Before or after deleting the Inca city from your bucket list, you can take advantage of your trip to Machu Picchu to visit two other incredible Inca cities; long ago they went from being part of the trail, to become destinations in their own right. And we are not only talking about ancient Inca settlements but also places that were built using the same construction technique used in Machu Picchu and for which it is so famous, as well as other incredible mysteries that surround them.

• Machu Picchu
  • Ollantaytambo
  • Pisac

Before arriving at Machu Picchu, you will be able to visit two other incredible Inca cities

Machu Picchu is attracting more and more people, and many of them are worried that they may be victims of their own success, that is why changes have been made in the visits to Machu Picchu. We can assure you that when you stand in Machu Picchu, Cusco or the Sacred Valley of the Incas, you will realize that they are more impressive than everything you have been told and all the pictures you have seen. If you have the opportunity, visit Machu Picchu; time passes and it is increasingly difficult to book certain types of Machu Picchu tickets.

Machu Picchu

People today don’t think much about the past; they are more focused on the present, to get what they want in the future. However, there is something about those ancient constructions, a natural feeling that will almost make you want to go back in time. Standing in the ancient Inca city of Machu Picchu, and imagining how the people who inhabited that sacred city in the middle of the mountains, more than 500 years ago, lived; is the best trip to the past you will ever have in your life. But this post is to tell you about two other Inca cities that you should visit while traveling to Machu Picchu.

Ollantaytambo

In the Sacred Valley of the Incas you can let your thoughts wander, with the beauty of the snow-capped Andes and green mountains brushing against the clouds. Ollantaytambo is an ancient Inca city located just at the end of the valley; it served as a sort of checkpoint before being able to enter the Inca city of Machu Picchu.

It is a fortified city, with temples, residences, terraces, canals (still in use today), etc. Its structures were built with the same detail with which the Inca city of Machu Picchu was built. However, some scholars of Inca culture believe that it is more of a pre-Inca city. But that is not the only amazing thing about Ollantaytambo, A few years ago it was discovered that the ancient Inca city is aligned with some of the most amazing ancient sites in the world.

The town of Ollantaytambo is the place where you will board the trains to Machu Picchu. The colonial town is very beautiful, there are dozens of restaurants and lodgings, and you can see how the water channels that belonged to the Inca people circulate through its streets.

General view of the Ollantaytambo archaeological complex

Pisac

Pisac (or Písaq) is a Quechua word meaning “partridge” and like the cities of Cusco (shaped like a puma) and Machu Picchu (shaped like a condor), it is shaped like a partridge, the animal from which it gets its name. In Inca times, the partridge was related to values and spirituality; and it still is today, since the town of Pisac is the spiritual center of the Sacred Valley. People from all over the world make spiritual retreats of all kinds in this small but cosmopolitan town in the Andes.

The constructions of the ancient Inca settlement of Pisac offer Inca constructions, comparable only to those that can be seen in Machu Picchu, the best terraces in the valley, and the largest ancient cemetery in South America.

But Pisac is not only ancient Inca constructions but also a colonial town, whose main square is the space where one of the most famous handicraft markets in the world is located; in it you can see people from nearby communities, with typical costumes of the Andean valley, skirts (polleras) of bright colors, wool caps (chullos) or woven hats, ponchos and monsters, selling their products; handicrafts, textiles, jewelry, food, etc.. We recommend you to take with you baby alpaca garments, they are very fine and cost less than the ones you can find in the handicraft markets of Cusco city.

Pisac in the Sacred Valley

Advice from people who have been there

Pisac

By: Marco A.

“Beautiful town“

“The square is the place where one of the most genuine handicraft markets of Peru is installed. The people who sell here, in general, are the same people who make the products. The current town, at the foot of the mountain where the Inca village is located, has become a point of attraction for spiritual tourism. Vegetarian and vegan restaurants abound; but you can also find this food in improvised stalls, set up inside the market (the plaza). It is one of the places you have to see if you are in Cusco.“

By Ticket Machu Picchu – Last updated, July 10, 2024