The Sacred Valley contains the towns of Urubamba and Ollantaytambo.  It is one of the more important locations of the Inca empire outside of Cusco. Trips to Machu Pichu originate within this area since Machu Pichu has no highway but only rail connections from the station here.  The valley is at 9,200 feet.  A stay here helps to ready visitors to the rather extreme altitude of Cusco and Lake Titicaca.  The mountains surrounding this place climb to 22,000 feet.