans stepped into the hillside, pairs naturally with Moray on a later morning, once you have slept low.
Give the valley two days if it is doing the job of acclimatizing you. One day from Cusco can see a market and a ruin. It cannot also be a rest.
The train to Machu Picchu leaves from here
Ollantaytambo station is the practical start of a Machu Picchu day. PeruRail and Inca Rail both board there for Aguas Calientes. Staying in the valley the night before means you are not crossing Cusco at dawn to catch a train. I book the seat when I book the citadel ticket, so the two times agree.
The Inca Trail is a different plan: a permit, more days, and an early reservation. If walking in matters to you, tell me before we lock a train-only route. It does not fit the day before a standard citadel visit.
Why travelers book the Sacred Valley through TravizPeru
I'm Francisco Arriz Barrantes, an APOTUR-certified tour operator (code AP030-11), and the Sacred Valley is where I've spent the most time over 22 years — I know which market stalls are worth stopping at and which ruins are worth an early start to see without the crowds.
The valley is the hinge of a private Machu Picchu tour, a family trip, and the 10-day route that also reaches Lake Titicaca. Price on request. I reply within 24 hours. WhatsApp is +51 982 521 128.
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