Category: Peru

Dominated by a massive Inca fortress above, the quaint village of Ollantaytambo is the best surviving example of Inca city planning, with narrow cobblestone streets that have been continuously inhabited since the 13th century. Originally this rural village was divided into blocks called canchas, and each cancha had just one entrance, which led into a courtyard. Today hulking tour buses roar along the streets as they race to meet trains arriving from and departing for Aguas Calientes, aka Machu Picchu Pueblo.

At the junction of the valley road leading from Pisac with the Chinchero road back to Cuzco, Urubamba is an unappealing but necessary transit hub. Although it has little of historical interest, it’s surrounded by beautiful countryside and makes a convenient base from which to explore the extraordinary Salinas and terracing of Moray, and to perhaps participate in some of the valley’s top-flight outdoor activities.

Lying 33km northeast of Cuzco by paved road, Pisac is the most convenient starting point for a visit to the Sacred Valley. There are two distinct parts to Pisac (also spelled Pisaq) : the colonial village lying beside the river and the Inca fortress perched dramatically on a mountain spur above.

This once tranquil fishing hamlet, 12km outside of Trujillo, woke up one morning to find itself a brightly highlighted paragraph on Peru’s Gringo Trail. Managing to retain much of its villagey appeal, Huanchaco has cottoned onto its own popularity and today is happy to dish up a long menu of sleeping and dining options to tourists. Come summertime, legions of local and foreign tourists descend on its lapping shores, and this fast-growing resort town makes a great alternative base for exploring the ruins surrounding Trujillo.

Sharing its name with the brandy produced from white muscat grapes in this region, Pisco is an important port 235km south of Lima. Generally used as a base to see the abundant wildlife of the Islas Ballestas and Península de Paracas, the area is also of historical and archaeological interest, having hosted one of the most highly developed pre-Inca civilizations – the Paracas culture from 900 BC until AD 200, after which the nearby town of Paracas is named. Later it acted as a base for Peru’s revolutionary fever in the 1800s.

Huaraz is the restless capital of this Andean adventure kingdom and its rooftops command exhaustive panoramas of the city’s dominion: one of the most impressive mountain ranges in the world. Nearly wiped out by the earthquake of 1970, Huaraz isn’t going to win any Andean-village beauty contests anytime soon, but it does have personality – and personality goes a long way.