The Sacred Valley of the Incas by Car: From Cusco to Ollantaytambo

The Sacred Valley lends itself remarkably well to a car: the major sites — Pisac, Chinchero, Moray, Maras, Ollantaytambo — are strung along the Río Urubamba and the road across the Chinchero plateau, on main routes that are paved and in good condition. A saloon car is enough for the classic loop; no 4x4 is needed for this itinerary. Rental is possible in Cusco, and while many travellers combine private drivers and colectivos, the car offers one decisive advantage: freedom over your schedule.

That advantage shows concretely at the sites. Organised tours from Cusco unload their groups mid-morning; with a car, you are on the terraces of Pisac or inside the fortress of Ollantaytambo right at opening time, when the light rakes across the stones and the lanes are empty. It also means lingering at Moray without watching the clock, or heading back down to the Maras salt pans in the late afternoon, once the coaches have left for Cusco.

This is the most important piece of advice in this article. Cusco sits at around 3,400 m; the Sacred Valley lies noticeably lower, at roughly 2,800 to 2,900 m in Urubamba and Ollantaytambo. Those few hundred metres make a real physiological difference: acute mountain sickness strikes all the more readily the higher you sleep, and the valley acts as a natural acclimatisation step. The classic pattern: on arrival at Cusco airport, pick up the car and drive straight down to sleep in the valley for the first few days, then head back up to visit Cusco once acclimatised.

This advice rests on solid data. A study by Salazar, Swanson, Mozo, White and Cabada, published in 2012 in the Journal of Travel Medicine ("Acute mountain sickness impact among travelers to Cusco, Peru"), found that nearly half of the travellers studied arriving in Cusco showed symptoms of acute mountain sickness — headaches, nausea, fatigue — enough to spoil the first days of a trip (study available on Google Scholar: scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Salazar+Cabada+acute+mountain+sickness+travelers+Cusco). Sleeping in Urubamba or Ollantaytambo rather than Cusco reduces precisely the key factor: your sleeping altitude. Drink plenty of water, keep the first 48 hours light, and see a doctor before departure if in doubt.

Pisac opens the valley on its eastern side: above the village and its craft market, monumental agricultural terraces climb towards a complex of ruins overlooking the whole valley. Chinchero, on the plateau between Cusco and Urubamba, combines a living village, traditional weaving workshops and a colonial church built on Inca foundations. Moray intrigues with its circular amphitheatre terraces, often interpreted as an Inca agricultural laboratory, and the Maras salt pans spread hundreds of salt ponds across the mountainside, worked for centuries.

Ollantaytambo, at the far end of the valley, deserves a full night: it is at once a spectacular fortress, climbed via a stairway of terraces, and the only Inca village still inhabited on its original plan, with its cobbled lanes and channels of running water. It is also the gateway to the train to Machu Picchu — more on that below. By car, all these sites link up effortlessly; the table below sums up how we approach them.

Most of the valley's archaeological sites — Pisac, Chinchero, Moray and Ollantaytambo in particular — cannot be visited with an individual ticket but require the boleto turístico, a combined tourist ticket covering a set of sites in Cusco and the Sacred Valley. Several versions exist: a full ticket covering all the sites, valid for several days, and partial tickets by circuit, one of which groups the valley sites. For current prices, rely only on the official ticket offices on site.

The boleto is bought on site, at the entrance booths or at official sales points in Cusco, and must be kept safe: it is checked and stamped at every entrance. Two useful details for planning the loop: the Maras salt pans are not included in the boleto and are paid separately at the entrance; and if you also plan to visit the sites just outside Cusco (Sacsayhuamán and its neighbours), the full ticket quickly becomes the logical choice.

A crucial point for planning the itinerary: Machu Picchu cannot be reached by car. No road leads to Aguas Calientes, the village at the foot of the citadel. The classic approach for a traveller with a car: leave the vehicle in Ollantaytambo — the accommodation and parking options there make it easy — and take the train to Aguas Calientes before heading up to the citadel. Ollantaytambo is precisely the best base for this: visit the fortress the day before, board an early-morning train, and pick up your car on the way back to continue the loop.

Watch the calendar: Machu Picchu entry tickets are limited in number and must be booked well in advance on the official website, as must the trains in high season. It is the one segment of the trip that cannot be improvised — lock in your Machu Picchu date first, then build the rest of the valley loop around it.

The main roads of the loop are paved and in good condition, but Andean driving has its own codes. Trap number one: the speed bumps, the famous "rompemuelles" — literally "suspension breakers" — found at the entrance to every village and often unmarked. Slow down as soon as the first houses appear, or you will discover them too late. Add dogs crossing without warning, tuk-tuks darting out of side streets, and a local driving style where the horn serves as everyday language: it announces an overtake or a presence in a bend rather than expressing irritation.

The season matters too: during the rainy season, roughly November to March, fog can blanket the higher sections — the Chinchero plateau in particular — and the road surface turns slippery. Ease off, switch on your lights and avoid driving at night. The rest of the year, driving in the valley is genuinely enjoyable, with scenery that justifies frequent stops.

Day 1: arrive in Cusco, pick up the car at the airport and drive straight down into the valley via Chinchero — a natural first stop if you feel up to it — then overnight in Urubamba or Ollantaytambo, lower than Cusco. Day 2: Moray and the Maras salt pans in the morning, a quiet afternoon for acclimatisation. Day 3: the fortress of Ollantaytambo at opening time, then the train to Machu Picchu if your booking falls on that day. Day 4: Pisac and its market, on the way back up to Cusco for the end of the stay, once your body has adjusted to the altitude.

None of this sequencing is compulsory — that is exactly the point of having a car — but it respects two principles: sleep low for the first nights, and take on the big sites against the flow of the groups. Allow three to four full days for the valley alone, more with Machu Picchu and Cusco.

Our guide «Pérou en autonomie» covers car rental in Cusco, the boleto turístico options circuit by circuit, and how to combine car and train for Machu Picchu, with stage-by-stage maps. Before you go, remember the three keys to the valley: book Machu Picchu first, sleep in the valley rather than Cusco for the first nights, and aim for opening time at the sites — that is where the car truly earns its keep.