Ollantaytambo (Peru): Paradise Exists
Last time, Ollantaytambo impressed me more than Machu Picchu, so this time I decide to stay for a week. We get dropped off there during a tour of the Sacred Valley.
Part 1: Travel Journal
Part 2: Practical Tips
Part 1: Travel Journal
JB spots a hotel a three-minute walk from the village market and main square (Hostel Apu Qhawarina, Booking link), and we go for the most spacious room to spend a week. The internet isn’t super stable but is enough to work, and the hot water isn’t scorching but is warm enough for a long, pleasant shower. Payment is cash only, though, and since we hadn’t taken out enough in Cuzco, we had a bit of trouble and had to exchange money at a bureau.
I don’t know exactly what draws me so much to Ollantaytambo, maybe its Inca houses? With half-Inca, half-modern walls, the town seems even more frozen in time than Cuzco. But the more time I spend in Ollantaytambo, the more I notice its feng shui.
This valley is unlike any other; it’s perfectly located, crossed by the Urubamba River, and the river’s water is then distributed throughout the town via a network of Inca canals. The mountains are very high and steep, so when you look up, you feel like you’re facing an insurmountable wall. But the valley also snakes between the mountains. All natural elements fit together perfectly, no one dominates or overwhelms the other, and you can see this side feng shui more clearly when you climb to the Temple of the Sun, at the very top of the Ollantaytambo archaeological site.
From this strategic point, you can detect any movement, any entry into the valley is visible for kilometers. If I were looking for a place to protect myself, I would have chosen this mountain too. That probably explains why they brought stones from the mountain across to build their temple, instead of building the temple on the mountain where the stones already were. And besides, you wouldn’t have seen the sun rise from the other side. Quite a calculation!
It’s the third time I’ve visited this archaeological site, but I never tire of climbing its 200+ steps. The view is so satisfying, and the ruins, the perfectly carved, perfectly smooth Inca walls whose stones fit together to the millimeter, are worth all the effort (and the trip from Cuzco). Since we’re sleeping on-site, we visit the site early, before the tourists arrive (from noon), and we spend as much time there as we want.
Animals as Natural “Lawnmowers”
But Ollantaytambo isn’t just about its archaeological site or exceptional location. Life is slower here. The farmers JB meets while trekking still use archaic tools, the traditional method. It’s a real step back in time, rarely seen. At the village market, most shops are closed, but you can find lomo saltado for 8 soles, soup included. In the evening, small stalls gather on the village’s main square to sell churros, beef skewers, or cotton candy.
You feel good here. You feel at peace. You recharge with energy from the sky, the earth, and the water. All stress melts away. Even the stray dogs are all friendly and almost never bark.
Being in Ollantaytambo during the village festivities in the first week of January, we saw villagers pass by in traditional attire. While on the first day they danced, with a party organized by the mayor, until 2 a.m., on the other evenings, they paraded group by group, here and there, at all times of day.
Or is it the food that makes us love Ollantaytambo so much? There’s a “menu turistico” at the Nina del Valle restaurant (Google Maps link). Every weekday at noon, for just 25 soles per person, you get the best of Peru: starter (ceviche), main (river trout), dessert, absolutely incredible. The restaurant is hidden on the 1st floor, tourists don’t necessarily spot it, and that’s a shame, because it’s the best restaurant in Peru, in our opinion.
Right next door, at Apu Veronica Restaurant, also on the 1st floor, you can choose between fried duck, beef, or three types of meat on a hot stone. A bit pricier though (40 or 50 soles, I don’t remember).
Across from the paid archaeological site, there’s another archaeological site that seems free. As JB wants to trek, I suggest the place, not knowing he’ll completely mess up and set off for a 4-hour trek on the other side of the valley. He’ll come across animals and farmers. He’ll come back all dark, sunburned, and his freshly shaved head will suffer for days. The reason? The sky was cloudy and he didn’t think he’d need his hat, which he had in his bag anyway 😀
We asked ourselves: should we visit Machu Picchu, we’re so close, just a train and a bus away. After looking into it, we decide not to go. The site didn’t impress us enough to go back a second time; if it cost $20, why not, but for $100 minimum minimum, walking, it’s not worth the cost or the time. So we head back to Cusco, before leaving for Bolivia.
To get back to Cuzco, it’s very simple, there’s a colectivo that leaves every hour from the main square for 10 soles. Since we missed it by 2 minutes, a small shared taxi offers the same ride for 15 soles/person. The small taxis leave as soon as they’re full; it’s a bit more expensive, but practical if you miss the big vans like we did. Otherwise, there are other vans that leave as soon as the train arrives at the train station.
To finish, I share with you the screenshots From the December 2023 special issue of National Geographic, an issue on sacred sites. They talk precisely about Machu Picchu and Ollantaytambo, and I quote: “The village itself was built on an Inca city, of which a large part of the buildings have been preserved intact”
Part 2: Practical Tips
- Hostel Apu Qhawarina, Booking link : between $18 and $22 per room, depending on size
- Nina del Valle: tourist menu for 25 soles/person at midday
- Colectivo from/to Cusco: between 10 and 15 soles/person
