Sacred Valley Tour – 1-Day Cultural and Scenic Experience

Discover the Best of the Sacred Valley in One Unforgettable Day

Short on time but eager to explore the wonders of the Sacred Valley of the Incas? At Andes Peru Expeditions, we’ve designed unique day tour options that let you experience the valley’s most iconic highlights at your own pace. Guided by local experts, you’ll enjoy breathtaking Andean landscapes, visit remarkable Inca archaeological sites, and immerse yourself in the living culture of the highlands — making this the perfect tour to begin your adventure and gently acclimate to the altitude before exploring higher destinations.

Perfect for:

• Time-Saving Travelers: Ideal for those with limited time who still want to explore the Sacred Valley’s highlights.
• Acclimation Day: A gentle and enjoyable way for families, couples, or friends to start adjusting to the altitude before hiking or visiting Machu Picchu.
• Easy Walks: Includes light activity and scenic gentle walks — a perfect warm-up for your main adventure!

Features breathtaking highland plains, majestic mountains, snowy peaks, and winding rivers — the same stunning scenery showcased in Paddington in Peru, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, and The Secret of the Incas (1954) starring Charlton Heston, all filmed in the Sacred Valley of the Incas.

What Will You Visit on These Tours?

Throughout the day, you’ll explore iconic and very well-known sites such as:

• Ollantaytambo (2,800 m./9,186 ft.): Selected as one of the must-see destinations of 2025 by The New York Times. A charming living Inca city with massive terraces, sacred temples, and narrow stone streets still in use today.
• Moray Inca Agricultural Laboratory (3,500 m./11,482 ft.): an ancient Inca agricultural lab with unique circular terraces and distinct microclimates. 
• Maras Salt Mines (3,200 m./10,500 ft.): 5,000 dazzling white salt pools, still harvested by local families using pre-Inca techniques.
• Pisac Archaeological Site (2,966 m./9,730 ft.): one of the largest and most impressive Inca ruins in the Sacred Valley, perched high in the mountains. It’s estimated that the ancient cemetery of Pisac once contained between 5,000 and 10,000 tombs, making it one of the biggest burial sites in the Inca Empire.
• Pisac Handicraft Market: a great place to find unique souvenirs like handmade textiles, jewelry, and ceramics.
• Chinchero (3,800 m./12,467 ft.): It is a stunning site featuring massive Inca agricultural terraces and a colonial church built atop an Inca palace. a traditional Andean village where local women proudly demonstrate their ancestral weaving techniques.
• Maras Village: On the way to the salt mines and Moray terraces, we’ll pass through Maras — a charming village founded by the Dominican order, famous for its beautiful carved stone doorways. Once a Spanish colonial town, today it’s home to a warm community of Andean mestizos.
• Traditional Weaving Center (Chinchero): Discover the art of Andean weaving — learn the traditional dyeing and weaving process, and enjoy a unique cultural experience interacting with friendly llamas and alpacas.
• All this surrounded by stunning scenery: snow-capped peaks like Verónica and Chicón, rolling green valleys, and the winding Urubamba River.

What Makes This Sacred Valley Tour So Unique?

• This is a fun and flexible private tour of the Sacred Valley, led by a friendly local guide from Cusco who loves to share the history and culture of the Andes.
• You’ll visit amazing places like the Inca fortress of Ollantaytambo, a stunning example of ancient architecture and engineering.
• You’ll also explore the circular terraces of Moray, once used by the Incas for farming experiments, and the beautiful salt pools of Maras, where locals still harvest salt by hand just like their ancestors did.
• Enjoy incredible views of the Sacred Valley, with mountains, rivers, and snow-covered peaks like Veronica and Chicón all around you.
• If you’re planning to hike to Machu Picchu, this tour is a great way to spend an easy day getting used to the altitude while still seeing the highlights of the valley.
• Unlike big group tours, you won’t feel rushed or crowded. You’ll have time to ask questions, take photos, and really enjoy each place at your own pace.
• And if you’re staying in Ollantaytambo or Urubamba — no problem! We’ll adjust everything to fit your schedule and location.