From Cuzco, you can arrange a tour of the Sacred Valley from any hotel or hostel. It’s a day trip where you are taken to the most popular sights in the valley. Tours were pretty cheap at just 20 bucks so I decided to join one. It would also save me a lot of time since I would be able to visit 3-4 sites in one day.

I was picked up at the hostel at around 7:30 AM. From there we walked a couple of blocks to the tour bus. It’s a pretty popular tour, there were lots of buses in the meeting place and all were full. According to our itinerary, our first stop would be Pisac. We passed by roads overlooking the valley and the view was breath taking. We also made a couple of stops just to admire the views. And yes we had to stop by a couple of Llamas and Alpacas, the ubiquitous and definitive tourist traps in Peru. lol.

Once we arrived in Pisac we had to purchase a tourist ticket which costs 130 soles. You need this to enter the Inca sites, and it’s good for ten days so it’s quite a bargain if you’re gonna take some time exploring the valley. We visited the Inca ruins in the area and it was quite a sight.There weren’t that many tourists compared to other sites, so I was able to take nice pictures without people blocking the view.

We stayed for about an hour before heading to the marketplace. I’m not really fond of buying souvenirs and local handicrafts unless I have really fallen in love with a place, so I just walked around the area.There were a couple of interesting stuff, like stone sculptures and blankets with funky designs, but they were too bulky for a backpacker. lol. Once everyone was back in the bus we headed to a fancy restaurant for lunch.

After lunch we headed to Ollantaytambo. It’s a quaint little town and I originally planned to spend a night there before deciding to just spend more days in Cuzco. Once we arrived, I regretted that decision.  The town had so much local color that you can’t help but be overwhelmed by the atmosphere. And there’s a train station heading to Aguas Calientes in this town so it’s not out of the way. The Inca ruins in this place were massive. It’s a long climb up so it may not be really ideal to visit the place if you haven’t adjusted to the altitude yet. The view from above was amazing though, definitely worth the climb. One drawback is that the place was really crowded. That’s to be expected though, it’s one of the most popular places to visit in the Cuzco Region.

It was already past 4 PM when we headed to Chinchero, another quaint little town that I would have preferred to have more time to explore. It was sunset when we got there, and the view of the mountains at dusk was really amazing. There’s also a lot of local color, probably even more so than Ollantaytambo since less tourists seem to visit this town. Walking through the streets makes you feel like you have just traveled back in time. What really stood out was this old church. It looked simple from the onside, but once inside it’s impossible not to be left in awe.The ornate paintings are guaranteed to overwhelm the senses, as well as the elaborate altar. I was really tempted to take a picture but i had to respect the rules of the place. Or maybe because one of the people manning the place was keeping an eye on me the entire time. I guess he could sense the sneaky ones. lol.

It was already dark by the time we went outside. Going on a day tour is worth it, but ideally more time should be spent exploring the whole valley. I wasn’t able to visit a lot of sites, and it felt like we rushed through the sites that we were able to visit. As I’ve mentioned earlier it would have been great if I spent at least one night in a couple of those towns before heading to Aguas Calientes. I’d highly recommend doing a day trip for those people who don’t have much time, but if you have time to spare I suggest exploring the area on your own at your own pace. Otherwise, it’s a decision you might regret.