Relaxing Day Trips in the Sacred Valley of Peru

Okay, so there is more than just hiking in Ollantaytambo, or wherever you are in the Sacred Valley of Peru. There are plenty of other awesome gems that are worth a day (or perhaps two) of exploration, and all are short rides from Ollantaytambo or Cusco, accessible by public transit. So if you'd like to just take a day off, or aren't interested in hiking before Machu Picchu, these are some relaxing non-hiking day trips that you can take while in the Sacred Valley of Peru.

1.  Take a Day Trip to Urubamba

Urubamba isn’t exactly the coolest place in the world, but it does have a few options that are worth exploring. It’s a short van ride from Ollantaytambo that costs 7 soles, or slightly more than $2. Urubamba is also larger than Ollantaytambo, so there's a lot more shopping options here if that’s what interests you.

See the Palacio Huayna Capac

Urubamba is home to the Palacio Huayna Capac, alongside a cemetary. If you haven't been to a cemetary in South America, it's interesting enough to take a stroll through. The Palacio Huayna Capac is a cool stop and worth the time if you've got some spare time.

The Palacio Huayna Capac is the remains of one of Huayna Capac's old estates, called Quispiguanca. 

Huayna Capac was an Incan ruler who expanded the empire into parts of Chile and Argentina. He also integrated the Kingdom of Quito (in Ecuador) into the Incan empire through his marriage with one of their Queens.

However, Huayna Capac is most well-known for two of his sons, Atahuallpa and Huascar. Atahuallpa was only half-Incan, as his mother was the Queen of the Kingdom of Quito. Huayna Capac gave Atahuallpa the Incan area that used to be the Kingdom of Quito to rule and Huascar (the legitimate heir) the southern section.

However, neither Huascar nor Atahuallpa were content with this, and so the War of the Two Brothers began. Huascar attempted to capture Atahuallpa, but Atahuallpa managed to defeat his army in 1532. Atahuallpa ruled for a very short period of time: he was executed soon after by Pizarro and the Spanish. The War of the Two Brothers had weakened the Incan Empire and, therefore, made it easier for Pizarro.

How to Get To the Palacio Huayna Capac:

The vans from Ollantaytambo willl drop you off at the Terminal Terreste de Urubamba. The Palacio is not actually a far walk, although you could take a Tuk Tuk and either tell the driver the cemetary or the Palacio Huayna Capac as they're right next to each other. However, I would recommend walking through the Plaza de Armas and taking a casual stroll to get to the Palacio. 

Visit the Brewery in Urubamba

Urubamba has a brewery as well! It’s called Hops, and their tap beer selection was small but good. The day we went it wasn’t busy at all, and so they only had a few selections on tap, rather than all of their beers. It’s a large spot, with a cozy upstairs that has a bunch of couches. The bartender was also very nice and chatty. 

How to Get to the Hops Brewery: 

The Cervecería Hops Valle Sagrado is located on the same street at the terminal de buses, just further north. It is uphill, though. What Ramone and I did was walked to the Palacio Huayna Capac, and then took a tuk tuk (the motorcycle taxis) to the Hops Brewery. Make sure that they're clear that it's not the Cervecería del Valle Sagrado, which is in Pachar, outside of Urubamba. After the Hops Brewery, we walked downhill to get back to the bus terminal. 

2.  Take a Day Trip to Calca

Calca is similar to Urubamba but smaller, and it's nice to check out the shopping area and get some different food as well. To get here you need to take a van to Urubamba and then a separate van to Calca. Sometimes the colectivo will drop you off directly in the terminal at Calca and sometimes not, perhaps it just depends on the driver. We were dropped off near the terminal. 

Attempt to Find the Minas Moqo Thermal Waters

This is originally why we went to Calca: a cheap hot springs option. However, we found what we think was Minas Moqo, and it was closed and quite tiny (we went on a Monday). It's situated on the Urubamba River (also called the Vilcanota River in some areas such as here). We were directed by locals to go down to the river, where we then saw a dirt path leading up a hill and a paved flat path that intersected with the path going over the river. Of course, we chose the dirt path leading up, which was fun but not correct. 

After we backtracked, we did found what we believe was Minas Moqo, closed. But be adventurous and see if you can find it, as well as see if it's open!

However beware, whenever you ask locals where the hot springs are they'll say Lares? Do you want to go to Lares? And you have to be like, nah, Minas Moqo. And then they'll think really hard and look at you like you're crazy and point you in the right direction. 

See Calca From Above

Okay, I said no hiking, but there is an option in Calca where you can take a trail up and see the city. This was the path that we accidentally went on while trying to find the hot springs. Anyway, we did snap a few photos of Calca and get a little bit of a workout in. Basically go down to the Urubamba River, cross it, and then go up the dirt path that's quite steep. The uphill dirt path will be right in front of you; Minas Moqo is a left down the main road. 

The path is quite deserted, so you get it mostly to yourself. We did see some old locals powering up this hill (seriously - they're in such good shape), but that was about it. 

Visit the Huchuy Qosqo Ruins

Ramone and I did not do this, but there are some small ruins called Huchuy Qosqo about 7 kilometers away from the town of Calca. You could take a quick taxi there and check them out - no crazy hiking involved unless you really want to!

3.  Go to the Hot Springs in Lares

If you have the time to check out Lares, I would highly recommend this trip. It’s a little too far to do in just one day from Ollantaytambo, but it’s a perfect 1-night stay. 

Lares is pretty far up there. Most of the rivers in Peru are very polluted, but in Lares the water is crystal-clear. The road to get to Lares from Calca is also very narrow and windy, so if you freak out over crazy driving on steep roads than you may not enjoy the 1-2 hour drive. Additionally, you get to pretty high altitudes (almost 4,500 meters), so if you aren't accustomed to high altitudes yet, hold off on doing this trip.  

This trip was completely spontaneous: Ramone and I had planned to just go to Calca for the day, but when the Minas Moqo hot springs in Calca were closed we decided to just make the trip out to Lares with our day packs. Why not? 

Lares Hot Springs

Lares is known for its hot springs. And boy, are they incredible. They’re also open 24 hours, so we went at 10:00 p.m. and just relaxed in the hot springs until the middle of the night (hence why there are no photos). There are three different pools, each of which is a different temperature. While we were there it was not crowded at all. 

We chose to just stay in a little hostel in the town of Lares; however, the hot springs themselves also have little cabins, so if you’d rather stay in more luxury then that’s certainly an option.

Lares is a sleepy town, so we just arrived and walked around, found a hostel option that we thought was a good price, and that was that. It’s not too hard to find the hot springs, although we did of course get lost (when do we not?) and had to ask some people where to go. Basically, you want to follow the road up. Not down. Just follow the main road and don’t go on a random dirt side path because that really just doesn’t make sense (do you see a trend here?).

The next day, Ramone and I got some breakfast at a local restaurant and hopped in a van that was heading back around midday. It was a perfect, relaxing trip, although unfortunately we didn't take any photos (or at least not ones that I can find now). 

How to Get to Lares from Ollantaytambo:

To get to Lares, you have to get a van/colectivo to Urubamba and then a van/colectivo to Calca. From Calca, you can take either another shared collective up to Lares or just grab a taxi. 

Since Lares is the main reason why tourists come to Calca, you can ask pretty much everyone and they'll be able to show you where to go to catch a colectivo. For us, we grabbed the colectivo on a street that was not at the bus terminal itself. I would recommend just asking around, as I don't remember the street name. We also were charged slightly more to get there than we were on the way back, so I'm not sure if that's normal or not. It was a negligable amount, so I wouldn't worry about it. 

There you have it: three different day trips from Ollantaytambo that don't have to involve hiking (unless you want them to). So, take some time to pamper yourself, relax in steaming water, go shopping, or just explore a new city.