Visit Ollantaytambo the treasure of the Sacred Valley of the Incas, the city of Ollantaytambo is located north of the city of Cusco in the Sacred Valley of the Incas. Ollantaytambo (Quechua name: Ollantay Tampu) is an Inca town and archaeological site. Today the city of Ollantaytambo is one of the main archaeological sites in the Sacred Valley of the Incas.
History of Ollantaytambo
According to studies Ollantaytambo means “Place of observation from below” and according to Quechua culture, the name comes from ‘Ollanta’, the name of an Inca captain who starred in the Quechua drama ‘Ollantay’, which had the Inca general ‘Ollanta’ as the protagonist. The city of Ollantaytambo in the mid-fifteenth century, Emperor Pachacutec destroyed the town that settled there to found Ollantaytambo and incorporate it into the Inca Empire. The Inca Pachacutec ordered the construction of the main buildings of the current Ollantaytambo archaeological site.
Today the city of Ollantaytambo preserves its Inca walls, its beautiful streets and its Inca style and its main tourist attraction is the archaeological center of Ollantaytambo, a tourist place where it receives thousands of visitors daily. The Ollantaytambo archaeological center was a military, religious and agricultural center. And it is characterized by its fabulous architectural setting, by the size, originality and detail of its structures, making it the main tourist attraction of the sacred valley of the Incas.
How to get to Ollantaytambo
To get to Ollantaytambo there are two ways:
• By Car: One of the most traditional ways to get to Ollantaytambo is by car, for this you have to take a trip from the city of Cusco and head north towards the town of Urubamba and then Ollantaytambo. The trip lasts approximately 1 hour and a half.
• By Train: For many travelers this is the perfect option, since you have the option of traveling to Ollantaytambo from the San Pedro or Poroy station. And so take advantage of observing the beautiful landscapes of the sacred valley of the Incas.
Visit Ollantaytambo
To visit Ollantaytambo you can do it on your own or if you want you can take advantage of taking a tour from Cusco towards the sacred valley of the Incas, and thus take advantage of visiting all the tourist attractions of the Sacred Valley.
• On your own: To visit Ollantaytambo you must board a car from Cusco, this transport can be done privately or as a group. If you want to take a private car from Cusco to Ollantaytambo you can contact us and we will offer you the transfer in a safe way. If you want to do as a group you must go to calle pavitos and board the Bus, the shared group passage is from 10 soles to 15 soles. There are two routes, one is through Pisac and the other is through Chinchero. The trip lasts 1 hour and 30 minutes approximately.
• By Tour: It is one of the most recommended options is to do by tour, for this there are two tours for this route from Cusco. The first is the sacred valley tour, where you visit, the Inca cemetery of Pisac, the archaeological center of Ollantaytambo and the town of Chinchero. The second tour is the sacred valley with maras moray, here you will visit the town of chinchero, the moray platforms, the salt mines of maras, the archaeological center of ollantaytambo and finally the Inca cemetery of Pisac. Choose the best option you want.
Attractions of Ollantaytambo
The main attractions of the city of Ollantaytambo:
• The platforms of Ollantaytambo
• The Temple of the Sun in Ollantaytambo
• The Royal House of the Sun
• Fort Choqana
• The Mañay Raqay Square or ‘K’uychipunku’
• The Monumental Cover and the Enclosure of the 10 Niches
• The Ñusta Bath
• Visit its streets and visit the entire city of Ollantaytambo. The place is magical and incredible that you will be enchanted.
Ollantaytambo Archaeological Center
To visit the archaeological center of Ollantaytambo you have to have the Cusco tourist ticket, which costs 130 soles for foreigners and 70 soles for Peruvians.
The opening hours of the Ollantaytambo archaeological center are from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Ollantaytambo Station
Ollantaytambo station is the main point to travel by train to the town of Machu Picchu (Aguas Calientes). The first train from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes leaves 5:05 hrs and after that it has different departure times. The railway companies that provide this service are Peru Rail and Inca Rail.
