Easily reachable from Cusco, the valley of the Urubamba River, known as the Sacred Valley, nestles amongst the spectacular foothills of the Peruvian Andes. The area was once at the very heart of the Inca Empire and, thanks to this fact, there are plenty of old Incan sites to explore, including terraces carved into the hillside still used for farming today, scattered between pretty colonial towns, isolated weaving villages and herds of llamas and alpacas. The Sacred Valley is also a fantastic place to interact with the local people, many of whom are indigenous Quechua, particularly at the colourful markets in towns such as Ollantaytambo and Pisac.