Pisac
Pisac is a small market town used by villagers from all around the Sacred Valley. Apart from the traditional market, it now caters extensively for the tourists who visit, and there is a very good crafts market open on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. Most of the tours to the Sacred Valley from Cusco come on these days to visit the market, so the town is much quieter on other days. The market itself has a good selection of alpaca clothing, jewellery, ceramics and other crafts. In addition to the market, there are many craft shops in Pisac, which are open daily.
The main attraction near the town is the Inca site of Pisac situated above the town. This can be reached either by road or by walking up from the town. Taxis can be taken from the town. The walk up is beautiful, although quite steep, and takes around 1½ hours. The walk down takes around 1 hour. The ruins are very extensive, and it would be easy to spend the best part of the day here, especially if walking up and down from the town below. This is one of the finest Inca sites in the Cusco area, and a guided tour is well worth taking. However, it can be surprisingly difficult to find one at the ruins themselves. Entrance to the site is by the Tourist Ticket.
The site was a very important Inca centre, and contains many very fine ceremonial buildings, housing and agricultural terracing, as well as some very impressive defensive structures. From its size and the buildings in the complex, it appears that Pisac was probably an important ceremonial and administrative centre, as well as a large town. The main ceremonial centre, around the Intihuatana, contains some superb Inca stonework. As with all major Inca centres, this area contains the Temple of the Sun, the Temple of the Moon, some fine ritual baths and an Intihuatana stone, which was used for measuring the position of the sun. There are many other areas in the Pisac ruins, and it is well worth exploring the site.