Modern Pisac is a picturesque Andean Village, typical except for the huge, spreading pisonary tree that dominates the central square. The village is best known for its Sunday market, which draws hundreds of tourists each week. In spite of its popularity the market retains much of its local charm, at least in the part where villagers from miles around gather to barter and sell their produce. In the tourist section of the market you can buy a wide variety of handicrafts - mostly the same things you see in Cusco. Many of the guide books state that handicrafts are cheaper than Cusco but in recent years I haven’t noticed much difference in price. My advice is if you like something in Cusco, buy it! And likewise in Pisac. Don’t wait around hoping you’ll find it a few dollars cheaper elsewhere. Pisac is a good place to buy the local ceramics including a huge and varied collection of hand-painted multi-colored beads. There are smaller markets in Pisac on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
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A vital Inca road once snaked its way up the canyon that enters the Urubamba Valley at Pisac. The citadel, at the entrance to this gorge, now in ruins, controlled a route which connected the Inca Empire with Paucartambo, on the border of the eastern jungles. Set high above a valley floor patchworked by patterned fields and rimmed by vast terracing, the stonework and panoramas at Pisac’s Inca citadel are magnificent. Terraces, water ducts and steps have been cut out of solid rock, and in the upper sector of the ruins, the main Sun Temple is equal of anything at Machu Picchu. Above the temple lie still more ruins, mostly unexcavated, and among the higher crevices and rocky overhangs several ancient burial sites are hidden
Most people visit Pisac to see the market on Sunday, but there are smaller markets on both Tuesday and Thursday. However Pisac is a pretty village and has plenty of small handicraft shops and is worth a visit on any day of the week. There are local buses departing from Cusco every 15 minutes for the one hour ride to Pisac village. Local buses cost about US$1 each way. A taxi can be hired for about US$10 each way. There is no public transport up to the ruins. You can either hike up, starting from the plaza (allow two hours round trip). Alternatively you can negotiate with a local taxi driver to take you there (about 20 minutes following a long winding road) and either return by taxi or walk down hill to the plaza. (A local taxi costs approximately US$5 each way)
The Sacred Valley of the Incas was undoubtedly a key area of settlement to the Incas. Its agreeable climate and fertile plains make a rare and fruitful combination for the high Andes. It was also the route to the jungle and therefore an area with access to the fruits and plants of the tropical lowlands. The Sacred Valley served as a buffer zone, protecting Cusco from incursions of the Antis, the fierce jungle tribes who from time to time raided the highlands.
Today the Sacred Valley remains a lush agricultural region supplying the city of Cusco with much of its produce such as maize, fruit and vegetables.
Most people visit the Sacred Valley as part of an organized one-day tour. The tour includes a visit to the market at Pisac, a stop for lunch in Urubamba, a visit to the beautiful Inca village and fortress of Ollantaytambo and a quick stop at the quechua village of Chinchero on the way back to Cusco. Some companies also include a visit to the ruins at Pisac but you’ll have less time at the market if you do this. You’ll find plenty of tour companies in and around the Plaza de Armas in Cusco offering these tours costing between US$15 and US$20 for a pooled service (up to 30 persons in a group). This price doesn’t include your meals or entrance fees to the ruins. Entrance fees are included in the tourist ticket (’boleto turistica’) which can be purchased in Cusco for US$10 adults and US$5 students. Departures are usually on the market days of Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. If you only have one day to visit the Sacred Valley you’ll find the convenience of the tour well worth while since the entire circuit is over 170km in length. If you want to do it in a small group you can hire a taxi for the day (approx US$60) and take a guide (approx US$60). Alternatively you can also visit the Sacred Valley on your own, travelling by local bus. It can be quite tiring to try and see Pisac, Ollantaytambo and Chinchero all in one day by local transport so we suggest visiting Pisac ruins and the market on one day and then visiting Chinchero and Ollantaytambo on another day, using Cusco as your base from which to explore.
Commonly referred to as the ‘Baños del Inca’ or Inca baths, Tambomachay was a site for ritual bathing. The excellent quality of the stonework suggests that its use was restricted to the higher nobility, who maybe only used the baths on ceremonial occasions. The ruins basically consist of 3 tired platforms. The top one holds four trapezoidal niches that perhaps were used as seats; on the next level an underground spring emerges directly from a hole at the base of the stonework and from here cascades down to the bottom platform, creating a cold shower just high enough for an Inca to stand under. On this platform the spring water splits into two channels, both pouring the last metre down to ground level.
Practical Information for Visitors
The Inca ruins of Sacsayhuaman, Q’enko, Puca Pucara and Tambomachay are situated quite close by to Cusco and can easily be visited in half a day, either independently or part of an organized tour.
The ruins are located along the road to Pisac, with Sacsayhuaman being the nearest ruin to Cusco. Entrance to the ruins is included on the tourist ticket (see Cusco City information). If you’re planning on visiting the ruins on your own then there are two interesting alternatives:
1) The first is to take a bus from Cusco on its way to Pisac and get off at the furthest ruin Puca Pucara. After visiting this Inca hillfort you can cross the road to visit Tambomachay and then walk back along the road to Q’enko and Sacsayhuaman. In the valley immediately to the left of the huge Inca stones of Sacsayhuaman you’ll find a small path leading down to Cusco. (total walking distance about 8km). Instead of the hassle of catching a local bus you could take a taxi to Puca Pucara for about $6-10.
2) Alternatively you could walk up to Sacsayhuaman. From the Plaza de Armas just climb the steep street of Resbalosa, past the church of San Cristobal and follow the well marked path up to the ruins at the hairpin bend in the road. If you head to the left of the huge white statue of Christ on the hill overlooking the city you won’t go too far wrong. It takes about 40 minutes from the Plaza and it’s a good test to see if you have acclimatized and are fit to undertake the more difficult treks such as the Inca Trail. From Sacsayhuaman you can hire a horse and a horseman to take you on a round trip of the other ruins (3-4 hours). The cost of hiring the horses depends on how many there are of you (and how rich you look), but 2 horses plus a horseman to show you the route should work out at about $6 per person.
Many tour agencies in Cusco offer an organized tour of the ruins. The afternoon tour by bus accompanied by a guide usually includes a visit to the Cathedral and the Koricancha (Temple of the Sun) and costs about US$10 per person (not including entrance fees). Most travel agents have tours leaving daily at 2pm returning to the Plaza at 6:30pm
