This winding and fertile valley between Pisac and Ollantaytambo was at the spiritual and commercial heart of the Inca empire. It is a beautiful, colourful and fascinating area, guarded throughout by ancient Inca citadels set high on the sides of the mountains. One of the most impressive is to be found near the little market town of Pisac.
These evocative ruins display the precise stonework that is the trademark of the Incas, and you will see astronomical observation posts and ceremonial baths fed by aqueducts. The equally striking remnants of the sturdy fortress at Ollantaytambo rear up at the end of the paved road between Cuzco and the Sacred Valley, dominating the town that was once an important administrative centre for the Incas. Today its layout and remaining Inca walls give you the closest approximation of what an Inca town must have looked like five centuries ago.