Pisac Archaeological Park

Pisac is a natural first stop on a day out from Cusco into the Sacred Valley, and its ruins spread along a ridge high above the river. The town lies at the southern end of the valley on the Urubamba, also called the Vilcanota, about 32 kilometres north-east of Cusco, at around 2,972 metres. The Inca complex spreads along the ridge above it, between the Kitamayu and Chongo rivers, at roughly 3,450 to 3,500 metres.

The site is generally thought to have been built for the emperor Pachacuti, no earlier than about 1440. Scholars describe it as a place with several roles at once: a royal residence away from Cusco, a citadel and refuge in times of danger, an observatory and a religious centre. It is also said to commemorate Inca victories over the Cuyos. Francisco Pizarro's forces destroyed it in the early 1530s, and the present town was laid out below the ruins by the viceroy Francisco de Toledo in the 1570s.

The visit is mostly about walking. Around 500 agricultural terraces, some up to six metres high, curve around the mountainside, and footpaths link the sectors strung along the ridge, from the residential area of Qantus Raqay, where visitors arriving by road usually start, past Qallaq'asa with its two dozen buildings, to the Intiwatana. This ceremonial heart has a semi-circular building of fitted pink granite around a carved ritual rock thought to have tracked the sun; part of it was damaged by vandals and is closed. On the cliff opposite, the holes of the T'antana Marka cemetery mark more than 3,500 tombs, looted long ago. The Pisac National Archaeological Park was created in 1983 and the site holds its own celebration, Willka Raymi, on 24 August. The views down into the valley are the reward for the effort, and the paths can be steep and narrow in places, so good shoes and a steady pace help at this altitude. Bring water and sun protection, as there is little shade.

Many visitors pair the ruins with the market in town. Official market days are Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday, and Sunday is the largest, when Quechua communities from the surrounding area come in to sell produce and buy supplies. Souvenir stalls fill the Plaza Constitución and nearby streets every day, so there is always something to browse.

Pisac combines naturally with Ollantaytambo, Moray and the Maras salt pans on a full day round the Sacred Valley, a route offered as a day trip by many Cusco operators. If you are travelling independently, you can also stay in the valley, which lies lower than Cusco. In September, pilgrims head to the shrine of the Señor de Huanca, about 8 kilometres south-east of the town.