• Ollantaytambo the living Inka village

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Start your visit to Ollantaytambo with a walking tour of the area.  Ollantaytambo is the only Inca village that continues to be inhabited much as it was 500 hundred years ago.  This tour will take you through the centuries old village with cobble stone paths, Inca walls and canal.  A tour of the museum will introduce you to the areas geography, history, culture and traditions.  Latter you proceed to the temple of Ollantaytambo which holds the finest Inca stone masonry.  After resting for lunch in one of the town’s numerous restaurants, you will finish your day with a walk down the Inka paths that line the extensive corn terraces.

Pumamarka day hike:
This hike takes you up the Patacancha Valley walking along the mountain slope high above the Patacancha river.  You will pass the beautiful terracing of Muñay Pata, Media Luna and Musqa Pukyo, comprised of over one hundred terraces that rise up along the steep mountainside.  The path takes you through what is considered one of the most picturesque areas in the entire Cusco area before arriving at the Inca and pre-Inca archeological site of Pumamarca.  Once at Pumamarca you will tour the interesting and mysterious ruins before having lunch and returning to Ollantaytambo.

Inca quarries of Cachicata:
The Inca Quarries of Cachicata are the origin of most of the stone used in the construction of the Ollantaytambo archeological site.  After crossing the Urubamba river on the magnificent bridge of Inca construction, you will hike along the Inca terraces that line the far side of the Urubamba river.  Your hike will take you up the side of Wawayuq Orqo mountain with splendid views of the Sacred Valley below and the high peak of the Veronica glacier.  The last stretch of the hike reminds you of why you have come, as you run into enormous carved stones abandoned on the paths and ramps that were built to transport them to Ollantaytambo.  Frozen in time they are known as “piedras cansadas” or tired stones.  Following the path you will reach the quarries where you will see even more carved stones and a few “chullpa” graves of the master carvers that worked these stones half a millennium ago.   If you are more adventurous you may choose to hike all of the way to the Inca gate located on the far ridge above the quarries.