Ollantaytambo is routinely described as the last living Inca town, and for once the marketing is accurate. Walk north from the Plaza de Armas and the streets narrow into a grid of fifteen rectangular blocks laid out under Pachacuti in the 15th century. Each block is a cancha — a walled compound with a single trapezoidal doorway opening onto the street and several houses sharing a courtyard inside.
People still live in them. Behind those Inca doorways are kitchens, guinea pigs, drying maize and satellite dishes. The stone channels running down the middle of the lanes still carry drinking and irrigation water off the mountain, the same system, still working, after more than five hundred years of continuous use.
Top things to do at The Inca Old Town
Walk Calle del Medio
The central lane of Qosqo Ayllu is the best-preserved: original walls, original doorways, and the water channel running down its centre.
Look through a cancha doorway
Where courtyards are open to the street you can see how a compound works. Ask before photographing — these are homes, not exhibits.
Sit out the afternoon on the plaza
The square has benches, an ATM, a handful of cafés and, most afternoons, the sound of a school band rehearsing somewhere out of sight.
Browse the market stalls
The lanes leading to the ruins are lined with textile and craft stalls. Prices drop noticeably once you step away from the site entrance.
Find a chichería
A red plastic bag on a pole outside a house means home-brewed chicha de jora is being served inside. It is a genuinely local institution and costs a couple of soles.
How to get to The Inca Old Town
- The old town starts at the Plaza de Armas and runs north to the foot of the ruins — the whole grid is a ten-minute walk end to end.
- From the railway station it is about 1.5 km uphill; mototaxis wait outside and cost a few soles.
- From Cusco: collectivos and private transfers drop you at the plaza or at your hotel door.
Insider tips
- The cobbles are uneven and the channels are open — wheeled luggage is a struggle. Ask your hotel about a mototaxi from the station.
- ATMs in town are few and occasionally empty. Bring soles from Cusco, and keep small notes for markets and mototaxis.
- Ollantaytambo’s biggest fiesta is Señor de Choquekillka around Pentecost, in May or June — dancing, brass bands and bullfights over several days.
- Evenings are cold year-round. Even in the dry season you will want a fleece after sunset.
Best tours & tickets for The Inca Old Town
These top-rated experiences are the easiest way to see The Inca Old Town without organising a thing:
