South Valley Tour (Half Day)
Description
Sacred Valley Of Incas is a renowned attraction in Cusco. Most travellers visit it on a day trip and some choose to combine it with their trip to Machu Picchu. Chincheros, Maras & Moray, Urubamba, Ollantaytambo and Pisac are some of the renowned sites of the Sacred Valley and Sacred Valley VIP tour programme covers them all in a day trip from Cusco. If you are inquisitive to know much more about the history and culture of Peru and Cusco in specific, South Valley Tour would be a great addition to the Sacred Valley Tour. South Valley Tour offers trip to a lesser known attraction off the city of Cusco. Dotted with lakes and Inkan archaeological ruins, the sites of Pikillaqta, Tipon and Andahuaylillas are worth the half day trip from Cusco.
Tour Options
Itinerary
The tour would start at the Incan archaeological complex of Tipon a site known for water channels and agricultural terraces. The water channels of Tipon are believed to be used as a ceremonial centre by Incas to worship water. The street below the site is popular among Cusqueñans. During weekends, locals often gather to savour the local delicacy guinea pig which is a popular tradition here.
The next stop on the trip will be in Pikillaqta. On the way to Pikillaqta, we will be passing through a dusky town known as Oropesa. Oropesa is referred to as the “bread capital of Peru”. It houses over a fifty different bakeries in a small town. Pikillaqta is the only site that exists from Pre Inka time. Pikillaqta is a complex entirely built in adobe during the Wari regime. Waris once dominated the coastal and central parts of Peru. Pikillaqta is a hilly region with small lakes in the vicinity. During the Wari rule and even during the Incas, maize was majorly produced in Pikillaqta. Maize was so important for the Waris that they painted it in their potteries along with supernaturals and deities. Back then, Pikillacta was believed to have controlled the whole region through agriculture.
Our next stop will be in Andahuaylillas. Andahuaylillas is home to The Sistine Chapel of the Americas. Although from outside it may not seem so eye catching to most, the interiors of this chapel is an eye popping kaleidoscope. It has a dazzling display of colourful murals, an ornate gold leaf altar and ceilings painted in coffered. The “San Pedro de Andahuaylillas” as known by the locals, was built at the end of the 16th century given the fact that one of its murals, signed by Luis de Riaño, has a date written in it that states it is from the year 1626. We will then return to Cusco.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
We will be picking you up from your hotel within the historic centre of Cusco. Please Note: This service doesn't include pick up in private residencies, example; Airbnb or hotels that are outside the historic centre.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(19)
Just wonderful. Perfect. Exceptional guide. Super indico. Lugares lindíssimos. Lindas histórias. Super quiet walk.
It is a very good tour, before we started we stopped in a community where we had an explanatory talk about the discovery of Machu Picchu quite interesting. Several places are visited, so sometimes it gets a little short time, especially in Pikillaqta, since it is very large. It is advisable to wear suns, since the entrance to the church is only with cash. Lunch is also cash only, it is optional to have lunch at the place where the guide leaves you, it was a normal lunch, nothing special.
I'm not sure about the raving reviews of this tour but first of all, don't do this tour if you don't understand Spanish. 80% of the tour is in Spanish despite saying bilingual. Our guide had limited English which made asking questions difficult. There is some interesting info but nothing worth spending a day doing this tour especially if you have done the other more popular tours in Cusco. I felt like I paid for a driving service rather than guided tour. Even cheap it is not worth the detour. Do something else.
The experience was good, but at the end of the day was exhausted. It takes good physical preparation to climb and descend the various stairs of the archaeological sites. Other than that, I took wonderful pictures. In Tipón I was enchanted with the history of the place and impressed with the hydraulic engineering and architecture of a time when there was no technology.
This is a great half day tour to some less touristy incredible sites! If you enjoy history and exploring ruins, worthwhile!
The original Incan ruins where they followed simple agriculture techniques was incredible. Church was closed due to renovation which was huge disappointment. Other ruins were partly closed. Tipon is a must see.
The guide was knowledgeable and we saw the sites we were supposed to see. That said, they tell you pick up is at a specific time and the expect you to be ready earlier than that. To get to the transport at the hotel we had to walk blocks through the city in the rain and my shoes were wet before the tour even began. The guide at one point refused to let me use the bathroom, when there clearly was a bathroom to use. I’m glad I could hold it, but what if I couldn’t !? The tour doesn’t say lunch is included, but we went anyway, and I couldn’t do anything about it, so I lost an hour there. They were kind and dropped me at another site on the way back, but it wasn’t out of their way. One of the highlights of the tour was a very knowledgeable and polite man who shared with us the details of how Machu Picchu was discovered. He was lovely.
The tour guides were absolutely amazing! They took such great care of us the entire time, making sure that we were taken care. This is definitely less traveled by Americans and Europeans, but it gave it a real authentic touch. The only set back was two in our group only spoke English and the tour was entirely in Spanish. We still had a great time we just thought it was going to be bilingual. The air conditioner was also minimal.
I enjoyed the trip that I took to the South Valley. I was fascinated by the ruins at Tipon, and the Wari ruins at Pikillaqta were amazing as well. I had already been to the church at Andahuaylas earlier in my visit to Cusco, but it is worth a look as part of this tour if you've not seen it. The restaurant that was chosen for lunch was quite good, and very efficient preparing all of our meals such that they were basically ready for us upon our arrival. (Try the trout!) The guide was bilingual (English and Spanish), and very knowledgeable. I am only giving 4 out of 5 marks, however, because I was told that I would be picked up at my hotel in San Blass, but the morning of the trip I was called a bit after 8 am and told to walk to the Main Square to catch the bus instead. It's a good thing I had time to spare to accommodate this last minute change of plans!
The van transport to Tipon, Piquillaqta and Andahuaylillas was fine. The tour took longer than usual. A lot of waiting because it was both in Spanish and English. It was a mixed group. If you take this tour, specify 1 language only to stay within the schedule time and enjoy other activities.
