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Southern Sierra

Sacred Valley of the Incas

The Sacred Valley of the Incas is a valley in the in that contains many famous and beautiful Inca ruins. It was called the Sacred Valley because it contains some of the best land in the region and was not a part of the Incan Empire but the property of the Emperor or Inca himself.
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Photo: Murray Foubister, CC BY-SA 2.0.
Photo: Wikimedia, CC BY 2.0.

Essential Destinations

Top destinations include Machu Picchu and Cuzco.

Photo: Elena Tatiana Chis, CC BY-SA 4.0.
is the site of an ancient Inca city, high in the Andes of . At 2,430 metres above sea level, this UNESCO World Heritage Site is often referred to as “The Lost City of the Incas”, is one of the most familiar symbols of the Incan Empire, and is one of the most famous and spectacular sets of ruins in the world.

Photo: S23678, CC BY 3.0.
or Cusco, in the , is a fascinating city that was the capital of the Inca Empire. is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is one of 's most visited cities as it is the largest and most comfortable city from which tourists can begin visits to , the Sacred Valley of the Incas, and other Inca sites in the region.

Photo: Ivan Mlinaric, CC BY 2.0.
is a small town of cobblestone streets and buildings built on foundations of Inca stonework, in the Sacred Valley of the Incas near Cusco in the region of .

Destinations to Discover

Explore places such as Pisac and Aguas Calientes.

Photo: Ivan Mlinaric, CC BY 2.0.
Písac is a small traditional town at eastern end of the Sacred Valley about 35 km from Cusco. While is best known for its Sunday market this is really secondary to the magnificent Inca ruins overlooking the town from high on a mountain ridge, both the extent of which and the spectacular vertiginous views it offers of the Sacred Valley many visitors arrive unprepared for.

Photo: C T Johansson, CC BY-SA 3.0.
is a small town at the bottom of the valley next to , and the principal access point to the site. All visitors to Machu Picchu pass through and most spend at least one night here.

Photo: S23678, CC BY 3.0.
is a large Inca ruin in Sacred Valley of the Incas in . Much less visited than its more famous cousin , it is only accessible by a strenuous two-day trek.

Photo: 归零者, CC BY-SA 4.0.
is a small town in , located near the under the snow-capped mountain . It is the capital of the .

Photo: Tencho, CC BY-SA 3.0.
on the south-eastern route from Cusco, is one of the most interesting samples of agricultural terracing and water management developed by the Incas.

Photo: 归零者, CC BY-SA 4.0.
is a town in the Sacred Valley of the Incas, 40 kilometers north of , in the Cusco Region of . The town, in the , is well known for its salt evaporation ponds, located towards from the town center, which have been in use since Inca times.

Photo: Ynsalh, CC BY-SA 4.0.
is a village in . The town is in a scenic valley and has many farming families. There is nothing to see or do in this town, but it can be a convenient base to make various short trips from.

is a 4,666-metre-high mountain in the Urubamba mountain range in the of . It is located in the Cusco Region, Urubamba Province, .

Sacred Valley of the Incas

Latitude of center
-13.3333° or 13° 19′ 60″ south
Longitude of center
-72.0833° or 72° 5′ west
Wiki­data ID
Q2237464
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Satellite Map

Discover Sacred Valley of the Incas from above in high-definition satellite imagery.
© Stadia Maps, Airbus DS, CNES, PlanetObserver, and Copernicus

In Other Languages

From Basque to Vietnamese—“Sacred Valley of the Incas” goes by many names.
  • Basque: “Inken Haran Sakratua”
  • Bengali: “উরুবাম্বা উপত্যকা”
  • Bulgarian: “Урубамба”
  • Chinese: “烏魯班巴山谷”
  • Croatian: “Urubamba”
  • Czech: “Posvátné incké údolí”
  • Czech: “Posvátné údolí Inků”
  • Czech: “Posvátné údolí”
  • Dutch: “Heilige vallei van de Inca’s”
  • Esperanto: “Urubamba Valo”
  • French: “vallée sacrée des Incas”
  • French: “Vallée sacrée des Incas”
  • Galician: “Val Sagrado dos Incas”
  • Galician: “Val Sagrado”
  • Georgian: “ურუბამბას ხეობა”
  • Georgian: “ურუბამბის ხეობა”
  • German: “Heilige Tal der Inka”
  • German: “Urubamba-Tal”
  • German: “Urubambatal”
  • German: “Valle Sagrado”
  • Hebrew: “העמק הקדוש”
  • Italian: “Valle dell’Urubamba”
  • Italian: “Valle sacra degli Incas”
  • Japanese: “ウルバンバの谷”
  • Japanese: “ウルバンバ谷”
  • Lithuanian: “Šventasis inkų slėnis”
  • Lithuanian: “Šventasis slėnis”
  • Lithuanian: “Urubambos slėnis”
  • Macedonian: “Света долина”
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: “Urubambadalen”
  • Polish: “Święta Dolina Inków”
  • Portuguese: “Vale Sagrado dos Incas”
  • Quechua: “Valle Sagrado de los Incas”
  • Quechua: “Valle Sagrado”
  • Quechua: “Willka Qhichwa”
  • Quechua: “Willkaqhichwa”
  • Russian: “Урубамба (долина)”
  • Russian: “Урубамба”
  • Slovak: “Posvätné údolie Inkov”
  • Slovak: “Valle Sagrado de los Incas”
  • Slovak: “Valle Sagrado”
  • Spanish: “Valle Sagrado de los Incas”
  • Spanish: “Valle sagrado”
  • Swedish: “Urubambadalen”
  • Turkish: “Kutsal İnka Vadisi”
  • Turkish: “Kutsal Vadi”
  • Turkish: “Urubamba Vadisi”
  • Turkish: “Valle Sagrado”
  • Turkish: “Willka Qhichwa”
  • Ukrainian: “Долина Урубамба”
  • Vietnamese: “Thung lũng Thiêng”
  • Vietnamese: “Thung lũng Urubamba”

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About Mapcarta. Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license, except for photos, directions, and the map. Description text is based on the Wikivoyage page “Sacred Valley of the Incas”. Photo: Wikimedia, CC BY 2.0.