SACRED VALLEY
- Jacqueline Huang
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
Majestic, Ancestral, Spiritual
Observational Overview
💰Payment | 🚃 Transit | 🙇🏻♂️ Tip | 🎙Language |
Peruvian Sol Credit Cards (most established restaurants take card) | Shuttles (from major points) Walking/Ubers (in Cusco) | 10% | Spanish English (rare) |
👓 Norms | 💃🏻 Wear | 👟 Walkability | 🙏🏼 Thank you |
Cusco is the main "city" in Sacred Valley. Be prepared to do day trips out to see the major sites. | Hiking and athletic gear, comfortable shoes for the elevation hike. | Medium, the hills are really intense in Cusco but everything is located pretty close together. | "Gracias" |
Disclaimers
Experience Level: 2 days (Urquillos) 2 days (Cusco) = 4 days
Last Visited: June 2025
Some things to know before you go
Tips and reflections
⚠️ Elevation - All of Sacred Valley (including Cuzco, Machu Picchu) are on high elevation, so prepare to spend the first few days getting acclimated. Avoid alcohol (might make it worse) and drink lots of water. I went to bed early and felt loads better the next day. You can buy altitude sickness pills or coca leaves in most pharmacies there. We took this one:
What does elevation sickness feel like? It feels like you are extremely out of shape, breathing is labored and even walking or sitting still takes a lot out of you. I read that athletes come to train in this environment to encourage more red blood cells production. So much so that even breathing helps you burn calories! Which explains why a lot of the Quecha diet is carb heavy.
⚠️ Bathrooms - Be prepared for bathrooms without toilet seats or toilet paper. Bring a roll from the hotel and hand sanitizer.
⚠️ Theft - It’s common to have petty theft so avoid leaving suitcases or belongings by themselves. Leave luggage at hotels and keep passports and wallets in safe places.
Things we did
Some memorable stops.
Full Day Sites:
Ollantaytambo
Inca Sun Temple nestled in the mountain. A village with shops and sites spot the perimeter so this is a good stop to block a few hours to explore. See Map
Zona Arqueologica Moray
Inca archaelogical site with concentric circles. Hard to get to, but quick to see. See Map
Salt Mines of Maras
We didn't spend a lot of time here since it got crowded during the day, but the local area found a natural salt spring where they harvest a rare and pure salt from. See Map In Maras, we visited a local shop, Tienda de Sal en Maras Their daughter kindly explained background of her traditional garb, and how they make salts, chocolates, and nuts. Great place to buy a few snacks and treats!
Machu Picchu
And of course, the main reason why people go to Sacred Valley - Machu Picchu. You can only get there by train. We took the Peru Rail, round trip (4 hours each way) - they have comfortable seats and offer snacks and drinks on board. The train will take you to Aguas Calientes, the town at the foot of Machu Picchu.
⚠️ Timely Departure - The Peru Rail trains left ON TIME. So, show up early to wait in line and get on the train. Our train was scheduled to depart at 8am, and the train started leaving the station at 7:58am.
At Aguas Calientes, you have to buy tickets (we recommend ahead of time) for a bus that takes you up the hill to the actual site of Machu Picchu. I recommend giving yourself time in the time to grab a bite to eat. The bus ride is ~30mins end to end. They come every 10 mins, and folks will queue you to the right lines for your entry time.
⚠️ Passports - We messed this one up but managed to get through. Bring your passports they day you visit Machu Picchu. They require it at the trains, and on the bus that takes you up to the Machu Picchu site. We forgot ours at the Airbnb and managed to get through with our physical Drivers ID and a photo of our passport - but save yourselves the anxiety!
⚠️ Machu Picchu Tickets - Most people book 6 months out to get their tickets. We booked 3 months out and got the last spot at 3pm (Machu Picchu closes at 5pm) I would recommend getting an earlier time so you can take your time to walk through the whole thing. We had to speed through the whole thing in order to catch our train back to Cusco.
⚠️ Tour Guide - Tour guides are technically required for your trip into Machu Picchu. There are a lot of tour guides outside the park that will solicite you when you arrive. You can either chose to go with one of them or book ahead of time. Our tour guide was booked through Viator (at around $100 USD)- but he wasn't amazing.
🗺️ Our Journey to Machu Picchu
🚕 Uber to Peru Rail Station
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🚃 Catch Peru Rail
(4 hour ride)
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🍝 Arrive at Agua Calientes
(1 hour to eat lunch)
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🚌 Catch bus to Machu Picchu
(30 min ride)
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🎫 Arrive at Machu Picchu
Line up for entry
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📸 Machu Picchu View time
** We booked Circit 2 - most popular route
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🚌 Catch bus back to Agua Calientes
(30 min ride)
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🚃 Catch Peru Rail back to Cusco
(4 hour ride)
Shops in Cusco:
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