Sacred Valley
Inca terraces climbing the slopes above the Urubamba river, salt pools and stone fortresses, Sunday markets in the villages, and the way on to Machu Picchu.
- Arrival
- Alejandro Velasco Astete, Cusco · CUZ
- To the valley
- About 90 minutes by road from Cusco
- Private jets
- At Cusco, 3,310 m above the sea
- Best time
- April to October
The city
Terraces, salt and stone.
The Urubamba runs through a broad green valley below Cusco, and the Incas farmed it in terraces that still hold the hillsides. Pisac has its ruins above the town and a Sunday market below; Chinchero was built over the palace of Túpac Yupanqui and is still a village of weavers; Ollantaytambo keeps its upper fortress of enormous stones, and many walkers set out from here for Machu Picchu.
The valley lies lower than Cusco, a gentler place to get used to the altitude before Machu Picchu. April to October is the dry season, with clear days and cold nights. From November the rains come, heaviest from January to March, and the Inca Trail closes for upkeep each February.
- Maras Salt pools stepped down a ravine, fed by a spring and worked since before the Incas.
- Moray Circular terraces sunk into the ground, thought to have been an Inca field laboratory.
- Ollantaytambo Terraces, temples and an upper fortress of huge stones, and a starting point for the Inca Trail.
Arriving
Into the Andes through Cusco.
Cusco's airport sits 3,310 m up, close to the city centre, and works with tight rules: aircraft land from one direction and take off in the other. The valley is about ninety minutes away by road. A new airport at Chinchero is under construction but not expected before late 2027.
- Lima 1 h 05
- Bogotá 2 h 55
- Miami 6 h 05
- Lagos 11 h 25 long-range jet
- Amsterdam 13 h 35 long-range jet
When to go
April to October.
Figures are for Cusco, higher and a little cooler than the valley. Days stay near 17 to 19 °C all year, and only the rain changes. April to October is dry and bright, with cold nights; December to March brings 115 to 155 mm a month.
- 17° J 153
- 17° F 136
- 17° M 120
- 18° A 46
- 18° M 8
- 18° J 2
- 17° J 4
- 18° A 8
- 18° S 23
- 19° O 40
- 19° N 68
- 18° D 116
Where to stay
Between the river and the terraces.
Shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these hotels.
- Inkaterra Hacienda Urubamba Forty hectares on a hillside, fields still worked with oxen, and a kitchen that cooks what they grow.
- explora Valle Sagrado Adobe and timber over an Inca site uncovered while it was being built, with its own bath house for the evenings.
- Rio Sagrado, A Belmond Hotel Rooms, suites and two villas beside the Urubamba, on the road to Ollantaytambo.
Where to dine
The best tables in the valley.
No MICHELIN Guide covers Peru. Mil is on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list for 2026 (51 to 100); the other two are the restaurants of hotels on this page.
- Mil World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2026, No. 95 Andean tasting menu $$$$ Near Maras, above the valley
- Muju Signature restaurant, Rio Sagrado, A Belmond Hotel Contemporary Peruvian Rio Sagrado, Urubamba
- Dining Room Signature restaurant, Inkaterra Hacienda Urubamba Peruvian, farm produce Inkaterra Hacienda Urubamba, Urubamba
Elsewhere in Peru
More reasons to come.
- Lima Clifftop Miraflores, and some of the most celebrated kitchens in South America.
- Cusco The Inca capital, its walls under colonial churches, at 3,400 metres.
- Machu Picchu The citadel on its ridge, reached by train along the Urubamba.
- Arequipa The white city, built of volcanic stone, near the Colca canyon.
- Paracas Where the desert meets the ocean, with sea lions on the Ballestas islands.
Flying to Sacred Valley?
Choose how you arrive.
A Business or First Class seat on a scheduled airline, or an aircraft of your own. Tell us the date and how many are travelling, and we reply with one final price, our margin included.