Empire of the Incas

When the Spaniards conquered Cuzco, they broke down the old Inca palaces and built their colonial buildings on the foundations. Because of this, Cuzco has a special blend of colonial and pre-Columbian architecture and by many, it is considered to be one of the most enchanting and attractive cities in Latin America.

For the Incas, the Urubamba river basin was of great economic and spiritual importance. It is a fertile valley where many sanctuaries and ceremonial centres have been established. Here, you can still admire all kinds of remains from the Inca culture.

In the Sacred Valley, you will find several indigenous communities, where old traditions and customs are still alive. It is therefore highly recommended to visit a local market, such as the market of Pisaq (Tuesday, Thursday or Sunday), because the indigenous people visit these markets to buy and sell their goods.

There are still many traditional and colourful festivals celebrated in Cuzco and the surrounding area. Inti Raymi on 24 June and Q'oyoriti at the end of May or the beginning of June, are the most famous fiestas. It is a special experience to be present at these traditional ceremonies.

At the beginning of the 90's, the Dutch Tineke and Walter came to Cuzco. They saw the poor conditions in which many people lived and decided that they wanted to fight for better living conditions. This is how HoPe (Holanda-Peru) was founded. Now, the organisation has been active in the region of Cuzco for more than 25 years and is mainly committed to improve the education in the remote mountain villages around Cuzco.

During your stay in the Sacred Valley you will stay at the charming Sol y Luna hotel, part of Relais & Chateaux. A beautiful accommodation, with 43 cottages, beautiful gardens and two restaurants, where you  will feel at home immediately. With the income of the hotel, children from the region can attend school.

It is a challenging climb in the early morning, but the reward is a great panoramic view of the Vinicunca, better known as the rainbow mountain. The mountain has beautiful natural colours due to the presence of stones and mineral sediments eroded by wind and water. The colours vary from ochre, white, yellow, green, orange, red to purple and blue.

The fertile soil and mild climate made the Sacred Valley very suitable for growing a large number of crops. In order to irrigate the land without all the water running directly down, the Incas invented terraces called 'patas'. This proved to be an extremely successful system and it has been copied many times.