Yucay was awarded this Special Places medal on April 2, 2007. Click on the plaque to visit other Best Places in AW.

Originating in the Andes Mountains off to the southest of Qosqo, the Vilcanota-Urubamba River flows 450 miles (724 km) in a north by northwest fashion before joining with the Apurimac-Tambo River to form the Ucayali, the main headwater of the Amazon River. Divided into an unnavigable upper and a passable lower classification, Yucay or, more commonly, the Sacred Valley, is found along the banks of the Upper Urubamba. With its fertile soils and moderate climate the Inca were drawn to settle in the Sacred Valley. The eastern boundary of the valley is at Pisac and the western at Ollantaytambo. Further downstream, outside the valley, rises the famed Machu Picchu complex high above the Urubamba.

Below is found a sketch mapping the Sacred Valley, with Qosqo and Machu Picchu included. The latter two may be visited more extensively by clicking on their corresponding symbols. Reading on the other sites follows after the map.

• Pisac: Eastern Gate
  One of the few Inca geographic names to remain, Pisac originates from pisaq or p'isaqa, a Quechua term for the pigeon, a frequent visitor to the site. The walled city is strategically located hilltop over the eastern entrance to Yucay.
  
  Some twenty towers stand at Pisac, earning the nickname the "city of the towers," though their purpose is unknown. A sun temple, the Intihuatana, remains to this day, as does the Q'allaqasa citadel. Established during the reign of Sapa Inca Pachacuti, Pisac was half royal estate and half frontier outpost, defending Qosqo from onslaughts by the neighboring Antis tribes. Agricultural terraces, suspension bridges, stockhouses and a "launching place" (cemetery) with tens of thousands of graves were also erected at the mountain town.
  
  
• Urubamba: Small Town, Big Wonder
  As one might imagine any number of small towns dot the Urubamba River, but few claim the nickname "pearl of the Urubamba." With the Chicon Glacier and Valley in its backyard, Urubamba has famed natural scenery, which, combined with ruins from the Incas and before, have made it a noted destination point in the middle of Yucay.
  
  
• Ollantaytambo: Western Gate

  In this place they had the Inca a big force of the strongest of all their dominion, seated among some rocks that few people were enough to defend of much.
  Ciezo de Leon, XVI Century

  The Incan settlement of Ollantaytambo began under Pachacuti, who wished to build a monument of Quechuan dominance in a region of great local resistance to lordship from Qosqo. Ollantay means "place to see down" such as a watchtower while tambo is an inn, a place for the royal court to stay during a visit.
  
  Sitting hilltop, Ollantaytambo guards the western entrance to the Sacred Valley. Though the complex has become known as the fortaleza (fortress) this only serves to reflect the commanding atmosphere of the Incan complex. Ollantaytambo was the final refuge of Sapa Inca Manco Inca Yupanqui following the Spanish conquest before the Incan leadership permanently abandoned the highlands for the jungles of Antisuyu.
  
  
• Chinchero: Countryside Court
  Set between Yucay and Qosqo, Chinchero, alternatively Chincheros, is located at an important crossroad which connects the capital with its strategic outposts. Yet, if one were to ask Sapa Inca Tupac Yupanqui, he'd respond that Chinchero is the destination itself. Surrounded by the typical highland scenery of towering snow-capped mountains, Chinchero rises upon a grand, cultivated plateau with two lakes, Huaypo and Piuray, said to be the twin son and daughter of Manco Capac, Qosqo's mythological founder. Tupac Yupanqui decided to build here not a royal inn, but a rural court.
  
  The Sapa Inca ordered the construction of temples, baths, a prison, where his own son lived lifelong, and a royal palace at Chinchero. A precise drainage system evacuated rainwaters from the settlement to avoid flooding. Manco Inca Yupanqui raised the retreat in fire as he retreated from the highlands, but the remains of structures such as the palace remain to this day.

Tahauntinsuyu is the AncientWorlds group for the Inca Empire, as well as other cultures which pre-existed the imperial Quechua. Discuss everything from art to agriculture, religion to rulers, and maybe learn some Quechua while there.

Sources: Wikipedia: Urubamba River Wikipedia: Sacred Valley A guide to... The Sacred Valley Pisac Ollantaytambo: Living Inca City Chincheros Valle Sagrado de los Incas Urubamba Travel Guide

Credits: Pisac ruins by Riseand FalloftheIncas.org, editted Ollantaytambo, Inca ruines by Kris Kristinsson, editted