Things to do
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Sacred Valley
High-altitude valley region spanning roughly 60 kilometres, dotted with Inca archaeological sites, colonial towns, and indigenous communities. Central to Inca territorial control and agriculture.
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Plaza de Armas
The central square and surrounding arcaded streets host local artisan stalls, textile vendors, and craft shops selling alpaca goods, ceramics, and traditional Andean textiles year-round.
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Urubamba River Valley
The primary river system flowing through the Sacred Valley at approximately 2,800 metres elevation, bordered by agricultural terraces, colonial settlements, and Inca ruins. The valley floor provides trekking and rafting access.
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Belmond Rio Sagrado
Casitas and villas along the river bank below Urubamba with the sound of the water in every room, a spa and alpacas on the lawn. It is the softest landing in the valley after Cusco's altitude. The grounds run down to the water on the Ollantaytambo road, and the station is fifteen minutes on.
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explora Valle Sagrado
A 50-room lodge on a working maize farm at the foot of the valley wall, run on the explora model of guided daily explorations, walks and rides, all included. It is the base for the valley done on foot. Guides work with small groups, and the farm is ten minutes from Urubamba on the Yanahuara road.
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Inkaterra Hacienda
A modern hacienda on forty hectares of valley floor with rooms scattered up the hillside, an organic farm that feeds the kitchen and a view of the whole valley from the terrace. Bicycles and horses go out from the door. It lies twenty minutes from Urubamba, and the night sky here is clear of town light.
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Río Urubamba
The valley's river runs grade II and III rapids between Ollantaytambo and Chuquicahuana, rafted in half-day trips from May to November when the water drops. The Chuquicahuana stretch upstream is the harder one. Operators run from Urubamba and Ollantaytambo, and wetsuits are needed because the water comes straight off the glaciers.
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Skylodge Adventure Suites
Transparent capsules bolted to a cliff 400 metres above the valley floor near Pachar, reached by Natura Vive's via ferrata of iron rungs and a hanging bridge, and left by zip line. The climb can be done on its own as a half day; the night in the capsule is the valley's one genuinely strange one.
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Sol y Luna
Forty three casitas in a garden of gum trees and flowers, decorated by Peruvian artists, with a stable, a restaurant and a school the hotel funds next door. It is the valley's warmest hotel. It sits between Urubamba and Yucay, and the stables send rides out into the valley in the morning.
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Tambo del Inka, a Luxury Collection Resort
The big riverside resort in Urubamba with its own PeruRail station to Machu Picchu, an indoor-outdoor pool and a spa built around a heated flow of river water. The only hotel in the valley with a train platform. Rooms look onto the Vilcanota, and the town market is a short walk upstream along the bank.