Yucay

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Visiting the village of Yucay in the Sacred Valley

Yucay is a village in the northern Sacred Valley, between the villages of Urubamba and Huayllabamba. River Vilcanota runs near and the roads connecting Yucay with Calca, Ollantaytambo, Cuzco, Písac and other nearby villages/villages are in pretty good condition.

Yucay is not on top of the list for tourists visiting the Sacred Valley. It is interesting, beautiful, but if you don't have much time, then you should go for the most important, major destinations in the area (namely: Písac's ruins and the village, Ollantaytambo, Moray and of course, Cuzco, the former Inca capital).

The altitude level of Yucay is 2.890 m, pretty high, but if you stay at least 7 days in Cuzco and have a strong organism, you should get used to the high altitude conditions. Some people consider Machu Picchu's altitude is high at just under 2.400 m, now how about Yucay at almost 2.900 m? You'll be surprised how low Machu Picchu actually is, in comparison with other villages, villages and the city of Cuzco. If you make it in Cuzco for a week, Machu Picchu won't be a problem!

A trip to Yucay can be very short, of just a few hours, you don't have to sleep over. It's a nice little village to take photographs of, buy souvenirs. But if you are and adventure-lover, then you can stay here for several days at cheap hotels, taking hikes in the area. There are specialized agents offering great escapes into the wilderness near Yucay.

Yucay's attractions and tourist activities

The attractive little village of Yucay faces strong competition from the Urubamba and Písac towns, for this reason it is often overlooked by tourists. If you travel extensively in the area, then you should take the time and step off at this little village.

Yucay's most important buildings are the ruins of the palace that belonged to Inca Sauri Túpac, the Palacio de la Ñusta (Palace of the Ñusta) and the Spanish colonial church: Santiago Apóstol. There also are typical Inca cultivation terraces. The fertile soil near the village was of very good quality, the Incas have put a lot of effort into exploiting this potential.

The sights around Yucay are spectacular, there are many good spots to take photos.

Among the activities are interesting hikes, bike trips, even aerostat flights! Agents offer canoe & water rafting packages too, which we don't recommend. They're not as interesting as they're advertised due to the fact that this part of Peru is not quite suitable for such activities.

Downhill biking trips and walks around Yucay are interesting, good to try out, but if you're looking for long downhill routes, then you should probably take the longer ones, like those around Cuzco and Písac.

Most trips organized take you to the nearby lake called Lago Negro (Black Lake) and the high mountain peak of San Juán, towards the east, in the direction of the village Huayllabamba.

If you are looking for high quality accommodation services, then check the luxury hotel called Posada del Inca.

For those who have smaller budgets, the Alhambra is a fancy hotel (in a 300 year-old building). It is said that one of the 17 rooms is haunted.

Yucay's history

The origin of the Yucay name is Spanish, meaning something like "deceit".

Before the arrival of the Spaniards, Yucay was an Inca village, where an Inca rebel called Inca Sauri Túpac has had his palace built. Sauri Túpac was one of the Vilcabamba Incas, who were rebelling against the Spaniards.

Getting there

By bus, hired/rented car it is easy to reach this village. The roads are pretty good, but drivers are not quite polite.

Some bike from nearby villages all the way to Yucay, but we don't advise you to, unless your main goal is to ride a bike. It can be very exhausting, will wear your knees, give you muscle aches if you're not the rough-type of individual.

The bus/car will take you 80 km from Cuzco to Yucay in about 75 minutes, just over 1 hour. If you go from Calca, the trip will be around 30-45 minutes long, the distance being 30 km approximately. The village of Urubamba is even closer, the road being about half that long and so the length of time also half compared to the Calca-Yucay road.

If you travel from Cuzco, you can reach Yucay directly in about 75 minutes, as written above.

If you travel from the Písac direction, you will most probably take the Calca-Yucay road, because Calca itself has interesting attractions, beautiful scenery, worth visiting.

Those who come from Urubamba directly to Yucay most likely have already visited Ollantaytambo, on of the greatest constructions of the Incas. Urubamba is itself a top destination, perhaps a more important one than Yucay. Coming from the northwestern direction you could only take this road to Yucay. Takes 15-20 minutes approximately.