The ruins of Pinkuylluna have the wow factor. Located on the side of a sheer cliff that looks impenetrable from a distance. It’s hard to believe not just that they were ever built there in the first place, but that you can actually hike up and visit them today. Despite appearances, the walk is short and not overly challenging. Your reward is phenomenal views coupled with the chance to wander the ruins, which are left just as they are - you won’t find roped off sections here.
If you happen to visit in the late afternoon, the mountains and ruins are bathed in the most glorious golden light and it was easily one of the most memorable experiences we had during our month in the Sacred Valley.
Here’s everything you need to know about visiting the Pinkuylluna archaeological site.
The walk to Pinkuylluna
The stats
Distance: 1.1km loop
Elevation gain: 110m
Difficulty: Easy by Peruvian standards, but steep in parts
Summary: The terrain along the walk is mixed, with some good, but uneven stone steps and some rougher bits, including a couple of little scrambles. The path is often narrow and sometimes close to the cliff edge, although there are rails in place on the very steepest sections.
If it’s been wet, I would go much more carefully as it could become slippery, especially on the descent. In dry conditions, it wasn’t slippery.
You are up at 2,700m elevation here, so if you have only just arrived in the Sacred Valley then you may feel a bit breathless going uphill. If you’ve already been in Cusco (which sits at 3,500m) then you may find breathing a little easier!
The path
The path up to Pinkuylluna is only a few minutes walk from the centre of Ollantaytambo and begins very close to the Kamma Guest House - you can find it on Google Maps by clicking here. Just look for the gate you can see in the photo below.
You’ll come to a little registration hut and fill in your details before heading along the trail to the ruins. You don’t need a guide unless you want to know a little more about its history, as you won’t find any details along the way.
The walk is uphill from the off, and though there are short flat sections, you are climbing for much of the way. On most of the steeper sections of the trail there is a wooden handrail in place, although much of the track is wide open and there is often a large drop to one side.
Personally I didn’t think it felt scary in any way, but if you do suffer from vertigo, it would probably not be much fun.
The path is a mixture of well made but uneven stone steps, some gravel, and a couple of little scrambles too. After 200m heading uphill you can take a break on the bench seat with a little straw roof to the left of the trail if needed, the views from here are sensational.
You’ll be looking directly across to the main Ollantaytambo ruins, and of course the spectacular mountain range.
To be honest the views are unbelievable every step of the way though!
From here we recommend taking the path to the left. You can go back to Ollantaytambo via the trail on the right, forming a partial circuit.
The reason we recommend going left first is because it’s the steeper track, so it’s easier to climb up this way than it would be to descend.
From the rest stop you are just 250m from the best part of the ruins, there’s some more climbing to go and then a short narrow path, which is flat and leads to the base of the ruins.
It took us around 15 minutes to get to this point.
What are the Pinkuylluna ruins?
The ruins are thought to be the remains of a 15th century Incan grain storage site, although due to the fact that the Incas did not write anything down and the Spanish destroyed a lot of their civilisation during the invasion, much of what you hear about Incan history is just a theory. It’s well considered guess work, but guess work nonetheless.
I have to say that a grain storage facility doesn’t fit the romantic image of this incredible building on the edge of a cliff, the Inca’s clearly put as much care into the mundane buildings as they did the more important ones!
Incidentally, you might be wondering why you would have a grain storage site halfway up a mountain. The higher altitude would mean the grain would be stored at a slightly cooler temperature than at ground level, so it would keep for longer.
In addition to this, another possible reason is demonstrated by what happened when the Spanish attacked Ollantaytambo - the Incas retreated to the fort and buildings in the mountains and flooded the valley below. This allowed them to survive the siege for much longer.
Exploring the first ruins
You can explore several different levels inside the storehouses, and I was mesmerised by the view from each of the windows.
It’s a really lovely spot to sit and take it all in and although it wasn’t empty when we visited, it wasn’t busy either. We had the inside of the storehouse to ourselves for quite a while, a far cry from the hustle and bustle at the main Ollanta ruins.
We stayed up here until the guard reminded us it was closing (at 4.30pm) and although sunset was not for another hour, it had already dropped behind the mountains, so we got the most beautiful light.
The scenery, the light and the ruins all made for one of the most memorable moments on our trip. I wish it was open a little later, but other than that it was perfect.
It looked like there were paths leading higher up the mountain from here, but there were a few arrows which seemed to indicate this was the highest point you are now allowed to venture to.
To the second set of ruins and the descent
On leaving the first site you head back to the junction, and instead of continuing downhill the way you came, you take a left, to get to the next set of ruins.
The path downhill is uneven but it’s not precarious - and if you follow the left path you will skip the steepest sections.
The next set of ruins are not quite so atmospheric as the first ones. Rather than a building which is still one structure, they are more like a traditional set of ruins, ie quite broken up.
They are worth having a poke around though, and the guard was very friendly, allowing us to have a look around even though we really should have been descending.
From the ruins the path takes you downhill and back to the main entrance. Although it is steep in parts, the terrain is good and there is usually a stone wall or something to lean a hand on if required.
The guard called it ‘the safe path’ down. It also allows you to see another part of the site, so it’s well worth forming the little circuit instead of retracing your steps.
Pinkuylluna entry fee and opening hours
The Pinkuylluna site is free of charge, which is really surprising given how good it is. It’s open between 7.30am and 4.30pm at time of writing. Given that closing times were not strict in places like Pisac, we were expecting something similar here, but in fact a guard is sent up to make sure everyone leaves.
He was lenient on how slow you moved through the site on the way down, but you didn’t get much lingering time at the main ruins before being ushered on. Having said that he did give us an extra 10 minutes (until 4.40pm) at the top.
It’s all very friendly, nothing like Machu Picchu, but just something to be aware of as we felt rushed having assumed it would be like other sites we’d already visited where they weren’t bothered when you left.
Getting to the Pinkuylluna archaeological site
The Pinkuylluna archaeological site is located in the town of Ollantaytambo in the Sacred Valley. It’s just a few minutes from the main plaza and the trailhead can be found close to the Kamma Guest House - you can find it on Google Maps by clicking here
Ollantaytambo is located just over 1.5 hours from Cusco and 30 minutes from Urubamba. You can catch collectivos (shared mini bus transport) or take a taxi. If you can spare the time we’d highly recommend spending at least one night in town, as there is much to see and a day trip doesn’t do it justice.
Where we stayed in Ollantaytambo
Sol Exclusive Ollantaytambo
We stayed in Sol Exclusive Ollantaytambo, a one minute walk from the main square. The reason we picked it is that Peru can be a very noisy place and if you get a room by the river here, that’s all you’ll hear. We slept to the sound of rushing water, rather than music or other noise common in most Peruvian towns.
The rooms are ok, nothing to write home about, but the beds are large and very comfy. The shower pressure was good, although on one of our four nights I could only get tepid water. We slept really well here, so though it’s quite basic, we were very happy with our stay.
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