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Pro
stunning landscapes, culture, traditions, archeology
Con
the fortress is not open at night
In a nutshell
Some days between the Incas
al2401 Says: If you choose not to trek to Machu Picchu the train from Ollantaytambo is the next best choice. Peru Rail offers a number of daily departures and three standards of travel - Backpackers has standard railway seating; Expedition has four seats around a table and roof windows;...
Machu Picchu - by trail or train
al2401 Says: Machu Picchu would arguably be the most popular of all 'things to do' in Peru, if not all of South America. Translated as 'Ancient Mountain' it is a 15th century Inca site located at 2430 metres on a mountain ridge overlooking the Urubamba Valley.The significance of the site...
al2401 Says: Ollantaytambo is the name of a small town and an Inca archaeological site on the Urubamba River, about 60 kilometers northwest of Cusco. It is located at an altitude of almost 2,800 metres above sea level and is the most popular site in the Sacred Valley. It was built by the...
JessieLang Says: The Ollantaytambo ruins are not far from the town. The sun temple there was being constructed of pink granite, but it was never finished. The blocks, weighing as much as 100 tons, were constructed at the bottom of the hill and then hauled up with pulleys and llama leather...
Cusco: the starting point to Sacred Valley
Elisabcn Says: Cusco is a so interesting city that deserves its own page on VT! After visiting its main colonial spots and archaeological remains I was happy to renounce to visit other places (like Arequipa!) to see (and live) also the popular side of the city(picture 2) like the local...
Elisabcn Says: The last day you will wake up very early, still dark, to walk the last 8km to arrive at Puerta del Sol at dawn. Seeing Machu Picchu for the first time at dawn, quiet, still without tourists is a unique experience. Machu Picchu was built between the XVth and XVIth centuries...
Elisabcn Says: The third day is the longest stage but it is also unforgettable. Here you will go from 3800m (paso de Runcuracay) till 2800m but the grades are not sharp. During this day you will find also the most beautiful Inca remains like Runkuracay, a circular structure discovered in...
Inca Trail: first and second days
Elisabcn Says: Warning: the pictures on this tip are taken by my camera but not by me, I was too busy trying to survive :-)) The starting point is on the km 82 of the train Cusco-Quillabamba. We are at 2800m high. The first day, about 12 km and climbing only 100m, is the easiest day. The...
Elisabcn Says: The Inca Trail is the most famous trekking in America and it is easy to understand why. There are two ways to arrive to Machu Picchu: by bus from Aguas Calientes or taking the Inca Trail. Even if it was very hard to me (I had some problems due to "soroche" two days before...
San Augustin Hotel in Urubamba: Dont Eat Here!!!!!!!!
scwill50 Says: The buffett at the San Augustin Hotel in Urubamba, Peru gave both my son and I food poisoning within 6 hours of eating there. We think it came from cream based dishes. We required multiple visits from the hotel employed doctor and intravenious feedings. We were sick for 3...
Local Train to Ollantaybo going to Machu Pichu
Prinsalsita Says: the train has various types of services for tourists. one is called backpakers that is the cheapest, you get to seat with all the tourist in the not so confortable seats. the cost is around $15 usd from cuzco to ollantaytambo around s/50 soles.check the prices on the website...
Transportation in Valle Sagrado
Elisabcn Says: The best way to travel around el Valle Sagrado is by combi. Combis are a kind of mini buses (see the picture). It is incredible cheap and if you don’t mind strong smells :-)) this is also a good way to be in contact with local people. Always leaving from Cusco there are two...
JessieLang Says: There is a fairly large handicraft market in a plaza just outside the entrance to the Ollantaitambo ruins. There are a number of vendors selling woven items, carvings, hats and almost anything made in the area.
bicycle_girl Says: There will be street vendors but not as much as in Cuzco, thankfully. There is also lots of displays on the sidewalk for you to pay attention and perhaps go inside for more viewing. You can find pretty much everything in Ollantaytambo in terms of souvenirs and crafts and...
Helpfulness
Not only did the Incas keep their stairways clear of water with built-in channel drains but the best of their stonework is truly impressive. I was particularly amazed by the rounded sections, where a wall would wrap around a contour and also extend out at the bottom.
Updated Feb 7, 2003
Helpfulness
Luggage and bags: Leave your big pack in Cusco and bring a small day pack. The buses are small and no room for a lot of extraneous stuff!
Clothing/Shoes/Weather Gear: No matter how warm it is when you leave Cusco, bring warm clothing for evenings.
Photo Equipment: Wide angle with circular polarizer to cut down on the glare of the Andean sun. Zooms are great for ruins you can't quite get to.
Miscellaneous: Someone that likes to take photos too, so you don't have to walk around alone.
Written Feb 6, 2003
Elisabcn Says: Moray is known as the Incas’ agricultural laboratory.For Incas agriculture was very important: working the land meant praying to Pachamama, the Mother Earth. This place is very impressive: it looks like a huge volcano crater but we are in front of different concentric...
Elisabcn Says: Maras is a little town not far from the road Chinchero-Urubamba. It is famous for its Salinas (salt marshes). This white landscape is due to the subterranean waters that spring to the surface full of salt. Later the sun evaporates the water creating this white terraces that...
Elisabcn Says: The Inca was the highest political and religious authority. Considered son of the Sun, we find their origins on the Sun Island, on Titicaca Lake (current Bolivia). Here you have the Incas' genealogy:Manco Cápac (1200) was the mythical founder of the Inca Empire...
a titanesque feat of strenght!
cbeaujean Says: first of all,building it,inca had to divert a small river,rio patacancha!and to bring heavy and huge stones from a quarry on the other edge of urubamba river!to succeed in doing it,they had to fill up urubamba's bed to the middle of the river....then fill up the other half...
On not taking the easy way: The Sacred Valley
Commonly referred to as “the Sacred Valley or El Valle Sagrado,” the geographical area comprised of the Urumbamba and Vilcanota valleys is of particular interest not only due to the high concentration...
Hoy voy a VERTE DE NUEVO voy a envolverme en tu ropa, susúrrame en tu silencio cuando me veas llegar. Hoy voy a verte de nuevo, voy a alegrar tu tristeza: vamos a hacer una fiesta pa’ que este amor...
I had good vibes about Ollantaitambo. It's a bit touristy, but it's also friendly, it's where people take the train to Aguas Caliente and it's also where you can visit the Inca site and take on the......
Ollantaytambo is a small town on the Urubamba River. It offers guesthouse style accommodation and has quite a good tourist market. While famous for its amazing Inca ruins it is also the starting...
Ollantaytambo has been continuously inhabited since Inca times, and a number of the houses in the old part of town were built then. Owners of these historic houses can’t alter anything that is...
Build your own Ollantaitambo page
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